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Published: December 24th 2009
Arriving at Machu Picchu
Looking very tired, its only 5am and we just hiked 1900 steps! Jess and I woke at 3.45am to meet Mikey and make our way up to Machu Picchu. We made our way through Aguas Calientes in the dark, and turned off the road to reach the steep path consisting of 1900 steps. There was a really strange atmosphere, about thirty or forty others were also leaving early and I think I heard ´good morning´in more different languages than I have ever before in my life! Its was odd as we climbed, it was steep and early and warm, so no one felt much like talking, and all you could see was the glow of head lights as people moved up the mountain.
The walk to the top is meant to take about 1.30hrs but we made it in about 45minutes, and were 7th, 8th and 9th to enter Machu Picchu. The early start was well worth the effort, it was so nice to be able to admire the ruins without hoards of loud people. When we arrived MP was completely surrounded in mist, and as we satand watched the sun rise, the mist burnt off and Huanu Picchu, the famous mountain towering over MP, emerged, slowly followed by the ruins. It
Machu Picchu in the mist
Waiting for MP to appear out of the mist was really quite spectacular.
As we were early getting to MP we were able to get our hands on some of the free but limited Huanu Picchu tickets. The ´path´ up Huanu Picchu is very steep and therefore they only let 200 people a day climb the mountain.
We met the others (Ben, Leanne and Rhian) at MP and after exploring MP and also meeting the resident alpacas and llamas, we set off for Huanu Picchu. Jess was tired and therefore stayed with Leanne and Rhian, meaning we could leave our bags and free our hands for the climb. Ben, Mikey and I set off and climbed up to the top, stopping along the route for photos of Machu Picchu, way down below us. One the way up we met a lad who told us about an alternative route down, via the Temple of the Moon, situated in a large cave.
We braved what are definetely sheer drops each side of the path, and made it to the very top. Mikey and I then celebrated finishing 5 days of uphill and not having to climb any more mountains, before deciding to descend via the Temple of the
Huanu Picchu
HP appearing out of the mist Moon, while Ben took the main route. We set off and after descending for what seemed about 45 minutes we started to get concerned, the river in the valley was sounding louder than it should have and we hadn´t seen a single other person since we had started. Our two options didn´t seem very appealing, either we return to the top and take the main path which would mean one almighty climb, or we continue down and risk arriving in the wrong valley with potentially no transport available back to Aguas Calientes and the others in MP not knowing where we were.
Fortunately just after this we came accross the Temple of the Moon, and the not so large cave. It took us quite a while to figure out the route from here, and then found a sign behind a bush pointing us to the right. We followed the route, and what the lad on our way up had failed to tell us was that the Temple of the Moon was considerably further down the mountain than the join between MP and HP! Therefore our climbing was not over, and we spent the next hour and a half trekking
HP looking over MP
Half way up Huanu Picchu, looking down on top of Machu Picchu back up and around the mountain. Finally we rejoined the MP path and although I am really glad we went to the Temple... well, never again after a five day trek!
On finding the others they tried to convince Jess, Ben, Mikey and I that we had walked enough, but as the bus back into the town was $7 and thats the equivalent of a night´s accomodation we walked back down. We actually arrived only just after the bus and a light rain acted like a much needed shower. Hostels in Aguas Calientes have caught onto the fact that after coming down you need a wash, so they charge to use the showers after your checkout time of midday and it was now 4pm.
Skipping the showers we rewarded ourselves, meeting up with some other friends and going for a three course meal before the train to Ollantaytambo and then a bus from there into Cusco. We arrived back at 10pm, ready for a shower and a night on the tiles!
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