The Mighty Machu Picchu

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From Cusco, we visited Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel from the 15th century, a world heritage site and one of the modern seven world wonders. As we decided to skip hiking on the Inca trail, we at least wanted a proper visit to the site and went on a 2-day-trip.

We left Cusco in the evening to go to Ollantaytambo in a "collectivo", a 12 seat mini-bus, the two hour ride was a little rough but the scenery was really pretty. Ollantaytambo seemed like a nice little town but we only had about two hours there before our train to Aguas Calientes left which is the self-proclaimed Machu Picchu town and it really only serves the purpose of hosting people for a night or two on their Machu Picchu trip.

Our first train-ride of the trip was quite pleasant and we were actually served a snack and coffee. Thank you PeruRail, luxurious times. We got to Aguas Calientes two hours later, went straight to our hostel and settled into a 16 bed dorm which was fine for one night. We were greeted in town by rain which made us a little nervous about our Machu Picchu trip the next morning.

It is very common to hike up to Machu Picchu which lies at over 2400m and get to the site when the doors open at 5.30h in the morning. Grim and I decided to also skip that and sleep in and take a bus up. Yes, we are lazy people. Nonetheless, we were woken up at 3.30h by all the other backpackers getting up and eventually got up around 7h. After a quick breakfast, we headed to the bus-station and were getting in line to hop on one of the buses because we were told in the hostel that we buy the bus-tickets on the bus. Turns out that was not the case so we went to the ticket booth, got in line, waited, got back in line for the bus, waited again and by 8.30h we were on our way.

The ride up leads through steep serpentines and we got a first glimpse of the jungle-like forest of the Urubamba Valley that surrounds Machu Picchu. At the entrance we were greeted by a queue, humidity and burning sunshine. No sign of the rain from the night before.

Machu Picchu itself was everything we imagined, it is beautifully set in a mountain range with thick forest and clouds hanging low. We have no idea why the Incas decided to build a citadel on the top of a mountain but they did a good job building terraces and temples and houses and even a royal palace. The stone work was especially impressive because the stones are not shaped like bricks but look more like a puzzle that comes together perfectly.

After a couple hours at the site, it was time to head back down and this time we were walking! Down a staircase of 1500 stairs! It was hell. I am glad we didn't walk it up. Next to the strain of walking down all those unevenly and partly ridiculously high stairs it was super warm and humid. It felt like we were in the jungle. The forest was super thick and overgrown and we were surrounded by loads of butterflies and bugs. When we were almost back in town we were out-distanced by two groups of people, laughing, talking, skipping down the stairs, I don't know how they did it, I was covered in sweat, my legs were shaking, I was not a happy camper.

Back in Aguas Calientes we rewarded ourselves with lunch at a Hare Krishna place where we unfortunately ran into an American krishna freak that "entertained" the entire restaurant aka us by talking about himself a lot, playing the hand organ and chanting. Urgh.

We then headed to the hot springs that are the name-givers of the town (Aguas Calientes = Hot Waters). The Peruvians are quite clever so we could rent swimsuits and towels outside the bath and hung out in the pools until our fingers were all wrinkly and we felt relaxed from the Machu Picchu and Hare Krishna strains.

On the train home we found ourselves in the middle of a tourist trap/attraction. After a small dinner the crew started a little show for us. It began with a little story telling about the costumes and masks that are a big part of the Peruvian culture and all of a sudden one of the crew members jump out of the lavatory dressed as a devil with a colorful costume and a mask. He danced through the train compartment for a while and then the remaining crew members started a fashion show, modeling clothes made out of alpaca wool that were later sold. It was fun but surreal.

For your entertainment:

Start at 1:40min. This is a short clip from the British TV-show "An Idiot Abroad". Karl Pilkington is sent out into the world to visit the seven wonders and he doesn't like it. At Machu Picchu he gives up halfway on the hike and watches it from a far.

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Comments

[M.]

50 words for Machu Pichu
Dear Sophie & Grim: What a wonderful post from Machu Picchu! I loved your descriptions of the stones up there and of the ascend back down the 1500 stairs. The pictures are lovely too! It's nice that you have a camera again. I think you should have punched that American hare krishna in the face. And what a wonderfully relaxing thought hot springs are at this moment in the chilly autumn! It sounds like a lot of fun! Besos!