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Published: October 7th 2007
Made it !
View from Inti Punku (The Sun Gate)29th September
We were woken at 4am and had to get are things together quickly so that the porters could take our tents down and get everything packed up before they caught their train at 5.30am. The only porters to be carry on the last bit of our journey were the ones carrying our luggage. The last section of the Inca Trail opened from the control point at 5.30 but even as we were having our breakfast groups of trekers were making their way to the check point. Breakfast was a hot drink of what looked like porridge, that we thought maybe Percy just got the consistancy wrong, toast and jam. We formed a line and walked down to the control point in the semi darkness to wait for it to open.
The first part of the days trail was up to the Sun Gate to see our first glimpse of what we had walked for 4 days to see - Machu Picchu. It took about an hour and a half to reach the Sun Gate and when we reached the top the view didn't disapoint. What struck us the most was that everywhere you looked there were mountains
completely surrounding the City and it came as no surprise that this place had remained a secret until 1911. Although now it is a magnet for wanna be explorers such as ourselves, and is easy to get to now as there is a rail link that takes you to the nearby village and a short bus journey takes you up the mountain to the Ruins. But for us by far the best way to experience this site is by following in the footsteps of Hiram Bingham (the explorer who found the lost city) along the Inca Trail.
After a few photos and a little time to take in the fact that we'd finally made it, we continued down the trail and took some more photos as the light improved. We were very lucky with the weather as it was totally clear for us. We were also able to get our passports stamped with a picture of Machu Picchu. Down at the site we posed for a group photo and to capture the famous photo that all the guides show you at the beginning of the trip of the Face of the Mountain.
Miguel then took us onto one
of the many terraces to talk to us about the various parts of the site. I don't think anyone had realised quite how large the entrie site was, as most of the photos that you see only show a small portion. We were also surprised as to how intact the structures were, proving that indeed the Spanish had failed to find and destroy the city. Whilst we were sat listening to Miguel, we spotted a condor soaring round the mountains on the thermals.
We then went for a tour round the site, taking in the best parts of the site before the majority of the visitors arrived. This emphasised the size of the site, and in fact explorations of the site are continuing as experts try to look for treasures left behind by the Incas, but so far not recovered.
After a tour of the site we were given the opportunity to explore the site on our own, before returning by bus down to the town where we were meeting for one final lunch with the group and guides before we said goodbye. The journey down was accompanied by a local boy dressed as an Inca following the
bus all the way down the mountainside. At the end he boarded the bus asking for a sol for the entertainment he had provided.
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