City in the clouds - Machu Pichu

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Wow! I just just finished the famed Inka Trail to Machu Pichu. But I think it should be renamed the Inka Steps and be sponsored by Step Master. 😊 Four days of up steps and down steps. Some big, some small, some wide and some narrow. At times I thought the Incas must have been giants and other times I thought they were surely midgets. 😊

Up and down mountains and valleys, over passes, through tunnels, visiting ancient Inca sites along the way. The Inka Trail is the actual trail that the Inkas used centuries ago. It is amazing how they built it and the over 40,000km of trails that stretch from Ecuador to Chile. Most of the trail is made of stone which is even more impressive, in some cases on the side of a mountain where there is very little room to construct anything.

After 4 days and 43kms we arrived at the highlight of the trek - Machu Pichu. An incredible city built on a mountain side in the middle of spectacularly lush green mountain peaks, with the Cloud Forest above and the raging Urubamba River below.

The first day on the Trail we got great weather but the next two days were rainy and cloudy and I was worried that Machu Pichu could be a washout, literally. You see even though it is summer in Peru, that doesn't mean it is going to be dry. In fact, here there are only two seasons, dry (ie winter) and rainy (ie summer). I probably should have looked into this whole season thing a little more before planning to visit to a place in a "rainy season". Especially the Ink Trail, which only last week had a portion of the trail washed away from a landslide. But after some offerings to Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) and some prayers to the Sun God, the clouds parted just as we got to the Sun Gate overlooking Machu Pichu. What it revealed was more amazing than what I had expected. It is a definitely a special place when you see the beauty of the city only surpassed by the beauty of the scenery in which it rests.

The Inca's we're incredible engineers and builders and it is very evident everywhere you look. From the agricultural terraces, to the city and its temples. The mystery of how and why they built some of the city adds to Machu Pichu's allure.

After a day exploring Machu Pichu and Wayna Pichu (the other mountain peak overlooking the city) I wished I would have been able to see this incredible city in its true glory over 500 years ago.

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Photos

Incredible view of Machu Picchu
The sun came out late in the afternoon and lit up the city.

The Inka Trail
you can see the stone work that has survived centuries.

Landslide on the Trail
The week before a landslide wiped out part of the trail.

Landslide on the Trail
The week before a landslide wiped out part of the trail.

Firrst non view of Machu Picchu
When we arrived at the Sun Gate Machu Picchu was completely covered in the clouds. It wasn't looking promising. But when you are the Sun Gate, well, you expect that the sun will eventually come up. Five minutes later and Machu Picchu appeared!

The Sun Gate
This is where you see Machu