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I don’t mind saying that I’d hardly slept. I was too excited. Christmas excited even. Today I was going to the much awaited Machu Picchu. I’d arrived in Peru for the first time over a month ago and the day was finally here.
I was transferred to the train station for the journey to Aguas Calientes, the little tourist village at the foot of Machu Picchu. My seat was beside three Americans and they chatted the whole way. The train made its way to the Sacred Valley then followed the Urubamba River on the valley floor. We passed villages of mud brick houses with stray dogs and children playing in the street. The train stopped briefly at Ollantaytambo where local woman plied the train with boiled corn on the cob with cheese and touristy trinkets.
The valley was beautiful. The river was an endless white rapid thundering over boulders. Finally at just before lunchtime the train arrived at Aguas Calientes. Thanks to this tour of Peru that I’d booked everything was done for me. I was collected at the station, taken to the hotel where I dropped my bag, my bus ticket had been bought for me, I boarded
the bus with my ticket for Machu Picchu in hand and the guide met me at the other end. The bus ride takes about 20 minutes from Aguas Calinetes. The road wound its way up the mountain, zig-zagging its way to the top with a sheer drop below and the odd glimpse of terracing above.
Jacqueline was my guide and there were 3 of us on the tour. After going through the ticket check-point the first view that confronts you is less than impressive. A side of a house. Well it’s actually the side of a store house, stone and thatched, but it blocks the open aspect view of the site. We walked down a few steps, through a little alleyway, under a boulder and wow… I was suddenly right in the middle of the famous Machu Picchu. I was half way down the terraces with the main complex stretching out before me, above me and below me with the iconic pointy hill in the distance. It was another ‘pinch yourself’ moment. Funnily enough that iconic hill that frames the city in the famous views of Machu Picchu isn’t actually Machu Picchu. It’s called Wanapicchu (young hill). Machu Picchu
city is built on Macchu Picchu (old hill) but the views are usually taken from here looking outwards. (For the purpose of the blog I also use Inca as a general term for the people of the city rather than just the Royal Incas.)
It did indeed feel like a city in the clouds. The hills around me felt within touching distance and the mist swirled around their peaks. Thankfully the altitude here is lower than even Cusco so tackling the stairs (and there are lots of them) isn’t so bad at all. The guide took us round the sacred sites and gave us a little history about the place. The main Temple of the Sun was built in the iconic Inca style. Precision brick work. The stone work had been recently cleaned so the temple shone out from the rest of the buildings. It was rather small but perfectly formed but we could only see it from the outside. It sat above the Royal Tomb, a natural grotto in the rocks where larger trapezoid niches had been built inside to house the Royal Mummies. The Royal Inca quarters were also built from the precise Inca stone work (it
even had a Royal Inca toilet!). In fact, only sacred sites had this attention to detail. All other buildings and terraces were made from stone and mortar constructions. If you see precise brickwork you know it’s to house something special.
The tour continued past more temples with rocks that depicted the Southern Cross and Inca Cross and at summer solstice cast perfect shadows. There were links to astronomy all over the complex. I knew the Incas worshiped the Sun but I didn’t know they studied the stars and planned the cities accordingly.
The city walls and houses fascinated me as I wandered the complex. Most of the common houses were in ruins but the nobles’ houses were better preserved. The Incas harnessed the mountain streams to enable the city to function and built a series of 16 fountains through the middle of the complex for the people to use. The water flowed through shallow channels cut in stone, down underground and flowing from fountain mouths. It was a complex system and standing in front of it I could almost imagine the women collecting their water for the day. Beside the fountains is a long stairway leading from the
lowest point of the complex to the highest parts. Some of the steps are carved from the rock bed itself. The Incas worked with what they had. The stones and rocks used to build the city were mostly in situ. The upper parts of Machu Picchu are obviously unfinished and show where the rock was being quarried from.
Even though it was pretty busy at lunchtime you could still get a quiet corner to yourself here and there. And by the time the tour had finished it was getting quieter, I made my way up to the Guard House to take the iconic picture. There was really nobody else around and I had time to take in the view without fighting for elbow room. I sat myself down and just drank it all in.
I knew that arriving at lunchtime would only give me half a day here so I went back up to Machu Picchu the next morning to see any bits I’d missed. I took the opportunity to walk up to the Sun Gate, where trekkers arrive and get their first views after doing the Inca Trail. It was just an hour’s walk up the side
of Machu Picchu hill to the Gate and I had it to myself. As I climbed I looked back upon the bigger picture, the city in the mountain tops. It would be an incredible sight to see. I know that I’m not fit enough to do the trail but I admire those who’ve done it and have been rewarded by the views that greet them on arrival.
After exploring the rest of the complex, bumping into the resident llamas and chinchillas, getting thoroughly sunburned and looking into every nook and cranny of the place it was time to go. I had a little lunch in the village then boarded the train for the long journey back to Cusco and the end of my Peruvian adventure.
Peru had turned up so many delights. The traditional dress, the incredible scenery and immense depth of history I knew I’d be sorry to leave. I had a few days back In Lima to try and sort my volunteering placements before flying out to Brazil and onto another adventure. On my last night in Lima, Fiorella from the hostel, took me to the city centre where in the evening they have what they
call a water park. A park full of fountains that each have a display, from full 20 minute displays to music and lasers to interactive displays where the crowd can get soaked. It was a lovely night and a nice way to end my time in Peru. The people at the Red Psycho Llama where I’d stayed in Lima had been lovely (so I bought them a big chocolate cake…any excuse for chocolate!). Time to move on…
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