Pachacuti's Retreat - The City in the Clouds - Machu Picchu

---

In attempt to get to Machu Picchu on the road less travelled we were also going to be traveling on the road less known. Most people get there by catching a bus from Cusco to Ollanytambo then catching a train to Aguas Caliente, which is the town at the base of MP. But to make the trip a little more adventerous (read: significantly cheaper) we decided to catch a bus from Cusco to Santa Maria, a collectivo from Santa Maria to Santa Theresa, another collectivo from Santa Theresa to Hydroelectrica, then walk along the train tracks 3 hours until Aguas Caliente. Was this going to work? I was hopeful and Matt seemed confident. There was little information on times and availbility of collectivos but our hostel host gave us some information and we joined forces with a French couple from our hostel hoping to do the same thing. After 12 hours of travel that took us over windy mountain roads, by communities of Andean farmers, over millions of potholes and rocks and along an explosive mountain river we arrived in Aguas Caliente (meaning hot water in english) feeling thrilled with our resourcefulness!

In order to protect Machu Picchu from over-tourism it is limited to 2,000 visitors per day. Upon arrival we quickly bought our tickets for Sunday and additionally bought a ticket to hike Montana MachuPicchu. The ticket dates are strictly enforced and even if it is raining cats and dogs or MP is in complete cloud cover, you have to go anyways or miss out. We found a good hostel and an almost good meal and called it night at 8pm.

4am let's do this! So getting from Aguas Caliente to MP works as follows: hike along a pretty flat, riverside road until 5am at which point you wait in line at a bridge to have your ticket checked, by 5:15 you start moving and leave that lovely flat walk behind and begin a 500m (about 1,600ft) climb to MP over the course of the next hour. A German guy we talked to said he counted about 1,800 steps up. The sun had risen by the time we arrived so we tucked our headlamps away and began to eat as much as possible becuase no food is allowed in MP (we followed the rule, the other 1,999 people didn't).

We entered and then got our first glimpse, WOW! Pictures can just never capture the real experience of a phenominal place. Since everyoneknows what MP looks like, I'll spare you my own weak description. We wandered around quickly and rested from the tiring morning hike. 7:15 we headed towards Montana MachuPicchu for which we had purchased the extra ticket. There are 2 additional mountains you can hike when visiting MP, the first being Montana MachuPicchu (MMP) the second is HuaynaPicchu. The latter has a 400/person/day limit becuase it is so popular. The classic aerial picture you see of MP is taken from the top of HuaynaPicchu. So, we headed towards MMP and began the 3 hour hike having no idea why is was less popular than Huayna. Well, we figured it out: it's harder. The view from the top, however, is unbelievable. We got lucky and the weather was nothing but beautiful sunshine and there were few low clouds to block the view. MP was built in the saddle between two mountains and is surrounded by vertical cliffs and impressively large mountains. We could see so much of the surrounding valley including the general path from hydroelectrico and Aguas Caliente we walked the day before. MMP was an additional 700m (2300ft) above MP bringing the grand total for the morning to a 3,900ft ascent. I'm writing this 2 days later and the legs still feel it.

Hiked back down to MP hoping to find a guide to give us all the juicy Inca secrets. Having not found a reasonably priced guide we decided to self-guide except at the very last minute a guide, Patrick, agreed to accompany us. Patrick was not the most interesting man but we gleaned bits and pieces from his talk that were cool and memorable. The Inca's were exceptionally precise and accurate and had spent so much time constructing MP to be the masterpiece that it is. In the part of MP called the Sacred Plaza, sits The Intihuatana Stone which is tilted to 13° S, the precise latitude of MP. At midday on the spring and fall equinoxes, the sun is almost directly above the pillar, casting no shadow at all.

Our lucky sunshine lasted until about 20 minutes before we arrived back in town. It poured! A common occurance in South America is that ATM's run out of money and most places only take cash. Aguas Caliente has only 3 ATMs and when the first two did not work we thought we might be stuck forever. However, we learned of the 3rd ATM and struck it rich so were able to retrace our adventerous route back to Cusco the following day.

---

Photos

Inca Stonework
One of the most finely crafted Inca buildings. Each rock is carefully carved to fit perfectly together. Copper pins are fit inside the rocks to secure.

Comments

[Charlie]

Take me...
Dear Uncle Eagles, Mom read me your blog today and one day you need to take me on these adventures because we both know that mom isn't going to. (And I doubt Dad will either) Love, Charlie

[Aunt Mary Ellen]

WOW!!
Wow! Sounds fabulously cool! So glad for you! Aunt Mary Ellen

[Mike and Jill]

Wasn't it worth all those 1,800 steps!?