Peru Day 3: Machu Picchu

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Today was a very long day starting with a 6:00 AM bus to Ollantaytambo. From Ollantaytambo, we took the Perurail Vistadome train to Machu Picchu. The train ride was very scenic and you could catch glimpses of the Inca Trail all along the ride. We saw a few ruins on the sides of the mountains and many terraces. The ride followed the Urubamba river all the way to Aguas Calientes which is the village where you transfer over to buses to ride up to the ruins. Aguas Calientes used to be a very small village before the tourists started coming to Machu Picchu. Now it is a bustling little town filled with restaurants, hostels, and vendors. The buses up to the ruins are all privately owned by a cooperative who are now apparently quite rich from the investment.

The buses wind their way around a very narrow cobbled stone road going quite fast and there were times that I looked out the window and saw nothing but a steep embankment. The buses, unfortunately for me, didn't fit everyone in our tour group. In fact, I was the only one that didn't fit. I had to ride up to Machu Picchu with a busload of local school children. The tour guide, Lucho, was very apologetic but it didn't really bother me. The kids were all very enthusiastic but polite. The moment when I first glimpsed the ruins out the window was one I will never forget. It was absolutely stunning.

I met back up with my tour group at the end of the road outside the ruins. There are currently only 2,500 guests permitted to visit the ruins each day in order to preserve the ruins. However, despite the crowds, Machu Picchu is still awe-inspiring to visit.

When you first walk in through the main gate, you walk along one of the terraces. Machu Picchu was built by the Incas into different sectors, the terraces were used for agriculture and it is here that they grew their corn, quinoa, potatoes, and other vegetables and grains. From these terraces you get your first full view of the city with Huayna Picchu guarding it on the right. Machu Picchu is not actually the name of the city. The name of the city was lost to time. Hiram Bingham, who discovered the city in 1911 named it for the mountain, Machu Picchu, which means old peak in Quechua. The city is bordered by the two mountains for security. It is currently thought to have been the winter home for the Inca and his royal family. One of the things that is striking about the city is that they didn't have tools to build it. Unlike many other tribes that built these great cities, the Inca did not build the city with slaves. Instead, each citizen was expected to labor for (I believe) 3 months out of the year. Everything was done cooperatively. In this way, some say they are the first socialist community.

From the terraces you get a good first view of the city. From there we walked to the quarries where they quarried and carved the stones used to build the city. It was only the holy portions of the city that had the closely interlocking stones. Other areas of the city had stones that fit together but included mortar in between the rocks. From here, we walked past the Royal Tomb which they believed once held the remains of the Inca though no remains were ever found there. It has one large carved rock which look like stairs where they gave offerings. It was very curious architecture. Above the tomb is the Temple of the Sun which was above the tomb. It has two windows which line up with the sunrise during the summer solstice and the winter solstice (two days of the year that you want to avoid due to crowds).

The royal palace was next on our tour. These buildings are fairly modest in size but have the fine stonework that denotes royalty. The two bedrooms were separated by a small plaza. The bedrooms and plaza did not have windows to allow for greater privacy for the royal family.

Other highlights include the Sacred Rock, Intihuatana, Funerary Rock, and the Guard's House. The sacred rock, looks like the mountain Yanantin behind it. Formerly, people would embrace the rock to absorb its energy. Now it is roped off for protection from silly tourists. Intihuatana was interesting. It is a four-sided sculpture that was described as a sun dial but most scholars don't agree with that description anymore, though they are not sure what purpose it served. Funerary Rock is another mystery. It is an alter next to the Guard's House that is a large, white, granite alter with carvings of three steps and a large flat bed on top. Three is a number is great significance to the Inca. The Guard's House offers the best views of the site and gave me the best pictures. The hike up there was pretty substantial and only a few of us in the group made it up there.

Overall, the experience was well worth the trip. One of the members of the tour group had surgery on her achilles tendon not too long ago, but yet she still braved it out and climbed some of the areas that were more daunting to the broader group. She did stumble and fall a couple of times but she made it through. I hope to be as brave as her when I am her age!

After visiting the ruins we came back to Agua Calientes for a quick lunch at Forteleza where I had a quinoa risotto which was pretty good, though the pizzas looked even better. After lunch, back to the train for a long train ride ending at Cusco. Our new hotel is a Novotel which is conveniently located near the Plaza de Armas. We got in late, so we had a quick late dinner at the hotel where I had chicken in pachamanca sauce which was surprisingly tasty.

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Photos

First View of the Ruins
The mountain in the background is called Huayna Picchu

Royal Tomb
The carved steps were used for offerings.

Temple of the Sun
The two windows are perfectly aligned to capture the sunrise for the summer solstice and the winter solstice.

View of the City
You can see the nobs on the side of the building in the front righthand side. Those were used to tie down the thatch roofs.

Intihuatana
This sculpture is no longer thought to be a sundial but is most likely a solar observatory, sacrificial altar, or a temple aligned with the mountains and their apus (gods).

Llamas
These llamas have free run of the ruins and help to keep the grass down.

Llama surveying his kingdom
Perhaps he is the soul of an Inca reborn

Sacred Rock
From different angles, this rock looks like the mountains in the background.

View from the Guard's House
Highest view in the city

Funerary Rock
Mysterious altar by the Guard's House

View from the Train
You can just see the Inca Trail snaking alongside the mountain.

View of the Terraces
From the Agricultural Area

Rock Quarry
The rocks used for the city were quarried and carved onsite.

Groundskeeper Cleaning the Rocks
This is a painstaking job that is restoring the rocks to their former white granite finish. Very slow process using a wooden pick followed by a toothbrush in sudsy water.

Priest in a Past Life?
This rabbit relative was just chilling in the Principal Temple.