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Published: October 15th 2007
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My Fisrt Sight of Machu Picchu
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DAY 17: THE LAST DAY OF THE
INCA TRAIL As usual on the
Inca Trail a porter woke me up at 4:30 a.m. My stomach was feeling weird this morning, so I decided to pack and eat something light. We started the hiking at 5:15 a.m., arriving at the check point only 5 minutes later. There was a pretty big line here because the check point would be open at 5:30 a.m. A flashlight at this point is extremely important because there is no light this early in the morning.
Maria told me that this checking point is very important because there is a short version of the Inca Trail that takes two days and one night in Aguas Calientes (I will tell you about this town later). At this check point the government regulates that only 500 people are hiking the
Inca Trail .
My entire group passed the check point at 5:35 a.m., and from there everybody started walking like crazy in order to arrive at the Gate of the Sun first. This Gate is the first point where you can actually see Machu Picchu. Since Machu Picchu would not be going anywhere and the sun would not
The Bus Road
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reach Machu Picchu in three more hours or so, I decided to take my time.
While people were passing me in a hurry, I was trying to enjoy my last day of the
Inca Trail as a kid enjoys his/her last candy. I was enjoying it so much that I didn’t notice a low overhanging tree branch. My head hit it so hard that I almost fell to the ground. Luckily I didn’t hit it hard enough to bleed.
The day before I thought that I was done with climbing stairs, but it turned out I was wrong. The last stairs to reach the high point of the Gate of the Sun were unforgettable. Around 7:00 I arrived at the Gate of the Sun and watched Machu Picchu becoming visible between the clouds and then getting covered by them again. Watching this incredible sight, I understood why the Incas had built this Gate. I continued watching Machu Picchu from this viewpoint even after Maria and the rest of the group continued the hike.
At the Gate I stayed with a group of ten French men and women in their fifties and sixties and a Belgium couple. While I
A Bus
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was there, I saw how the sun illuminated the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu and then how the clouds disappeared slowly to let Machu Picchu appear again in front of me. Just writing about it makes my heart ache.
After this spectacle, I started to walk to Machu Picchu, reaching it after 45 minutes. I paid US$ 1.00 to leave my backpack in the storage room at the check point and then roamed the ruins and took pictures. I stayed in Machu Picchu until 1:00 p.m. and then walked to the check point in order to take a bus that would take me to the town of Aguas Calientes. The buses go from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu every five or ten minutes. This is the closest town to Machu Picchu, and the train station is also located here. In Aguas Calientes, I met my group at the Apu Salkantay Restaurant. I had a delicious pizza and then I walked around this small town to visit some hotels, lodges and hostels.
My train left Aguas Calientes at 4:20 p.m. The train station was extremely crowded, so it was a good idea to be there earlier because departures are on
Machu Picchu
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time every day. During the train trip, I thought about the Inca Trail. It was an amazing life experience, but it is hard even if you have trained beforehand. If you are planning on hiking the Inca Trail, just do it, but I recommend to be in good shape, stay in
Cusco or another high city such as Puno or Arequipa at least two days before starting the trek, and hire a porter to help you with your backpack the first three days, so you can really enjoy the trek landscape and not suffer because of extreme fatigue or altitude sickness.
After two hours the train arrived in the town of Ollantaytambo, from which the rest of my group took a van to
Cusco . Here I said goodbye to my group and walked to my hotel, located a half block from the train station.
The Pakaritampu is the best hotel in Ollantaytambo because of the service, the well-thought layout of the buildings and rooms, the great breakfast buffet and the peaceful location. Once there, I left my backpack in my room and walked to the small town that is five minutes away by foot. In the town, I
Machu Picchu
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tried to get information about a good place to see the first rays of the sun on the first day of the winter solstice. This day was really important to the Incas because it marked the beginning of the winter and the New Year. Here a guy told me that the next day at 4:00 a.m. a crowd would be gathering to walk to a ceremonial place located 2 hours away by foot.
After getting this information, I went to the Mayupata Restaurant to eat dinner. I ordered lasagna and it was amazing. In my opinion, wood ovens take forever, as in this restaurant, but the taste of the food is well worth the wait. By the way, the waiting time in most of the Peruvian restaurants is just eternal because everything is fresh and is cooked at the moment of the order, so be prepared to wait.
After eating, I went back to my hotel and I fell asleep immediately after taking a long, hot shower.
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