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Published: September 8th 2005
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After a few hours sleep, we rose to catch an early bus (a short walk from our hostel) up to the ruins. We got up to the entrance at about 7 am. The horizontal Rays of the early morning sun gave a real atmosphere to the forest-covered mountains. The mountains surrounding Aguas Calientes are really steep, and completely covered in cloud forest... they make quite a contrast to the dry rocky mountains surrounding Olly.
We opted to take a guided tour of the ruins, so we'd know a bit of the background behind what we were looking at. Entering the sight was truly amazing! The sight of this ancient citadel nesting on the top of a mountain surrounded by genuinely spectacular scenery is just awe inspiring! (as you can see from the photos).
The tour took us around the main religious sites of the ruins. It was still quite early in the morning, so there weren´t too many people around. Most people take the train from Cusco on the day, and so at about 11 o'clock there is a huge insurge of tourism. The tour was really interesting... the temple of the condor, with two large natural rocks as
the wings; the observatory, with water mirrors for astronomical purposes; and the home of the Inca (the king), we even took a look at the Incas personal toilet, which as you can imagine was rather like a hole in the ground.
The guide was great and showed us loads, including how the Incas mined and cut stone (an ingenious method using wet (thus expanding) wedges of wood), some of the fauna, the 'energy rock' where you can receive 'the positive energy'. At the main high point above the main plaza (parade ground area) of the city, there´s a rock with a rough miniature model of the city carved into it. This is where the Inca would sit to address the people of the city. The spot has really good acoustic properties, as our guide demonstrated by talking quietly at someone down bellow in the plaza, who appeared to hear him perfectly. Clapping your hands induces a clear echo from the other side of the ruins. We went into another religious room, with sealed windows (almost like fireplaces) all around. This space also had special acoustic properties... everyone put their heads inside these windows, and the guide began to speak.
The wall acted as an amplifier, pretty incredible!
The city itself is remarkably preserved. The walls are built in an earthquake resistant way, slightly slanted in. Apparently the area gets a major earthquake consistently every 150 (I think) years, and the ruins survive every time. The terracing that surrounds the ruins prevents it from sliding down the steep mountainside... although apparently it is slowly slipping in places. The city is huge as well, with a capacity of over 1000 people, I think it´s the biggest Inca site I´ve seen yet.
Later on in the morning we set off to climb 'Huayna Picchu' (Pronounced 'wyna pichu') the large mountain behind Machu Picchu (as seen in the photos). This was quite a climb, but gave a really different view of the ruins. We set off from the top of Huayna Picchu to walk to the 'temple of the moon' down on the other side of the mountain. This turned out to be a pretty long trek, and at one point I began to wander if we´d get back to Macchu Pichu before nightfall! It was an ineresting sight though... not much to do with the moon, as it was in
a kind of cave, but with some really immaculate Inca Stonework.
We got back to Machu Picchu later in the afternoon, I think by taking a walk we'd successfully missed most of the tourists. We then spent a while just looking down at the ruins. It´s that kind of place, I could probably have spent the day just watching it.
We caught a bus back down to Aguas Calientes. Our first move was to look for a new hostel, as last night our hostel had been next to the railway line, less than tranquil! We then went to find some food, before walking up to have look at the hot springs.
On Sunday we got up early to go to the hot springs, from which Aguas Calientes gets its name (literally meaning hot water). It was a nice time of day to go, as the air was still very cold, and there were hardly any tourists there (most people go in the afternoon after visiting Machu Picchu). Despite these pros, I cant help but think that Lares ruined it for us a bit. After being to a really rustic place like Lares, the popular baths of Aguas
Calientes seemed very commercial, and a touch tacky. A very pleasant relaxing morning non-the-less!
In the afternoon we set off to climb another mountain 'Putucusi'. A very steep climb with ladders for a good section of the walk. Great fun! You get yet another, and indeed a very special view of Machu Picchu from the top... and it was well worth all the sweat to get there!
We managed to get back down in time for our 4.20 pm train back to Olly, which left amazingly promptly for an item of Peruvian transport. This was a truly amazing weekend, and I can appreciate now why Machu Picchu is so well known and popular as a tourist destination. Absolutely stunning!
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Anna
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Hi Tom, Brilliant journal, especially the photo of the ladders, brings it all back! Hope your foot gets better soon! Have you been fed guinea pig yet?! Hopefully not the pet rabbit! Take Care, Anna