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If anyone ever tells you that Machu Picchu is over-rated...you would do well just to ignore them!
Ever since my Dad bought the ´Pictorial Atlas of the World´when I was around 9 years old, I was captivated by the photo of Machu Picchu on the inside cover and it has been a long-held ambition of mine to visit. Needless to say I went there with fairly high expectations which were certainly surpassed. Yes, I was ready for the Inca ruins and the beautiful backdrop of the Huayna Picchu mountain, though what I wasn't prepared for was the spectacular scenery surrounding the site. Machu Picchu is set on a mountain side which is surrounded on 3 sides by deep, lush green valleys which, in the early morning, are filled like a cauldron of mist. As the mist lifts and reveals the site and the surrounding mountians on the other side of the valleys, the spectacle is other-worldy...utterly breathtaking!
I didn't want to cut any corners with my Machu Picchu experience and so decided to take a 5 day trek through the sacred valleys of the Incas and through some spectacular mountain scenery where I would reach Aguas Calientes, a spa
town at the bottom of the Machu Picchu mountain, before scaling the mountain on the morning of the 5th day. The trek was fantastic, took me through some amazing scenery and was spent with a fantastic bunch of people in our group of twelve. The chat was particularly good with Senan, a Galway man armed with some sharp, sharp wit!
We took day 1 at a steady pace through the foothills at the beginning of our trek until we reached our campsite in the early evening. This would be our highest (and hence coldest) campsite of the trek but the good food, the games of cards and the craic kept us warm enough! After an extremely cold start at 6am on day 2, the sun soon broke through in the valley and unveiled the Salkantay mountain, a beautiful snow-capped peak standing at 6271 metres. At lunch we reached the highest point of trek at the Salkantay pass and enjoyed a hard earned rest with spectacular views of the lakes and mountains surrounding the pass. As we descended into the valley below, the mist set in and Senan and I both agreed we could as well have been trekking in
Connemara or the Scottish Highlands... although the llamas and alpaca were a bit of a giveaway. I can't recall seeing too many llamas in Glencoe!
Day 3 was a nice easy day where we walked to a waterfall (a shower) en route to our next campsite where we spent a lazy afternoon recharging for the next 2 days. We had a great night around the campfire, our multinational group each singing their national anthem and I even saw fit to teach them the Dashing White Sergeant. So if you ever travel to a remote village of Patagonia, Vancouver or Cape Town and see some Scottish ceilidh dancing, you know who to blame!
On day 4 my life flashed before my eyes...
On the morning of day 4 we had the opportunity to go zip-lining across the valley, a series of 6 "zips" 250 metres above the valley...a good way to admire the view I thought! The first trip went really well and the second was going swimmingly until I began to run out of steam and was only half way across...a sinking feeling I have to say! With no time to feel scared I was only thinking
about getting safely across to the other side and so proceeded to start hauling myself along the zip line until I had no energy left in my arms. "I must only be about 10 metres from the other side" I thought. Imagine my disappointment when I saw I still had about 50 metres to go! Thankfully I arrived safely and the final 4 trips passed without incident. Mum, sorry to put you through the details, but I deemed it noteworthy. Don't worry though, I have had my adrenaline rush for now!
We arrived in Aguas Calientes that afternoon and enjoyed a relaxing dip in the hot springs which was just the tonic after 4 days of hiking and a suitable recharge for the 4am start the next day and the steep hike to reach Machu Picchu for sunrise.
Sat at the guardhouse at 6am the next morning, overlooking a cloud of mist which would soon lift to reveal the marvel of Machu Picchu, I had a bit of a moment to myself having finally achieved a lifetime (or 28 year old) ambition. The site of the mist lifting and the ancient ruins being exposed is something that will
live with me forever. I don't think there is anything I could write that could do justice to the place so, please, have a look at the photos and marvel at the wonder that is Machu Picchu...
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TomAnja
Tom Clayton
All so believable....
....apart from the comment about getting an atlas when you were nine, nobody that far north can read at that age surely?! Glad you're enjoying it, beats selling toilets eh?!