Machu
Picchu was the place I was looking forward to the most, and it truly lived up
to expectations! This ancient city was
not revealed to the Spaniards (if it was they would have destroyed it because
of pagan sun worship) and was pretty much forgotten until the early part of the
20th century. Local Quechua people knew
about it obviously, but an American historian Hiram Bingham
"discovered" this city in 1911
when guided here by locals. He was
looking for the lost city of Vilcabamba which was the last stronghold of the
Inca people, and he thought that it was Machu Picchu (Vilcabamba was later
found deeper in the jungle). Bingam's
team cleared out the thick forest that was overgrowing and it was then that the
ruins were discovered. If you are
interested, his book on the
"discovery" was recorded in the book
Inca
Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru and can be downloaded for
free
here. Knowledge of Machu Picchu
still remains really random, and most people still speculate what it was used
for. The fact remains though that it is
one of the most beautiful archeological sites in the world, and it is truly a
breathtaking experience!
Our
driver picked us up from the hotel at 5:45AM to take us to Poroy station. From there, we took a 3 hour train ride
through the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
We took the Vistadome train,
which had huge windows all around the coach (including the ceiling) and played
traditional Peruvian Buddha Bar type music
- the whole experience made us feel absolutely immersed in the stunning scenery that was
gliding by outside the train. All around
us we saw the lush green Andes with random crystal waterfalls, unforgiving
rushing rapids, cows grazing on emerald meadows, and women and men in
traditional wear living the simple life, spiraling up hills with mules adorned
in colorful cloth transporting bags of grain, lush fruits, and coca
plants. It really makes you question the
beauty of a simple life, a life where you turn it down a notch, look inwards,
and find peace with yourself and with nature.
But I guess that's the hippie in me talking!
We
finally got to Aguas Calientes, which is the gateway town to Machu Picchu and
also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. Many
people stay here if they want to catch sunrise at Machu Picchu, which I have
heard is a fantastic experience. We
chose not to stay there so that we could keep our roots in Cuzco for a few
days, but that meant that we had a very, very long travel day yesterday! Nonetheless, we got there at around 9:45 and
met up with our tour group. Aguas
Calientes is a beautiful town because of its scenery, but because so many
tourists pass through to get the Machu Picchu, it is dominated by a tourist
focus. Huge repetitive market right when
you get off of the train station and pizzerias and restaurants with a set
tourist menu are abundant here. We took
a 30 minute winding bus ride to the Machu Picchu main gate.
A
few tips for travellers:
- Take toilet paper and hand
sanitizer with you. It costs 1 sol
to use the bathroom but its not in the best shape
- Take sunscreen and Deet with
you and apply liberally!
- You must take your original
passport to claim train tickets and for entrance to Machu Picchu
- You can check any extra bags
you have outside the gate for 5 sol and inside for 3 sol. This comes in
handy - we had a pretty sunny day so we checked our jackets and offloaded
from our backpack
- Take water and snacks - you
cannot buy anything inside Machu Picchu
- If you see a bit of rain, you
can buy ponchos in Aguas Caliente or outside for 5 sol (~$2)
- Bring an umbrella. We had sunny weather with sporadic
raindrops so the umbrella came in handy
- Don't forget to stamp your
passport with the Machu Picchu stamp!
There is a table just inside the entrance where you can stamp your
own passport with the date
We
took a guided tour through the grounds and then had a bit of free time to
wander. There are definitely pros and
cons to the tour. On one hand, it was
nice to get a description of the significance of various areas inside Machu
Picchu, but on the other hand I think I would have liked to explore on my own,
get lost in the ruins, and find a quite place to do some yoga! Needless to say, it was very informative and
enriching to learn about the way that the lost city had been organized for
different activities, like agriculture, observation of astronomy, and
ceremonial sacrifice. One huge theme, as
it is in all old civilizations, is sun worship, and how that ties in with
mathematics and astronomy. For example
in the Temple of the Sun, which is the only circular room in the city, the
Incas built two windows. In one window,
the angle of the sunrise shines through the window during the Summer Solitce,
and in the other window during the Winter Solstice. It is in this way that the Incas were able to
chart out a calendar and observe changes in the seasons for agricultural and
ceremonial reasons. This theme permeates
throughout the city, with various locations that use astronomy and sun to
symbolize various important days, like the start of the harvest.
People
say this place has a certain energy and you can definitely feel it if you step
away from the tourists and really let yourself take in the breathtaking
view. We felt the energy most when we
descended down to the flat green area (after seeing the Intihuatana, the
"Hitching Post of the Sun") where there is just a sense of quiet that
surrounds your body, mind and soul. It
is hard to describe the scene, and the hundreds of years of tradition that are
steeped in the stone walls. When we were there, the Andes were bathed in fog
which made the scene even more mystical and surreal. I would be doing it an injustice to try to
explain the feeling, so all I have to say is you must experience this once in
your life if you can!
Unfortunately
we did not have time to take the hour trek up the Sun Gate or the hour trek to
go to Wayna Picchu (buy tickets in advance, only 400 allowed per day). I have heard you get fantastic views from
these places. We headed back to Aguas
Caliente for a quick lunch at Cafe Inkaterra.
This is a rustic cafe with a Peruvian fusion spread and beautiful views
of the Andes. It is located just south
east of the train station in the Machu
Picchu Peublo hotel. I would recommend
going here if you don't want to grab a pizza or a set tourist menu from the
other places in Aguas Calientes. The
place has a chilled out vibe and plays relaxing beats.
We
got home around 9:00PM, ordered room service and relaxed - it was a long and
tiring but amazing day! I am so excited
to explore Cuzco today!
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| Temple of the Sun |
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| Taking it all in |
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| llamas |
