Machu Piccu

 

Machu Picchu was the absolute highlight of our trip, the highest on our list of reasons we came to Peru, and as I stood overlooking the citadel, I cried. Not just because of the gravity, the enormity of this place, the fact that I never really imagined I would see this place with my own eyes, but also because only three of us were there to experience it. On a hike the day before, a food-born sickness hit Asher hard. We put him to bed early and prayed. The stomach issues resolved overnight, however he woke with a fever and felt dizzy and weak when he tried to put his shoes on. We made the horribly difficult decision to leave him in the room with plenty of electrolytes, food and a phone so we could stay in contact. 

Getting to Machu Picchu is no easy task, and doing it on your own will make you want to pull your hair out. Of course, the easy route is to hire a tour company to coordinate everything, and I absolutely recommend doing that! I, however, figured I could save money by doing it myself, so I set out to learn all the ins and outs of this process. First you must fly from Lima to Cusco, then take a bus or train to Ollantaytambo, then the train is the only option to Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. Then you must take a bus up the mountain to reach the Inca ruins. That's just getting there. You need to also purchase a ticket for entry to the ruins well in advance, six months is best. Before the pandemic, this process was simple. You could buy a ticket, enter and spend the entire day walking thru the whole place, even climb one or more of the mountains, if you wish. When Machu Picchu reopened almost a year after the pandemic, the process and rules had changed dramatically to protect the site. Previously 6,000+ people a day had visited the site, now tickets are limited to 4,400 people each day. Visitors must select one of four circuits, each with it's own features and drawbacks. These roped off one-way circuits make it easy to not get lost, but you are restricted to certain areas and can't see the whole ruins site. I chose circuit #2 because we didn't think our children could handle climbing a mountain at that elevation, and we were right, and it included the famous viewpoint for the traditional photo. Not all circuits do. You also have to choose the time to enter which only allows a one-hour window or be denied entry. The entry and train tickets need to be purchased at the same time, as both will sell out. The bus ticket to go up to Machu Picchu can be purchased even on the day of your visit. We had planned to only take the bus up, then walk down so I could bird the forest along the way, however because of Asher being sick, we all took the bus to get back to him faster. My last bit of planning was hiring an English-speaking guide from Eco Peru Tours. 

*If you are considering going on your own, research everything and READ THE FINE PRINT! Things constantly change. We purchased the train ride from Cusco and when we arrived, they had decided to stop the train service a day early and put us on a bus instead. Also, you can only take a small bag on the train (only listed in the fine print), so we had to find a way to store our backpacks for a week while we were in Sacred Valley. Save yourself many hours of stress and confusion and just hire someone, like Eco Peru Tours, to handle everything!

Carlos met us at our hotel and walked with us to the bus line at 9am for our 10am entry tickets. After a beautiful 30-minute bus ride on a switchback road along the side of the mountain, we reached the top, and paid 2 soles each to use the one and only restroom. Once you enter the ruins, you'll have to leave to use the restroom and cannot reenter! It's so beautiful here! An Andean Guan met us at the start of the trail. 

We headed up this trail thru the bamboo forest where Carlos told us to look and listen for the Inca Wren. After a bit, Journey spotted it and got me on the bird! Carlos said some people come here only to look for this rare, endemic bird! (pictured below)

The fluffy clouds clinging to the mountains all around us added to the experience!

Journey was so excited to see llamas, although alpacas are her favorite. Plus we spotted a cute, little viscacha! Our first look over the citadel was absolutely amazing! And the clouds were lifting just in time.

We made it to the iconic photo-taking location and our guide expertly took photos for us and made one really awesome video! Our wait was maybe 5 minutes, but he said pre-pandemic, it was nearly impossible to take your photo here as there were just way too many people waiting. 

Did you notice in the above photo, that Carlos managed to capture a swallow too?!

Here's the crowd that was gathered for photos. Luckily there's plenty of space to capture this iconic photo, so there are multiple lines spaced out. This is one of the post-pandemic benefits. Fewer people and more opportunity for photos.

We learned this site was built by Incas around 1450, but was never finished. An estimated 400 people lived here. When the Spanish invaded Peru, the builders were required to abandon construction to fight. At some point they believe someone returned with instructions to flee, but along with that message, also brought smallpox. 174 skeletons were recovered, most with evidence of smallpox. The rest most likely fled to Ollantaytambo or Cusco. The Spanish destroyed all of the places they found, but they never found Machu Picchu. Some 500 years later an expeditioner named Hiram Bingham was searching for ecological sites and happened to ask the right farmer. Soon Hiram, guided by an 8-year-old, laid eyes on what we now know as Machu Picchu. It was covered in centuries of growth, but under all that vegetation existed the most amazing site. He took over 100 photos and Machu Picchu was instantly thrust into the spotlight. Here's a photo of what it looked like when Bingham saw it. Below is a drawing of what it probably looked like when it was in use.

Carlos took some fun panoramic photos of us!

In the 1950s the site began hosting visitors and in 1983 it was named a world UNESCO site. It's estimated that 400 people lived here based on the number of houses and the capacity of the canal system. Year-round water comes from glaciers 200km away. In addition, the area receives about 6ft of rain each year! It rains 5-10 days a month in winter and 20-25 days each month in summer. This makes drainage an important issue. There are 70 drainage holes strategically located throughout the structure (see photo). These drain into small channels along the ground. The channels and canals were made with a 2-degree decline, just enough to drain without causing erosion. In the lower levels where a steeper angle is necessary, a series of fountains slow the water down. 

There is an unexplored chamber, The Secret Door, that is believed to hold ceramics, gold, silver and possibly even the mummy of Emperor Pachacutec! Instruments such as infrared light have been used to establish some of what lies behind the rocks, but no one has been permitted to explore further.

The houses were built with walls and windows with a 5 degree lean. This makes them stronger than having 90-degree walls, which would have been much less likely to survive earthquakes, floods and such. All of these little details that made their construction superior, lines up with the belief that the people who lived here were very intelligent- scientists, engineers, astronomers, etc. When they studied the skeletons, they found these people did not have the signs of those who work as laborers. 

This structure has withstood a number of major earthquakes. The stones have shaken slightly out of place. The next big one may knock it down, or maybe even shake it back into place. Time will tell.

Overlooking farming terraces, which have been found to have a very specific construction, shown in the drawing below.

Here is the entrance to Huayna Picchu (the mountain in the background). I hope to come back someday to climb this, even though the elevation and exposure makes it extra challenging. The photo below shows some of the steps built into the mountain. Other steps are simply stones sticking out from the mountain's edge with nothing but a steep drop below!

Look a llama head! There are a number of animals represented within the walls of these structures. It's fun to look for the shapes, but helps when you have a guide to point them out to you.

One window sits above the stargazing pools. On the winter solstice, June 21, the sun shines thru the window on one and the moon reflects in the other. There was likely no roof and astronomers could star at the reflection of the stars in the pools to study them without getting a crick in their neck. 

There are some popular places which have grown large in one's mind, and then when you see it for yourself, it doesn't meet your expectations. This was not one of those scenarios! This was a dream come true, better than I ever expected, ever imagined! Hopefully we'll be able to return someday so Asher can experience it too.