Machu Picchu: Week 12 / Day 78 / March 29
Aguas Calientes, Peru: We walked to the bus stop early for the ride from town up to Machu Picchu. Our tickets are for noon, but everything I read online said to get to the busses about 2 hours early, so we did – or at least we tried to. Out a bit slower than planned, but still on the bus and going up well before 11:00 AM. They limit the number of visitors each day and our tickets allow us to be within the site from noon until 4:00 PM.
The ride up the mountain was a rather steep one as the road does not so much go up a hill as scale a sheer cliff face it seemed. As we went up we were hopeful that the weather would be good up top since it had been somewhat clear for much of the morning.
However, as we were waiting to go in, it began to rain again. While we were waiting for noon we took a look at the foot trail up from the river below and at the river itself down in the valley.
At noon we were able to enter as some clouds rolled in and rain began to fall again. The main entrance took us to the agricultural sector of this former Inca city.
From here we could see some storage buildings (with roofs restored) and the residential section of the city. The city is believed to have been built by Inca Emperor Pachacuti around 1450, but was abandoned only a century later. Although it was known locally, it was not noticed by the Spanish and languished until brought to international attention by historian Hiram Bingham in 1911.
At this first part of our tour there were several classic spots for photos that our guide obliged our entire group by taking pictures at. I was beginning to wonder if he was more of an expert on Inca culture or Instagram after a while.
From this vantage point we could see the semi-circular Temple of the Sun and watch the waves of clouds roll through.
As we continued to move through the agricultural sector, we got a better view down into the valley on the other side of the mountain and of the terracing on that side of the mountain.
Moving into the residential sector we could get a better view of the manner in which the buildings were constructed and the degree to which they incorporated large boulders that were part of the mountain.
From this lower vantage point we could see the Temple of the Sun up close and look back at the terraced fields for crops.
There were numerous buildings in this area surrounding a central open area that had llamas grazing on it.
It was not covered with grass during the time of the Incas in the manner that it is today. In this central area there was a small area with a variety of plants and flowers common to the area.
Nearby, there was another temple showing a much more detailed type of construction than that of the houses. Here the rocks fit perfectly with no mortar or other material used to bind the rocks together.
In this same area there was also a stone set into the ground indicating the four cardinal directions.
From here we climbed up further to the Intihuatana. Carved directly from the bedrock of the mountain, this stone appears to be a sundial, but may have had other uses as well.
Descending from this high point of the residential sector, we moved to the far end of the site from the entrance where we had come in. Here there is a large stone carved in the shape of the mountain behind it (currently obscured by cloud), and flanked by a pair of buildings.
From here we could also see the trail up to Huayna Picchu which towers over the entire area.
Having reached the far end, our group began to make its way back towards the entrance from which we had come. As we did so, we passed a number of other buildings and stones used for rituals.
Our tour was completed as we walked through this area and we were then free to explore on our own. Linda and I walked through many more of the buildings in this sector, looking at the views of the valley and the buildings surrounding us.
The number of buildings that were built here and the volume of stone that needed to be moved is breathtaking.
In addition to looking at the buildings, we also took a look at some of the smaller critters in the area and the llamas that were out grazing in the grassy areas.
We finally decided to start heading back towards the busses as it had stopped raining for a while, but rain seemed imminent again. As we began to move in that direction, we passed by the Condor Temple (imagine the two large granite boulders as wings of the bird and the stone in the ground as its head).
Leaving the temple, we walked across the terraced fields of the agricultural sector and exited towards the busses.
Because we were the last two people to get on the bus, one of us had to sit up front next to the driver. I gladly took that seat and filmed a bit of our descent down towards the river.
Arriving back in town, we stopped at a bakery to grab some empanadas for dinner before heading to the hotel. As we sat eating, the rain began to pick up in intensity, making us glad we had left when we did.
