Peru is breathtakingly beautiful. A country of vast rivers, snow-capped mountains, rainforest, stunning valleys, ocean, Incan treasures, gorgeous landscapes and of course Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is unequivocally one of the best UNESCO sites I have ever seen.We overnighted with the anticipation of the next day and being awed by Machu Picchu. We had a 9:00 am entrance time we decided to hire a guide and Olga actually approached us while we were in the line-up for the bus. She was Peruvian and she had to go to university to be a guide in Peru.
We arrived after the 30 minutes of switchbacks up to Machu Picchu. The scenery is other-worldly. If you are scared of heights then take the inside seat. If for some reason your bus driver veered off the edge then the survival rate would be zero as it is straight down. I did not have fun as I was on the window seat looking down at the sheer edges of the mountain cliffs. I was smarter on the bus ride down.
Once off the bus, make your way to the Banos as there are no bathroom facilities inside Machu Picchu and you are not allowed back in. We chose Circuit 2 and the Inca Bridge when we purchased our tickets online. We began our tour and made our way into this ancient site. Climbing many sets of stairs awaits you at the beginning and then you start to catch glimpses of the site with some photo opportunities along the way. Alpacas and Llamas graze under the gorgeous scenery. |
| Lisa's dream was to see Machu Picchu and she was so excited. |
 |
| Photo taken before entry into the site. |
 |
| The roof has been re-thatched as an example of what a building looked like in 1400 Incan Times. |
 |
| Terraces built for agriculture are everywhere in and around the Machu Picchu site. |
 |
| Machu Picchu is almost at 8000 feet in altitude. |
When you first see Machu Picchu in all of its glory it is breathtaking and everyone is scrambling for that postcard-quality photo to take home. Even though it was super pretty Machu Picchu was enveloped in a cloud. Olga told us not to worry that it would burn off.
We continued our trek towards the Incan Bridge and trail used by the Incan people for trade communication and commerce. The trail is still open, I wanted to turn around due to the steep death trail we were venturing on. The Bridge is now closed due to too many deaths and I could certainly see why. You would have to be suicidal to walk where the Incans walked. The bridge and trail after the bridge are so narrow and straight down with no rail. Incans must have been sure-footed and had superpowers of balance. |
| On the Incan Trail |
 |
| It is hard to capture how high this cliff was on the trail. |
 |
| Olga our Professional guide here with Darren. |
 |
| The first site of the bridge |
 |
| The Incans would remove the wooden planks from the bridge if enemies were near. |
 |
| If you look closely you can see a tree-line half way up the mountain and this is the continuation of the Incan Trail where they walked regularly. It is so narrow and one trip and you fall to your death. |
 |
| The trail down towards the bridge which is now closed. |
 |
| Another photo of the unbelievable bridge. |
 |
| The last photo before our trek back from the bridge in between my head and Virginias. This photo gives you some idea of how steep this area is. |
 |
| Beauty is everywhere |
 |
| Olga is Peruvian and has Incan roots. |
 |
| Another section of the trail that I disliked is straight down to your death. |
 |
| Many protruding mountains surround the Machu Picchu site and many have terraces on them which is unbelievable to me that they worked at these heights in their fields. |
We walked back and returned to the main portion of the site but not before going back to the viewpoint to capture cloudless views of the spectacular Machu Picchu.
The Incans were master builders and Machu Picchu only has 20% of the site that has been restored. If it wasn't for the trees that took hold and their roots dislodging these massive precisely cut stones, the whole place would be intact minus the thatched roofs.
 |
| On our way down to the site. |
 |
| Dax looking at the original main entrance into Machu Picchu. |
 |
| Crypt where mummified bodies were found. |
 |
| The rock quarry where slabs were taken and another theory is that it was an unfinished area. |
 |
| Megalithic rocks are numerous. |
 |
| All windows and doorways on site were trapezoid-shaped. |
 |
| Gigantic rocks were left and carved in place to create walls. |
 |
| This rock slab was carved to replicate the mountain topography and moved into place to protect them from wind but I think it was used for Art purposes. |
 |
| Chincilla-type Peruvian animal that they call the Sleepy Creature. |
 |
| This slab has a rolling pin-shaped rock under it and was being moved somewhere when the site was abandoned. |
 |
| Trees are now being removed from the site to protect the walls from being dislodged from the roots like what happened here. |
 |
| Aqueducts and fountains are still operational today. |
 |
| On our way to leave the site of Machu Picchu. |
All good things must come to an end and we begrudgingly made our way out of the Machu Picchu site. We had a tiny bit of rain and I had 36 horrid Peruvian black fly bites to remember this incredible adventure but Machu Picchu is truly unbelievable!
One Incan Emporer's dream that he commissioned but it still needed to be completed. No one knows why it was abandoned after approximately 110 years. Machu Picchu is hard to get to but once you are there you need to remember how many modes of transport and maneuvering difficult websites it took to get here and all of this is forgotten with just one glimpse of the breathtaking Machu Picchu site.
Comments
Post a Comment