And good fortune shone down on us, and the skies were clear and the sun was shining and it was a perfect day to spend at Machu Picchu. We felt so very lucky to have the views that one hopes for when visiting a place like this — the views that many of us may have seen in magazines or in postcards or on National Geographic specials.
Since being named a UNESCO site and recognized as an important historical place, they’ve tried to place a limit on the number of visitors per day. Yesterday, as the first Sunday in the month, meant that all Peruvians were able to visit for free, which may have explained the large number of tourists we encountered. There were fewer today, but still it felt a bit overrun by people taking selfies and posing and trying to get the llamas to cooperated for a photo. It was unfortunate, especially when we overheard more than one guide tell his/her group some facts that we knew to not be the case.
All that aside, the sun was shining and we had the perfect opportunity to enter the place early and see all that we wanted to see. Our first stop was the Incan Bridge, which thankfully is closed off to any tourist interaction. Essentially it’s several logs across a steep and narrow indentation in the retaining wall. It was designed this way so that the Incans could pull up the logs at any time, making it completely impassable to any invaders. Just getting down to the locked gate required holding onto a cable pegged into the rock wall; the path was narrow and there wasn’t any sort of railing preventing a slip or fall. We went down for a closer look, and I held tight to the cable in both directions. We watched in fear as several (younger) people following us went down and posed and seemed to be awfully close to the edge.
After that adventure, several in the group went off to climb Waynapicchu, which is the very vertical mountain to the right in some of the photos. It’s an incredibly steep climb, including some scrambling, with little to no support or railings. While only 800 ft in incline, it seemed too much for me, so I joined a small group who headed down, wandered around the site and sat for bit down at the entrance with a cold beer.
When we all met for lunch, the 5 who climbed Waynapicchu verified the reports that it was a challenging climb, and I felt relieved that I made the right choice. After lunch, I hiked with one other of the group and our guide Fernando to the Sun Gate, which was a perfect cap to the afternoon. The weather continued to be perfect and the photos from the view at 9,400 ft were amazing. The Inca trail to Machu Picchu is a 4 day hike that involves camping along the route. The Sun Gate is where the trail “ends” and there is the first view of Machu Picchu. So there were many up at the top who may have hiked the full 4 days, and there were some, like us, who did the out and back from Machu Picchu. Either way, it felt like an accomplishment and the reward was the incredible view. Along that route we were told about the resting place — a spot that provided views of the city and some shade; a cemetery, where the remains of a priestess was found buried with her pet hairless dog; and a corral where the llama were kept after they helped carry some loads down the mountain, but who weren’t permitted to go all the way to the city below.
Finally we hiked back down (to 8,000 feet, recognizing that our little jaunt up to Sun Gate was a 1,400 ft climb), found others from our group and caught a bus down to the town and the hotel.
My biggest take-away from learning about the Incan design, engineering and precision expertise is how very in tune they were as a people to the earth, the sun and nature. It seems that the decisions and choices they made were intentional — to align with astrological, solstice, and natural rhythms of the earth. And their spirituality and choices in building places and cities were based on the celebration and honor of the forces of nature. A simple idea but very intentional in execution.
Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for a long time. I hate to say things like “I did Machu Picchu” because that minimizes what can be a very meaningful and spiritual experience. It was a wonderful visit to this mystical place. And my adventures in Peru continue from here.
Oh my! I am in awe of the natural beauty, location and mystic of Machu Picchu! It was a treat to see other views of MP. I have to say, I am complete agreement with the Incas in their worship and appreciation of the Earth, Sun and Mother Nature. So happy you had a glorious day.
Can’t wait to talk to you about this. It looks fantastic.