Machu Picchu

Mike, Lynn, Delphine and Alberto met our Viajes Pacifico guide Celio at 6am at the Inkaterra hotel and walked to the bus stop where Mark and Cindy were waiting for us ready to go and coffee on hand. They had tried to get tickets to climb the Huayna Picchu hill (big hill in front of Machu Picchu) the night before, but they couldn't get them because there was a long line and they only allow 400 visitors per day. We took the bus up to Machu Picchu following the hairpin steep and narrow road shown in the picture. The ride took about 20 minutes and the buses leave very frequently. We were at the top around 6:30am.

Our guide Celio turned out to be the most awesome guide you could hope for. He was very knowledgeable and proud of his culture and had several interesting stories that made our Machu Picchu visit very special. You can see him in the photo posing for a celular telephone commercial. Who knew that you would find strong celular signal at the top of Machu Picchu. The Inkas are probably looking down saying "what on earth is that in their ears".

Celio had a great route for the tour, starting at the very top where we could see the entire ruins where he explained the entire layout of the city and then walking down progressively to the main yard. If you've never been to Machu Picchu, the very first time you see it from the top is an experience that will never be replicated in your life. But some of us who have seen Machu Picchu a few times still get the chills and goose bumps and the same feeling of awe caused by the breathtaking views, the mystical feeling of being at the top of a steep mountain looking down a the deep valley and surrounded by even higher mountains, and most importantly, one of the 7 wonders of the world right in front of you with its masterfully planned fortress layout, beautiful stone buildings, perfectly engineered terraces for agriculture, contention walls and water drainage, and then beautiful alpacas roaming around (they are the natural lawn mowers of Machu Picchu). We took these photos at the top.

We then descended to the main yard and visited just about every room in the ruins. The photo opportunities are endless, but it was great to get there early and be able to take pictures before the tourists coming from Cuzco arrived. Our tour was 2.5 hours, so we were finished around 9:30am and were free to roam around and the heavy masses of tourists began to arrive around 10am.


Great timing (sleeping in Aguas Calientes the night before is a must if you want to see the ruins without massive numbers of tourists -- around 4pm is a good time too when the masses begin to dwindle).





After the tour, we each went different ways but we kept finding each other, which was great for taking turns taking pictures. Here are a couple of tourists we found along the way with pretty fancy outfits and photography equipment. I think he is a rock star and she is a fashion trend setter.

We decided to hike to the Sun Gate, which was a great thing to do. It is a 45 minute hike uphill from Machu Picchu. If you hike the Inka Trail, you would be walking for 4 days going up and down the hills a few thousand feet in altitude difference every day. Imagine being tired, thirsty, hungry and sleepy for 4 days until you finall see a steep stone path and the Sun Gate in front of you. At this point you would know that once you reach the Sun Gate you can see Machu Picchu, so you can imagine the excitement that hikers would feel at this point, and then even more excitement when the hiker finally sees the view of Machu Picchu shown in the photo.

So, in essence, we hiked the last 45 minutes of the Inka Trail to the Sun Gate and then back. Delphine and Alberto were way behind the group with Lynn, but Lynn suddenly got a shot of adrenaline and darted to the top like a gazelle. Delphine decided that she had enough hiking for the day, so Alberto decided to continue by himself. On his way up he found the rest of the group returning and the Gate was only 10 minutes away. Super Mark went back to the Gate with Alberto, got to the top, took some pictures, starting descending when they found Delphine very near the top. So, Alberto and Mark returned to the top to walk with Delphine to the Gate. So, Super Mark now claims to have been to the Sun Gate 3 times. But it was nice to have Mark there to take the picture of Alberto with Delphine at the top. Then next picture shows the view of Machu Picchu that the Inka Trail hikers see when they reach the Sun Gate. We then returned from the Sun Gate a bit tired and hungry and had a fabulous buffet lunch with Andean live music at the Machu Picchu Lodge, which is a 5-star hotel and very expensive. Our lunch was included in the tour and it was all you can eat, so we ate all we could possibly eat and had a few beers. After that we split, walked around some more, took more pictures of the ruins. Mark, Cindy, Mike and Lynn decided to walk back down the hill to Aguas Calientes. Alberto and Delphine stayed behind to enjoy the ruins for another hour or so and then took the bus down.

Once at Aguas Calientes, Alberto and Delphine got a tour of the orchid gardens at Inkaterra, which is said to be one of the best orchid exhibits in the world. This was not the blooming season, so we only saw a few orchids, but the variety of orchids they have is amazing. Some orchids are the size of a pin head and you need a maginfying glass to see the perfectly shaped miniature orchid. Delphine and Alberto were also lucky to see a Cock of the Rocks bird flying by and then an amazing collection of colorful hummingbirds.

We then gathered with the group for a final beer at Aguas Calientes and then proceeded to take our train back to Ollantaytambo. We were surprised with a very colorful dance and fashion show by the train attendants, making this return trip most enjoyable.