Machu Picchu is definitely a must see and I would highly recommend putting it on your list of places to visit. It's absolutely incredible!
We woke up at 4:30am the morning after taking the train to Aguas Calientes (closest town to Machu Picchu) so that we could be one of the first ones up to the beautiful, historic, stone village. We heard that the first 400 people would be given a ticket allowing them to hike to the top of Waynapicchu (young peak) another skinny, tall, mountain that shoots straight up at the northern point of Machu Picchu (old peak) and gives a great view of the entire city.
We got a guide upon arrival at the entrance in order for him (Ernesto) to show us around and explain all the amazing ruins and knowledge of the Incan indians. Without a guide it would not have been the same as the knowledge and skill these people had was fascinating. Also - the city is almost like a maze and it would have taken us hours to find our way through.
As we walked into the site we were in the thick of the clouds and had very low visibility. Our guide began speaking to us and explaining a few things (as we couldn't see anything) when right before our eyes the clouds began to dissipate. Out of no where stone structures began emerging all around us as the city magically revealed itself within about 15 seconds. It looked as if a breath from the heavens gently blew the clouds away to unveil the beauty of the entire city in one shot for us, for the first time. It was unforgettable!
Throughout the tour we learned about the kings and royalties and saw their houses as well as the workers, astronomers, and watchmen. We saw all of their worship areas, sacrifice areas, sun dials, temples, watch houses, rock quarry, etc. Tons of cool ruins with so much thought and ingenious in the design and construction!
- For drinking water they had little canals carved and running all throughout the city -
- These two windows signified the beginning of Summer and Winter. When the sunlight would shine perfectly through the one on the left they knew it was the beginning of Summer and the one on the right was for the beginning of winter. -
- The detail of their stonework was remarkable and how the blocks would fit together. -
- In this enormous stone there are 39 angles cut into it in order for it to fit perfectly into their design. -
- Condors were very significant to the Incas and here is a temple of the condor. If you look you can see the two huge stones behind carved into wings and the flat stone on the ground was the body of the condor with the white ring around the neck that all the males have. Here they would make sacrifices. -
We did end up hiking to Waynapicchu and the view from the top made it well worth it! It was a little nerve racking climbing to the top as the stone stairs are very narrow and super steep with nothing to keep you from falling clear to the bottom.
All throughout the village and at the top of Waynapicchu there are hundreds of retaining walls they built and the greenest grass grows at the top of each. We saw llamas and one that was only two days old. We also walked to this bridge the Incas built which was quite impressive in itself. Overall, Machu Picchu is just amazing.
The logistics of getting to Machu Picchu were a little overwhelming (each way required 2 buses and a train to get from Cusco to the top), but once we figured it all out everything went smoothly.
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