Machu Picchu

From Cuzco we took a colectivo (mini bus) to Ollantaytambo, then from there a train to Aguas Calientes. Ollantaytambo is a tiny town with some ruins of its own. We were only there for a couple of hours until the train came. The train ride was almost 2 hours to Aguas Calientes. It was dark when we got on the train so we couldn't see much on the way. We arrived around 9pm and found a hostel and made our plan for the next day. All day Friday was Machu Picchu. We got up really early and were ready to go by 4:30am. There is a hike at Machu Picchu that you can take up a mountain called Waynapicchu, but only 400 people are allowed to take it per day. So in order to be in the first 400 people we had to be there early. The first bus to Machu Picchu leaves at 5:15 or so but there is always a line that starts much earlier. To save time, Seth waited in the line for the bus tickets and I stood in another line a few blocks away to buy the park entry tickets. When I finally got the park tickets I found Seth in the bus line. There were already hundreds of people in front of him(and this is the off-season... I can't imagine what its like during the busy months). We made it on the sixth or seventh bus and started on our way. It was still dark outside but we could already see how huge the mountains were around us. From the bottom of the valley where Aguas Calientes is the mountains go straight up. There are no gradual ascents- they are sheer cliffs to the top. Our bus barrelled around the switchbacks up the side of the mountain and we made it to the park before the sun came over the mountains. We were in the first 400 people so we got our ticket stamped for Waynapicchu. We were assigned the time of 7-8am to start up. Since the trail up Waynapicchu is so steep and narrow, they assign times to stagger the hikers. We watched the sun rise and then headed over to start our hike. Waynapicchu is the mountain in the background of the famous view of Machu Picchu and there are more ruins on top. It took a little over an hour to reach the top and from there we had an incredible view looking down on Machu Picchu. The trail was pretty tough, probably 90% stairs. Some of the stairs were so steep that we had to use our hands to crawl up like a ladder.

 Ollantaytambo

 our first glimpse before the sun came up - Waynapicchu is the tallest peak right behind the ruins



 the water system- the city used water from a spring on a neighboring mountain and used these carved channels to direct it throughout the city



farming terraces 

 Incan stairmaster. This is what most of the way up Waynapicchu looked like.

Here you can see some of the ruins that were on top of Waynapicchu (on the right) and in the distance toward the left is Machu Picchu

Another view of Machu Picchu from the top. Here you can also see the switchbacks on the road we came in on. 

On top of Waynapicchu!



 Look how steep it is from the top!

After we came back down from Waynapicchu we took another trail even farther down the same mountain to see some caves. This trail was even more stairs, but at least they were going down for the moment. Coming back up was another story. When we finally reached the caves we were well below Machu Picchu.

Templo de la Luna (Temple of the Moon) There were seats and altars carved from stone inside the cave.

 La Gran Caverna (Great Cavern)- another cave with ruins inside and on top

After 5 hours of hiking lots and lots of stairs we finally made it back to Machu Picchu. We ate lunch then walked around for the rest of the afternoon. There was so much to see! We hired a guide for about 2 hours so we would know more about what we were looking at. We stayed until the sun set that evening and the park closed. We took one of the last buses back to Aguas Calientes.

Lots of the doorways had a locking system carved into the stones. On both sides of the door and above it there are places for rope to be tied on holding some type of bar that was used to lock it.

 the city center- this plaza was used for ceremonies and celebrations

 just before sunset!

llamas were grazing around the ruins

the grand overview

in the town of Aguas Calientes- there wasn´t much here, just lots of touristy places and restaurants

more Aguas Calientes

From Aguas Calientes we took the train back to Ollantaytambo the next day. Our train had windows in the ceiling so we could see the tops of the steep mountains the whole way back. From Ollantaytambo we took another colectivo back to Cuzco and immediately got on a 20-hour bus to Lima. More about Lima in the next post!