Machu Picchu

Now one of the wonders of the world, Machu Picchu is responsible for a lot of tourism not just in Peru but throughout South America. This was the one place we weren't going to leave Peru without seeing. And so the day after our volunteering work ended, we headed to Cuzco.

Cuzco itself is extremely touristy. In the Plaza De Armas (main square, remember every town and city has one), you cannot walk 10 steps without being ushered into a travel store, or being offered a massage (for the trekkers).

We spent our first day in Cuzco exploring the city surrounds on a city tour. Having been the capital city of the Incan empire, there is lots to see, including an interesting mix of Incan and colonial architecture (oftentimes within a single structure).

But the real action began on the 2nd day. We hopped on a bus to "km 104", to begin our trek to Machu Picchu. Ours was a 2-day trek, our compromise between taking the train and hiking for 4 days.

Within moments of beginning our walk, we were treated to our first ruins, Chachabamba.

The first section of the trail was mostly uphill, for about 4 hours. We began at 2000m, and our checkpoint was at 2700m. Our destination was an impressive Inca site called Winay Wayna, a structure that includes massive terraces.

After lunch, we set off for the Sun Gate, the entrance to Machu Picchu which promised a spectacular aerial view of the great Incan city. The Sun Gate was at around 2700m, and so the next 90 minutes were more forgiving than before. We arrived, fatigued, but that feeling was replaced by excitement as we marched up the final set of steps and were treated to our first sight of Machu Picchu. Our timing was perfect, as we arrived as the last buses were leaving the city, so we were privileged to see the city without hordes of tourists.

The final 90 minutes was our descent into the city. From a fauna perspective, it was very interesting. Shortly after spotting a snake just metres in front of us, we were witness to a battle between a tarantula spider and a giant wasp. Our money was on the spider, but it turns out that the wasp wins every time, and within moments the tarantula was asleep and being dragged through the grass towards the wasp's nest.

We arrived just in time to catch the last bus as it was pulling away, and saved ourselves another 90 minutes of walking into the town of Aguas Calientes. We had a simple dinner and got some well deserved rest.

The next morning, we got up bright and early and headed back up to Machu Picchu in time for sunrise. But you wouldn't know that the sun was rising, as the mountain mist had smothered Machu Picchu and its surrounds. This provided an extremely atmospheric backdrop, and we really enjoyed seeing the city like this.

We started with a 2 hour tour of the city, and then explored the city for ourselves. As the day progressed, more and more people arrived, and it became increasingly difficult to take in the surrounds without a backdrop of tourists. Of course we couldn't be mad, because after 10 weeks of integration into Peruvian society, we were now tourists too.

... even carrying our own water everywhere...

In the afternoon, we retired back to Aguas Calientes and headed for the hot springs for rest and relaxation. Then we boarded the tourist train and returned to Cuzco.

We spent our final day in Cuzco touring the Sacred Valley. The tour started with visits to 2 markets, and we became increasingly skeptical of the quality of the tour. But fortunately the day picked up, and we took in some beautiful scenery and saw some more Inca ruins.

Our next and final destination, the Amazon...

Chris