Machu Picchu: The Monster on the Mountain

Lots of new pictures happening...

After traveling the last 12.5 months, you start to get accustomed to hearing a lot of hype about particular places. In Guatemala, we HAD to see Tikal. In Argentina, we HAD to eat the steaks. But from the time we left perhaps we heard no hype greater than that for Machu Picchu... Inca ruin, perched on the cliff, mysterious and mystical, officially one of the new seven wonders of the world.

Some things live up to their hype, and others don't. The Machu Picchu verdict? Believe it. It's incredible.

With our good friend Sam in tow for the better part of two weeks (more on his adventures later), we hopped around the small villages of The Sacred Valley of the Incas for a few days before culminating the side-trip with a visit to the dramatic Inca masterpiece.

There's no road access to Machu Picchu, the mountains are too rugged. You can hike there along the famous 4-day Inca Trail, but we opted for style and comfort and grabbed the train from the nearby village of Ollantaytambo. The train winds it's way through the valley along the Rio Urubamba through amazingly steep mountains, and despite it's Peruvian-standard lateness, made for a fun and pleasant ride.

We got up early and arrived at the gates just in time for the opening around 6:30am. We grabbed an English-speaking guide for the 3 of us and began a two hour tour of the site. In the mornings, Machu Picchu is completely foggy and covered in mist, giving the place a mystical feel and obscuring most views... you're not really sure what you're in for. As the day moved on, as our tour walked on, the clouds began to lift to slowly reveal the surreal scenery. By 10:30, we were all speechless with awe at the surrounding beauty - and that's saying something for two travelers who've seen a hell of a lot in 12.5 months. Even despite the masses of tourists, the site retains it's beauty and impetus for creating awe.

Steep mountains and jagged peaks paint every vista. The clouds shroud some with mist and slowly burn off. The sun warms you and you can't help but realize that the Incas had kind of a thing for absurdly beautiful views from their front porches. The ruins themselves don't have the big temples of Palenque, Mexico or Tikal, Guatemala, but the architecture is advanced and the relative intactness of the entire city makes it special. Noone knows for sure, but the current leading theory is that Machu Picchu was a political, religious, and administrative center and connected the valley to trade with the Amazon. The Incas built the site in the 15th century, and their culture is still incredibly evident and important all over Peru, Bolivia, and other parts of South America.

After a 2 hour tour, we walked the site at our leisure taking in the incredible views and just soaking in the vibe of the place. We took hilarious pictures, walked out to the Inca bridge built along a cliff side, and played with the llamas (who, usually thriving at higher elevations, are only brought into the site for tourists but are still fun to mess with). Eventually, we made our way back to Aguas Calientes, the closest town for accessing the site, and had the perennial pizza and beer before taking the train back to Cuzco.

After 12.5 months traveling it's hard to be struck with awe sometimes, but Machu Picchu does the trick. After hearing the hype for so long, it was really the experience everyone claims it is. We were also happy to share the experience with one Samuel Baker, fellow Chicagoan, molecular biology genius, new lover of crowded colectivos.

Three more weeks to go... hasn't been too bad so far.