Post #8: Our Machu Picchu Day

January 31, 2011
Machu Picchu

Andean Adventures had a guide who meet us at the train station in Aguas Caliente, the town at the base of Machu Picchu.  It was raining when we arrived, so we donned our full rain gear in a shelter area, checked our suitcase and large backpack to be taken to our hotel, and boarded a bus for a 20 minute ride up the curving steep road to Machu Picchu.  You don't want to try walking up there!


First sight of the site
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian city built in the 15th century by Incans.  It lies on a ridge high up in the Andes at an altitude of about 7,970 ft. above sea level.   

We finally realized Hoyt's dream...never in my wildest imaginings did I ever think I'd go here...it was beautiful beyond any photos I'd ever seen.




Ah.  At last!
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

 

Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Discovering Machu Picchu

We had a guided tour of the ruins, discovering it happily despite the cold and rainy day. You may know that Hiram Bingham, a chap from Yale, and his exploration party, discovered Machu Picchu in 1911.  What a shock that must have been.  Similar, I guess, to the French archeologists' surprise at finding the Ankor Wat and Ankor Thom temple ruins in Cambodia that we got to see two years ago.  Huge rocky structures covered in jungle vines in both places!  It's said that the Spanish overlooked this place when they overran Peru because knowledge of it was scarce and it had been abandoned. Besides, you don't exactly stumble across a hidden place on top of a mountain ridge.




Charlene in front of round Temple of the Sun wishing for the sun to shine.
Photo by Hoyt Edge

Who lived there? 
It's said that this site was built, inhabited, and abandoned within the space of 100 years.  The Incans who lived there included engineers, medicine men, priests, astronomers, and all manner of Incan "scientists" who pooled their knowledge to improve society.  The following good description is from http://archaeology.about.com/cs/incaarchaeology/a/machupicchu.htm:

"Machu Picchu is the name of the residential palace of the Inca Empire. The name means "Old Mountain", and it refers to one of two mountains on which Machu Picchu lies—the other is Huayna Picchu (Young Mountain), located 3,000 feet above the Urubamba Valley in Peru.

 

Machu Picchu lies on a perennially cloud-draped ridge between the two peaks, part of the royal estate of the Inca king Pachacuti [AD 1438-1471].

 

The site is made up of single buildings arranged in groups, along streets, adjacent to plazas and terraces. Most of the buildings are residences, some of white granite masonry such as that seen in the city of Cuzco. Some of the buildings, which must have been built for special purposes, are partly carved into the bedrock and partly built from finely cut white granite."   

Sacred areas

Water Temple
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Temple of the Sun - round structure on right
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Close up of Temple of the Sun
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

On top of the Temple of the Sun
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Walkway to Priest's quarters
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Charlene at Priest's quarters
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Door to ceremonial room of priest
Photo by Hoyt Edge

Temple of the Condor at Machu Picchu.
The condor represented the upper world.  Can you see the wings in the rock formation along the sides of the area? 
The head is formed with rocks on the ground.
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Other structures

House at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge



Inside house at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge



Roofing at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Other buildings at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

How second floors were constructed at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Community square with three doorways at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Observatory at Machu Picchu. 
This was a calendar that also told them the time of day.  The pointy thing on top cast a shadow that indicated the season and the smaller indicator told them the time of day (sort of).
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Looking West from the observatory at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Machu Picchu
Sound vibrating room with niches where people would put their heads (as shown) and hum at different pitches to produce exhiliarating sound.
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Terrace Views


Terraces with llamas at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge



North Terraces at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Path toward East Terraces at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

East Terraces through portal at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Main square at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Urubamba River Views

Urubamba River at base of Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Town of Aguas Caliente along Urubamba River below Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Plants and Animals in Machu Picchu

Llamas lounging around at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Llamas posing for photos at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Llamas getting nervous at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Medicinal plants, including coca at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Little brown bird so high in the mountains at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Ah, a peaceful scene of humans and other creatures at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

The official guided tour ended before lunch.  We got our passports stamped with a special World Heritage Site Machu Picchu stamp and Hoyt bought a commemorative pin for his Rollins cap back home that has pins from all over the world.

Our lunch break was at the Sanctuary Lodge Hotel  which is built right next to the entrance to Machu Picchu.  We didn't stay there overnight, though, as costs are high - about $700 per night. 



Sanctuary Lodge Hotel at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge


BUT FIRST

After lunch at Machu Picchu we struck out to explore on our own and guess what?!

The SUN came out!!!


Charlene and Hoyt Edge in a place in the sun
Photo - property of Charlene Lamy Edge



Incan Postcard perfect at Machu Picchu
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Old Incan Trail and Drawbridge


So far so good - Charlene at Machu Picchu
Photo by Hoyt Edge



Charlene Edge made it to the edge. 
Ancient drawbridge in lower background on cliff wall at Machu Picchu.
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

Closeup of drawbridge.  This is how they kept uninvited guests from crossing the rocks and invading Machu Picchu.
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

One last look at Machu Picchu.
Photo by Charlene Lamy Edge

What an amazing day! A true gift of mesmerizing sights and an up-close look into the unusual artifacts of a lost civilization. 

I've been asked whether I felt "mystical" up there in such a remote, dreamy, mysterious place filled with lost stories and perhaps haunted by the souls of those who lived there.  The short answer is "No," but I can say that being there gave me pause.  To think that humans constructed an interesting life in and around rocks, the materials at hand, evidently chose to be remote and explore ideas, astronomy, and a spiritual life of some sort, and left such an interesting legacy, encouraged me to keep on doing the same in whatever way I can back here in the country and century I happen to inhabit.  What legacy do I want to leave for future generations?

Travel tip:  Watch your step, especially when tredding on wet stones.  We were lucky not to fall, although I nearly took a spill or two while climbing those narrow steep steps.  Whew. 

Next stop:  Overnight in Aguas Caliente and shopping the next morning before the afternoon train returned us to Cusco.