Machu Picchu
Standing on the top of Wayna Picchu all we could see were clouds. We had raced to the top to get a good lookout spot of the scenery below. It was a lung busting climb up the narrow, slippery and steep, rock-cut pathway. Slowly out of the gloom, shadows of Inca-built buildings loomed above us. Everything was either green foliage or black rock and covered in a layer of moisture. The path abruptly ended at a rock ladder sticking out of the cliff face at the top of which was a dark, wet cave. Over the steps we squeezed through the cave and onto the other side of the peak. The very top was covered in a collection of very large boulders. We staked out our spot and waited for more people to arrive and the clouds to clear. One by one more tourists came up, preceded by their heavy breathing and curses at the tiny cave they had just had to squeeze through. Still no view. A woman called up to a few people sitting on the rock and asked which way she had to go to get to the top. She had obviously not thought of going through the cave. One of the guys on top yelled something back which obviously annoyed her as she started flipping the bird at us. The group on top laughed.
Slowly but surely the sun began to thin the thick cloud and we started to see momentary glimpses of the ruins below. The rocks on top were now covered in people. The scene resembled a troupe of baboons sitting around looking for fleas in each other’s coats. For a moment Machu Picchu came into the clear only to disappear in a white haze and a flutter of camera shutter releases from the crowd behind me.
Welcome to Machu Picchu. Few words come to mind when I think about this very special place. Mystical and inspirational it is hard not to be spellbound by the sheer beauty of it’s location. Not to mention its size and ingenuity. There are a number of theories as to what it was used for by the Incas but the most widely accepted one is that it was a grand estate built by the Emperor Pachacuti in 1450 and a place of significant religious importance to the Incas. It was abandoned 100 years later as a result of the Spanish conquest but it was never plundered or destroyed by the Spanish and is one of the most intact Inca ruins ever discovered.
Talk about Machu Picchu and the name Hiram Bingham is usually mentioned somewhere in the same discussion. Famous for being the “re-discoverer” of the site in 1911, the archeologist and explorer happened upon the ruins while searching for the lost city of Vilcabamba — the last stronghold of the Inca. The story goes that his support group set up camp on a farm along the Urubamba river. Too tired to immediately start exploring the surrounding area, Bingham’s party stayed behind in their tents while he was led up a mountain by the farmer’s young son. Little did he know what was awaiting him. Up to his dying day, Bingham believed that he had discovered the lost city of Vilcabamba. It was later discovered that the real Vilcabamba was in an entirely different location. This year, Peru celebrates the centenary of Hiram Bingham’s discovery.
Getting to Machu Picchu is more a journey of patience than anything else. Our trip started in Ollantaytambo. A living Inca-village roughly 75 kilometers away from Machu Picchu Pueblo. There are only two realistic ways of reaching Machu Picchu. You can hike the Inca Trail or take the train. Both are very expensive. The Inca Trail can be done for roughly $600 per person, the 2 hour train journey can be done for US$70 roundtrip. We opted for the lazier and cheaper option and took the train. The train journey is no short of spectacular scenery though. Machu Picchu is situated above thick cloud forest and as the train winds its way along the Urubamba river, the landscape changes from high altitude grasses to thick jungle. Dramatic snow-capped peaks can be seen from either side of the steep valley along the way.
If Machu Picchu can be described as heaven, then Machu Picchu Pueblo can be described as hell. Immediately after disembarking the train you are plunged into a world of tourist shops, restaurants and hotels. The entire existence of this little town depends on the thousands of tourists that visit the site every day. At one stage Machu Picchu was enjoying 8000 visitors per day. Pressure from UNESCO to control the numbers and ensure Machu Picchu’s World Heritage status has forced authorities to limit it to 2500. This consequently, has had a negative effect on the businesses below resulting in more desperate tactics to get you to eat in their restaurant or stay in their hotel. Our hostel for instance, was rated as the best hostel in the area on Trip Advisor. It turned out to be a tiny room, with paper-thin walls. Suffice it to say, the hostel staff kept us up all night chatting in the foyer.
We sprung out of bed bleary-eyed and disorientated at 4:45am and headed for the bus stop. The bus system that takes people up to the ruins is very well organised. Busses run continuously along the 6 km route that switchbacks up the side of the mountain. Even at 5am there is a rather long line of people waiting for a bus. The ticket costs a hefty US$8 one-way. The busses however, are new and air-conditioned.
Our entrance ticket to the ruins included the optional hike to Wayna Picchu — the mountain in the background of all the classic photos of Machu Picchu. Only 200 people a day are allowed to climb to the peak. As if building Machu Picchu wasn’t enough, the Incas even built structures at the top of the mountain in fantastically perilous positions overlooking the valley below. Once the clouds at the top had cleared entirely we could see the miniature Urubamba river below. Particularly tricky sections on the way up to the summit are made easier by stairs cut out of the solid rock — courtesy of the Incas — and chains and railings courtesy of the Peruvians.
After climbing the peak we decided to do the hike down through the cloud forest to the Temple of the Moon and the Great Cavern. This is a great spot to get away from the crowds on the rest of the site and the forest is very beautiful and unspoiled. Along the way, you get to experience some pristine cloud forest. The path is hot and sweaty work and takes roughly 40 minutes before you emerge from the forest into a clearing with a few terraces and a set of caves. This is the Caverna Grande, or Grand Cavern. When we arrived here there were a few people looking around and taking pics but after a while they went back up the path. We were then able to view the Temple of the Moon, down a pathway to the side, completely on our own. For anyone who has been to Machu Picchu, you will understand the significance of this, as the main site is packed with people in every direction.
On our way back to the main site, the rain clouds started to close in and we made it to the entrance of the Wayna Picchu trek just in time to find shelter in one of the restored buildings alongside the famous sacred rock before it started to come down. It was roughly midday by this time and the site was jam packed with tourists, so before long our shelter was crammed full of people. It rained for about an hour and a half. The rain was a blessing in disguise as once it had cleared, most of the tourists had decided to leave. This meant that we were able to walk through the ruins at our leisure and get plenty of photos without people in them.
The Temple of the Sun
This temple was used to honour and celebrate the sun god — Inti. We weren’t allowed inside the temple to take a look at the giant stone set in the middle but on a specific day, the sun shines through the central window onto the stone. This was probably used to mark the day of a ceremony.
Underneath the temple is the Royal tomb where hundreds of skeletons were discovered, most of which were women. It is thought that a royal mummy could have been kept here.
The Intihuatana — The Sun Stone
The Incas used the Intihuatana as a sun dial to measure time for various reasons including agriculture. The Spanish on the other hand thought the Incas worshipped the stone and therefore destroyed every single one they could find. At other sites, in place of where the Intihuatana may have stood is a pile of rocks or a just an empty space. The Sun Stone at Machu Picchu is the only intact stone ever discovered. The name Intihuatana means “Hitching Post of the Sun” and was believed by the Incas to be the point where the sun was tethered to the earth to keep the sun god connected to the people.
The Intihuatana is situated in the centre of the main temple complex indicating its importance in the Inca religion. Unfortunately, it was damaged a few years ago when a film company smuggled equipment into the site to shoot a beer commercial and a 900kg crane chipped a piece off the corner. Had they been around today, I wonder what the Incas would have done to the crane operators.
The Funerary Rock
The Incas believed in sacrificing animals and people to appease the gods and this strangely shaped stone is believed to have been used for that exact purpose. Hiram Bingham thought the stone could also have been used as a slab for preparing mummies. Behind the stone he discovered a number of skeletons in what is believed to have been the cemetery of Machu Picchu. The Incas believed that the dead and living existed together. They were known to keep mummies of royalty in temples where they were brought out for public display during ceremonies and festivals. Sacrificial mummies were normally buried on the top of mountains and in holy places to appease the gods that lived there. Sadly, the Spanish were greatly disturbed by the way the Incas worshipped these mummies and ended up destroying all of them.
The funerary rock is also the point from which all the famous photos of the view of Machu Picchu with Wayna Picchu in the background are taken as it overlooks the entire complex.
The Temple of the Condor
The Incas were incredible craftsmen and the Temple of the Condor is a spectacular example of this. The structure has been fashioned to resemble a Condor in flight. On the floor of the temple is a rock fashioned after the head of the Condor where it is believed to have been used as a sacrificial altar. Above the temple are three stone niches where royal mummies may have been placed for worship.
The Prison
Behind the Temple of the Condor is a structure thought to have been used as a prison. Holes have been carved into stones where chains could be passed through and then shackled onto prisoners. The Incas punished people for such sins as laziness, lust or theft and depending on the degree could have been put to death.
The Quarry
The white granite used to build many of the buildings in Machu Picchu was quarried and cut on site and a section of the complex was devoted to stone masonry. Walking around the quarry you can see exactly how the Incas worked with the rock. Using primitive techniques they were able to cut, carve and polish the stone with such accuracy that they needed very little mortar to build their buildings. One of the rocks looks as though it was in the process of being cut when the site was abandoned. Here you can see how the stone masons chiseled holes into the rock, then placed wooden stakes in and poured water on the stakes to make them expand thereby forcing the rock to crack along the line of holes. This was a very effective means of separating the stones before they were carved and polished.
The Main Gate
Machu Picchu is not only spectacular in the place it was built, it also boggles the mind when you realise that each doorway and each temple is positioned to either align with a celestial body such as the sun or moon, or a significant mountain. The main gate is a fantastic example of this. It frames Wayna Picchu in the background and as you walk from this gate through the ruins you find that the positioning of each gate had some sort of significance in the way it was aligned. This may have marked a ceremonial route the Incas would have walked through the buildings. Another example is how the Intihuatana mimics a peak behind it. Not only were the Incas precision builders, they planned each building meticulously in accordance with their belief system.
The main gate is an impressive example of Inca ingenuity. A system of slots and holes carved into the rock was used to affix a giant door. To put things into perspective the lintel above the main gate weighs approximately 3–4 tons — or 2–3 family-sized cars!
Agricultural Zone & Terraces
Machu Picchu was not only used as a residence it was also a living and working town and may have been completely self sufficient. At the entrance to the ruins, on the sides and halfway down the mountain are magnificent, precision-built terraces. The terraces served two purposes. The first was to increase the surface area for planting crops such as, potatoes, coca and maize. The second reason was to control water flow and reduce soil erosion. We saw terraces all over the Sacred Valley and ruins around Cusco but the terraces at Machu Picchu seemed to be on a grander scale.
After spending a full day at the ruins we eventually had to make our way back down to Machu Picchu Pueblo to catch our train out. As if we hadn’t done enough walking already, we decided to walk back to the town rather than catch the bus. Surprisingly, the walk isn’t as tough as everybody makes it out to be. Neither is it made unpleasant by the busses that zigzag their way down, as the well kept path heads straight down and only crosses the road every now and again. It is also a lot easier to go down than up.
Machu Picchu is a spectacular place. I have really struggled to write this post about it because there are few words that can really bring the place to life on a computer screen. Even the photos we took do little justice to it. I can whole-heartedly understand why so many people year after year visit it. It is so much more than just a set of ruins on top of a mountain, it is a place that vividly tells the story of a long lost people, their culture, their religion, their achievements and their downfall. We visited many ruins while in Peru and I have to admit I did get tired after seeing so many but my energy and zeal was enlivened the moment I walked through the gates into the site. Even if you try to avoid tourist attractions to get away from it all, I still can’t recommend visiting this mystical place enough to everyone I meet.
