On to Machu Picchu

Monday august 24, 2009:

We got up today at 3:00 am to have a quick breakfast and head off to Machu Picchu. This early start allows the porters to get the gear to the end of the trail and catch a special porter´s train back to their homes. The hiking is a bit treacherous as we are going downhill, often on small steps for most of the time we are hiking in the dark. Everyone is hiking together for safety with their headlamps on.

We stopped for a break after a couple of hours and watched the sun rise in the Andes - this was really neat. Again it is a very warm day.

Af about 7:00 we reached the last campsite before Machu Pichu and visited the ruins at Winay Wayna. This is a large agricultural complex that many scientists think was used to determine the best altitudes for growing certain crops.

We then headed off for the Sun Gate, the entrance for the Inca nobles to Machu Picchu. There was quite a crowd when we arrived. This is first location that you can see Machu Picchu. At this point we have hiked down from about 12,000 feet to 8,700 feet, so our legs were feeling all of the hard work.

We dropped our packs off at a storage facility and then proceeded on a guided tour with Miguel providing a great commentary about the ruins. We looked at the various temples, housing and other features of Machu Picchu. You do not realize how big the site is until you start wandering around.

After the tour, we took the bus down to Agua Calientes to have some lunch. This is a small town whose only purpose is to serve the tourists that visit Machu Picchu. Lots of restaurants, internet cafes, craft shops and the like. Prices are much higher than elsewhere so nobody bought anything. We had a great lunch of pizza, pasta, burgers and omelets. I think that everyone was craving something other than Peruvian food.

At 5:00 pm we boarded a train back to Cusco. The Backpackers Special was full of rather smelly and dirty campers. Several people nodded off because of the early start to the day. Interesting scenery along the way. We even saw our starting point for the hike. The service is quite civilized with snack and drink service and a fully functional bathroom. Many of the facilities along the trail were fairly basic.

Got back to the hotel about 9:00 and everyone was in bed fairly early.