Machu Picchu, one of the 7 wonders of the world! I know, I know, one of the cliché classic Machu Picchu photos, but it really is a spectacular view. I took way too many photos and it was too hard to decided between the non-classic shots, so this is what I’m using.
We ended up spending a good 10 hours exploring this massive Incan ruin today. I also climbed the nearby mountain ruins of Huayna Picchu which overlooks Machu Picchu (the big mountain in this photo). Visitors to Machu Picchu are limited to just 2,500 people and climbers of Huayna Picchu are capped at just 400, so it is essential to book your ticket for both a few days in advance.
We awoke at the crack of dawn and reached the gates of Machu Picchu for our guided tour at 6.30am. Unfortunately I had to leave the tour early, as the Huayna Picchu climb has to be done at a specific hour, and the hour I had booked in collided with the tour. The climb to Huayna Picchu was pretty hairy in some places but well worth the effort. The mountain top ruins provided an amazing view of the Machu Picchu ruins, river and the winding road.
Atop Huayna Picchu I lost track of time and ended up having to run down the mountain path to meet up with viv and made it down in record time. Back in Matchu Picchu we decided we weren’t happy with the tour that the travel/tour agency in Cusco had organised and decided to go to the entrance and pay for a full tour with one of the local guides. Coincidentally at the gate I ran into a dude I had met on top of Huayna Picchu who had the same idea. We also picked up two canadians so ended up with a group of 5 which lessened the cost. The second tour was awesome and well worth it.
At some point we stopped to feed a friendly llama, spotted some weird rabbit/squirrels, learnt how Machu Picchu was rediscovered, how a beer company filming a commercial chipped the corner of the most important sun dial in Machu Picchu which is consequently now guarded, learnt about the sun, condor, water and moon temples, how the Incas lived, build and abandoned Machu Picchu and had the functions of the three different types of terraces explained to us.
I wanted to visit the sun gate which is the entrance of the Inca Trail, however after the tour we were short on time and the rain was closing in, so after exploring a bit more we left Machu Picchu content and finished the day with overpriced cocktails and dinner before collapsing into a coma.
