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| View from the Sungate, once the fog cleared. |
After three days of hiking, ascending and descending on the Inca trail in the cloud forest mountains we made it our final campsite. After a lovely dinner, Matthew was chosen as our group spokesperson to give a speech (which the guide translated into Quechua the native language) of thanks to our 14 person crew workers of porters, cooks and assistants.
3am we wake up, flip on our headlights and in the pitch dark we start the trek to the Sungate and final destination: Machu Picchu. Keeping an unnaturally rapid pace, spurred by excitement and a little delirium, we make it to the Sungate pass to catch early dawn views of Machu Picchu in the distance - to find a thick fog and no view whatsoever. Taking a seat on the terraces we accept irony as we eat our breakfast and welcome the reasonably paced hikers we blazed past on the trail now joining us, as we all wait for the fog to clear, which thankfully it did.
After another bit of hiking we finally arrived at the Machu Picchu site which was truly breathtaking with the stunning jagged green mountains spiking up all around you. We toured around the ruins and our guide described fascinating explanations of building feats, religious rituals, Inca heritage, stone construction and more.
We were able to get a day pass access to Huayna Picchu and even though being exhausted (and the the utter surprise of our trek mates that we were going to do more hiking than necessary) we ascended the precarious steps up to the top of Huayna Picchu the mountain seen in the back of traditional Machu Picchu pictures. On this mountian there were really unique little structures, fabulously old looking steps, breathtaking drop-offs and sweet views of Machu Picchu. A major highlight of the day.
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| On Huayna Picchu |
Snacking on lunch and lounging on the grass in Machu Picchu we encountered some totally great lamas who were hanging out with us enjoying the finally sunny day. It was a peaceful spot, the scenery as much as the history. One of the few Inca sites we visited that wasn't invaded by the Spanish when they destroyed the Inca culture by colonization, likely a benefit of it's remote location.
Finally we walked around the ruins a last time, peeked in little stone huts, traced our fingers on the stone seams of the giant walls, watched the water trickle down from high up the mountain into a stone pool and then down to the next and the next and we took the old stone steps down back into the valley to catch a train back to Cusco.
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| The outskirts of Machu Picchu |
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| Machu Picchu. (Huayna Picchu peak in the background which we climbed up steep stairs and interesting trail to see a reverse view of Machu Picchu) |
3am we wake up, flip on our headlights and in the pitch dark we start the trek to the Sungate and final destination: Machu Picchu. Keeping an unnaturally rapid pace, spurred by excitement and a little delirium, we make it to the Sungate pass to catch early dawn views of Machu Picchu in the distance - to find a thick fog and no view whatsoever. Taking a seat on the terraces we accept irony as we eat our breakfast and welcome the reasonably paced hikers we blazed past on the trail now joining us, as we all wait for the fog to clear, which thankfully it did.
We were able to get a day pass access to Huayna Picchu and even though being exhausted (and the the utter surprise of our trek mates that we were going to do more hiking than necessary) we ascended the precarious steps up to the top of Huayna Picchu the mountain seen in the back of traditional Machu Picchu pictures. On this mountian there were really unique little structures, fabulously old looking steps, breathtaking drop-offs and sweet views of Machu Picchu. A major highlight of the day.
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