Cuzco and the Sacred Valley -- Our Inca Journey: Days Three and Four

(Hint: Scroll down to see our adventures from Days One and Two!)

The alarm went off that morning at 5:15 a.m., but it was unnecessary as the roosters had been crowing since well before dawn. After a hasty breakfast, we boarded a bus at around 7 a.m. that would take us up the mountain. I sat in a window seat which was very fortunate because I got an amazing view of our ascent. The road that the bus takes up to Machu Picchu is winding and serpentine, zig-zagging up the mountainside. Every time the bus turned to my side, I got an amazing view of the mountains surrounding the valley in which Aguas Calientes lies. The mountains in this section of the Andes are huge, giant monoliths covered in dense, thick, dark green foliage. They are so high, misty white clouds swirl around the tips and dip down into the valley.

The ruins of Machu Picchu with the peak Huayna Picchu rising majestically in the background. 

With about five minutes left in our bus journey, Marion drew my attention to the window where I got my first glimpse at the site itself, dwarfed in size and splendor by the mountains all around. Upon arriving at the archaeological site of Machu Picchu, we were among the first tourists there, meaning it wasn't as congested. Machu Picchu typically receives between 1,000 and 1,500 visitors a day, so it's best to go earlier when it is less crowded and much cooler.

The first think Patrick did was take us up to the ruins of the agricultural terraces overlooking the main ruins so that we could take iconic photos of the site (see above!). Machu Picchu means 'old mountain' and is actually the name of the mountain peak opposite the ruins. Nobody knows what the original name of Machu Picchu was, just as nobody is exactly sure of its purpose. Patrick said it was probably constructed in 1440 or 1450, had its peak in 1480 or 1490, and was deserted by 1520. No one knows why it was deserted -- maybe disease, maybe news of the Spanish arrival, maybe a mass exodus to fight in the civil war between Atahualpa and Huascar. 

These are the huge, majestic mountains capped with fluffy clouds that surround Machu Picchu on all sides. 

The mountains that ring Machu Picchu are incomprehensibly large and are covered in foliage. They are very different from the mountains outside of Lima, the mountains at Cuzco, those at Ollantaytambo or those in the Sacred Valley. You simply stand on a ridge with a clear view and become absolutely entranced. It's like you can't pull your eyes away, and you never get tired of looking at it.

A deliberate rock formation within the ruins that is thought to mirror the shape and slope of the mountains behind it. 

After taking our fill of pictures, we descended into the ruins themselves. The ruins feel more "real" than do any of the other ruins we had seen on the trip. It's so easy to imagine a settlement of 500 to 700 people living there, and as you round a corner, it's almost as if you are just a step behind an Inca as he moves throughout the city. The ruins themselves are impressive, and I can only imagine what Machu Picchu must have looked like in its prime, a glittering jewel in the heart of the Andes Mountains. Some theorists believe that the site existed as a summer home for the Inca royalty of Cuzco, but to a culture that held religion in such high regard, the site is in a location far too beautiful and powerful to have just been used solely for leisure.

The so called "Temple of the Condor" inside the ruins. The curved rocks look like the spread wings of the famous bird. Hiram Bingam named a lot of the formations when he came upon the site in 1911, and thus they should not be considered the true names given by the Incas who lived here in their time. 

Me standing at the edge of the stairs to nowhere -- they drop down nearly vertically after this point almost all the way to the valley floor. 

After we finished our tour of the ruins, the majority of the group decided to hike up the opposite ridge from Machu Picchu to a place called Intipunku, which translates more or less to "sun gate." Along the way, we were treated to a panoramic view of the mountain-scape. Thick vegetation lined either side of the rough, choppy stone path, and bright orange butterflies flitted along with us as we walked. Tropical pink and purple flowers also sprout among the vegetation, and we stopped several times to catch our breath, rest our legs, and drink in the amazing scenery.

It took an hour to walk up the steep ridge trail, but we finally arrived at the end to the ruins of Intipunku. This part of the day was nice because there weren't nearly as many tourists, and much of the path we were able to walk alone. Us CIEE kids sat on a wall of the ruins and looked out at the breathtaking Machu Picchu spread. It was almost magical because during the day, there was a mixture of sun and clouds on the mountain top, but when we were sitting on the ridge, the entire mountains and valleys were in shadow, and the only thing gilded in sunlight were the ruins of Machu Picchu. It was eerily beautiful and definitely worth the walk to get there. At Intipunku, we were almost completely level with the tip of Huayna Picchu, the iconic peak that rises behind the ruins. 

The view from Intipunku. The light green and grey patch in the left of the picture are the ruins of Machu Picchu, and the giant mountain is the peak that rises behind it in all of the classic photos. The tan strip cut into the green vegetation is the road that the bus takes up the mountainside. 

After a long day, we were finally exhausted from the hiking and the altitude, so after getting our passports stamped with the official stamp of Machu Picchu, we boarded the bus that took us back down to Aguas Calientes. This time, the mountain view was even more impressive because there was more sun. We boarded a train for the four hour journey back to Cuzco where we would spend our final night. 

Day Four was our travel day back to real life in Lima, and so we boarded a plane early in the morning and were back home by lunchtime.