Tripping to Peru (Part 1)
More from our recent trip to Peru...
The morning after our last evening on the Inca Trail we woke up at 5:00 for a quick breakfast before heading off for our final hike to Machu Picchu. There is always a big push for groups to be the first to arrive at Machu Picchu each day so our guides staged our group at a small restaurant near our camp site to wait a short while until the initial rush of hikers were on their way. This would allow our group to hike at our own pace and avoid the potentially dangerous situation of getting caught up in the rush and possibly falling and hurting ourselves during the pre-dawn scramble.
As it turned out waiting was the right course of action. The final hike to Machu Picchu was a short one and our group arrived in plenty of time to see the sun rise over the ruins - a really incredible site that words cannot describe.
After waiting to see the sun rise we proceeded on to take a leisurely tour of the grounds. Our guide, Martin, was very well versed on the architecture, history and ancient significance of Machu Pichu and our tour was great. Being there to experience the vistas and buildings in person after seeing them so many times in books and on TV was really special.
The weather was sunny and hot - perfect for a leisurely walk around this ancient Inca ruin. We learned more about the skills and the resourcefulness of the Incas as well as their religion and the spiritual significance of many spots within Machu Picchu.
Many parts of the Inca's former empire were pillaged by the Spanish when they arrived in Peru during the 1500's. During this era the Inca's retreated into the mountains and found refuse from the Spaniards at Machu Picchu. Since the Spanish were not able to follow the Inca's to this location they were unable to pillage Machu Picchu so it stands to this day as an important site for the Inca's history. Althought the spanish never located Machu Picchu, many of the Incas who retreated there had been exposed the small pox and popular belief is that this disease caused Machu Pichu's population to die out less than 100 years after Machu Picchu was established. As a result, construction at this site was never completed.
Over the years the Peruvian people have restored sections of Machu Picchu to show how the buildings may have looked when this area was an active community.
After spending the morning at Machu Picchu, we needed to catch a bus down the mountain where we would board a train to take us to Olantytambo where we spent the night before traveling to the Sacred Valley. The bus ride took us down a long gravel road made up almost entirely of switch backs. One time our bus came to a rather sudden stop when it met another bus face to face that was coming up the road. Our bus backed up a few meters through a corner and allowed the other bus to pass and we were back on our way to the bottom of the mountain.
After we reached the end of our bus ride we walked to a nearby restaurant to bid farewell to our fellow travelers along the Inca Trail. We also met back up with Luchu and Tilley who would accompany us to the Sacred Valley and then on to the Amazon Jungle.
Coming up - The Sacred Valley and the Amazon Jungle...
