Miguel gave us an initial 30 minute talk at a spot overlooking the ruins. He spoke of the history of the place and the significance in Incan culture (both of which there are many theories on), the fact that the Spanish conquistadores never found it high in the hills, and the "discovery" in 1911 by Hiram Bingham an American academic/explorerer (Think Indiana Jones). An interesting note here is that when Bingham stumbled across the ruins, they were covered in vegetation and a local farmer was grazing stock on the slopes! The locals clearly hadn't forgotten about the place.
Our tour of the ruins took about 2.5 hours, during which the clouds burned off to bathe the site in sunlight. By the end of Miguel's tour I had definitely noticed that the numbers of tourists had increased rapidly. The main points of interest we took in were the Intihuatana ("hitching post of the sun"), the Temple of the Sun (the only round building at Machu Picchu), the Temple of the Condor, the Room of the Three Windows, the Royal Tomb, the king/lord's house (including his toilet) and the Water Fountain. To be fair I heard so much information on the places that we stopped at that it was hard to take it in. Not only were there the major stops, but all around us were residential houses, agricultural terraces, plazas, stairs, along with a few local llamas.
As with a lot of Incan construction they integrated their buildings into the surrounding rock. A prime example at Machu Picchu is the Temple of the Condor. Hopefully the photos below show how this has been achieved with the rock on the floor representing the head and beak of the condor, and the rock at the back representing the wings of the condor.
Without creating too much work for myself and typing out all the facts, details and figures on Machcu Picchu any old Google search will turn up a wealth of knowledge and info on the ruins. So if you want to know more I encourage you to do so. There are many varying theories of why it was built and what is was for so far be it from me to add to those. Personally though, for whatever rhyme or reason for building the place, it was an inspiring site. The journey there was exciting, trudging along the Inca trail with the goal of Machu Picchu at the end, but being there was amazing. It is hard to express in words how impressive the city is, surrounded by hills and clouds. No wonder that it is now one of the new 7 Wonders of the World!
Our tour finished at about 9:30, so we were then free to explore the ruins for as long as we wanted. Simon, Mitzi and Sam decided to climb up Huayna Picchu, which is the hill you see in all the pictures of Huayna Picchu. Apparently it takes about 45 minutes to climb to the top - they blitzed it in 22! After three days of sweatiness, trekking and being surrounded by people, I decided to stay nice and clean, comfy, and headed off for some contemplation and quiet time away from everyone. It was great to wander through the ruins on my own, and I found a nice spot to sit and enjoy my own company while overlooking the site. I also headed off to an old Incan bridge that was about 10 minutes away from the main ruins. You used to be able to walk across the bridge, but due to a fatality a few years ago it's now off limits.
By the time I had wandered back from the bridge and the others had returned from their Huayna Picchu expedition, the amount of tourists had grown to an annoying level, especially the loud and milling about types who are the prime candidates to take the train to Machu Picchu. We decided to jump back on the bus down to Aguas Calientes and unfortunately end our Inca Trail and Machu Picchu experience...
...an experience I will never forget.
1 comment:
could almost feel the spirituality of the place through your writing. You are lucky to have experienced it in person. thanks for sharing it with us.
Mum
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