Machu Picchu day! The big one! The one we had been waiting for!
03:15. Our earliest alarm yet... We were down in the lobby with the other four in our party by 04:00. Duffels stored, we set off down the dark road through Aguas Calientes towards the base of Machu Picchu. We weren't alone either - the queue for the bus had already started to form and there were a number of other headtorch-equipped groups walking down. When we arrived at the closed bridge, there were perhaps fifteen people queuing ahead of us. Within fifteen minutes there were at least a hundred behind.
At 05:00, the bridge opened, and our tickets and passports were checked as we entered it. Across the bridge we were greater with a sign showing the switchbacks of the trail up the mountain, and we started climbing the stairs, still in darkness. Light came very quickly, and we persevered up the steps, marking our progress by "ft climbed". We passed a number of people on the way, not stopping, just keeping a rhythm - with a long string of people behind. Half an hour later, we reached the top and created a third queue through the gates. I was pleased to see I was (just) the first girl up, and even more pleased that we had beaten the buses.
Most rewarding, was entering through the barriers when they opened at 06:00, and being the very first ones to reach the viewpoint of Machu Picchu. The city was bigger and more impressive than I had ever imagined. A huge feat of engineering, it sits on the saddle between two mountains, full of terraces and Inca constructions.
We found our guide, Diego, at 06:30, and had a short tour, learning about the Inca culture, civilisation and building techniques. A lot of their lifestyle seemed to be based around the sun, and they used it to measure time and keep dates. Diego said a final goodbye (after 5 days) at 08:00, at which point we set off towards the Inca Bridge. This was fairly difficult as we had ended up low down and the one way system around the city encourages you to the exit rather than back up. However we managed to find a route and set off accordingly.
We weren't really sure what we would find, but after a fifteen minute walk along a refreshingly cool path (there is little shade to be found in the city itself) we found a "temporary" bridge over a precarious part of the cliff. Presumably this could be removed if the city were to be under attack - very clever!
Getting back from the bridge, it was nearly time for us to enter "Waynapicchu". Because of the nature of this climb, tickets are limited to 400 a day, and in two groups, of which we were in the second (10:00). We joined the queue (along with a rather over friendly llama), and once our passports were checked, embarked on the route. This went down a little to start, but once it went up, it really went up! Steep rocky sections between the regular stairs required ropes to hold onto, and the stairs adjacent to the terraces near the top were so steep and tiny I had to use my hands as well as my feet to climb them! Once at the top (8900 ft) the views of Machu Picchu were unparalleled, and we stayed a while to enjoy them (and top up the suncream).
The descent was also very tricky, with a tiny cave tunnel section and some large steep steps. In the same area was Huayapicchu, a much smaller climb, which we also did and found to be pleasantly quiet at the top. We checked out of the area at midday, and made our way to the exit to stock up on water.
Re-entering for the last time, our destination was the Sun Gate. This is where those who have done the Inca trail enter Machu Picchu. Unlike all the other climbs, this was slightly more gradual. A very warm version of myself reached the gate at 13:30, abd I realised it was actually higher than the mountain, at 9000 ft. From here we had yet another perspective view on the city, which now looked very far away!
We followed the route back down, carrying on all the way to the base of the mountain this time. The bridges looked very different in the light! We continued strolling back to Aguas Calientes, looking forward to some good food and drinks. Breakfasting at 04:30 had skewed our day, so dinner at 15:30 did not feel odd and we found somewhere for a nice pizza and 4 for 1 on cocktails (we each had a pisco sour and a mojito). After "dinner" we headed back to the hotel, collected our duffels and boarded the train to Ollantaytambo.
The train was very comfortable, more like a plane in terms of service (free juice and corn). It was a shame it was not light as I would have liked to see the surroundings, but an hour and a half later we were in the bustling Ollantaytambo, being picked up by our bus, which took us right back to our hostel in Cusco, arriving at 22:00. A long but enjoyable day!
03:15. Our earliest alarm yet... We were down in the lobby with the other four in our party by 04:00. Duffels stored, we set off down the dark road through Aguas Calientes towards the base of Machu Picchu. We weren't alone either - the queue for the bus had already started to form and there were a number of other headtorch-equipped groups walking down. When we arrived at the closed bridge, there were perhaps fifteen people queuing ahead of us. Within fifteen minutes there were at least a hundred behind.
At 05:00, the bridge opened, and our tickets and passports were checked as we entered it. Across the bridge we were greater with a sign showing the switchbacks of the trail up the mountain, and we started climbing the stairs, still in darkness. Light came very quickly, and we persevered up the steps, marking our progress by "ft climbed". We passed a number of people on the way, not stopping, just keeping a rhythm - with a long string of people behind. Half an hour later, we reached the top and created a third queue through the gates. I was pleased to see I was (just) the first girl up, and even more pleased that we had beaten the buses.
Most rewarding, was entering through the barriers when they opened at 06:00, and being the very first ones to reach the viewpoint of Machu Picchu. The city was bigger and more impressive than I had ever imagined. A huge feat of engineering, it sits on the saddle between two mountains, full of terraces and Inca constructions.
We found our guide, Diego, at 06:30, and had a short tour, learning about the Inca culture, civilisation and building techniques. A lot of their lifestyle seemed to be based around the sun, and they used it to measure time and keep dates. Diego said a final goodbye (after 5 days) at 08:00, at which point we set off towards the Inca Bridge. This was fairly difficult as we had ended up low down and the one way system around the city encourages you to the exit rather than back up. However we managed to find a route and set off accordingly.
We weren't really sure what we would find, but after a fifteen minute walk along a refreshingly cool path (there is little shade to be found in the city itself) we found a "temporary" bridge over a precarious part of the cliff. Presumably this could be removed if the city were to be under attack - very clever!
Getting back from the bridge, it was nearly time for us to enter "Waynapicchu". Because of the nature of this climb, tickets are limited to 400 a day, and in two groups, of which we were in the second (10:00). We joined the queue (along with a rather over friendly llama), and once our passports were checked, embarked on the route. This went down a little to start, but once it went up, it really went up! Steep rocky sections between the regular stairs required ropes to hold onto, and the stairs adjacent to the terraces near the top were so steep and tiny I had to use my hands as well as my feet to climb them! Once at the top (8900 ft) the views of Machu Picchu were unparalleled, and we stayed a while to enjoy them (and top up the suncream).
The descent was also very tricky, with a tiny cave tunnel section and some large steep steps. In the same area was Huayapicchu, a much smaller climb, which we also did and found to be pleasantly quiet at the top. We checked out of the area at midday, and made our way to the exit to stock up on water.
Re-entering for the last time, our destination was the Sun Gate. This is where those who have done the Inca trail enter Machu Picchu. Unlike all the other climbs, this was slightly more gradual. A very warm version of myself reached the gate at 13:30, abd I realised it was actually higher than the mountain, at 9000 ft. From here we had yet another perspective view on the city, which now looked very far away!
We followed the route back down, carrying on all the way to the base of the mountain this time. The bridges looked very different in the light! We continued strolling back to Aguas Calientes, looking forward to some good food and drinks. Breakfasting at 04:30 had skewed our day, so dinner at 15:30 did not feel odd and we found somewhere for a nice pizza and 4 for 1 on cocktails (we each had a pisco sour and a mojito). After "dinner" we headed back to the hotel, collected our duffels and boarded the train to Ollantaytambo.
The train was very comfortable, more like a plane in terms of service (free juice and corn). It was a shame it was not light as I would have liked to see the surroundings, but an hour and a half later we were in the bustling Ollantaytambo, being picked up by our bus, which took us right back to our hostel in Cusco, arriving at 22:00. A long but enjoyable day!
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