My alarm went off at 4.20am this morning… yes I’d packed my bag the night in anticipation of the delirium, but was quickly overcome by excitement and nerves as I ran down to breakfast, as usual undecided about how many jackets I need to take! Mountains is clearly not my thing, but after checking that the weather was expected to warm up significantly, and we were already at 16 degrees at 5am, Matt and Armando convinced me that one was enough. Buses start from the town centre at 5.30am since the site opens at 6am, but we didn’t expect all 2500 people at the bus stop at that time of the morning! Turns out more than 70% of tourists ascend to the site first up, so we had a good hour wait as the buses rolled in and out taking people up the mountain.
As we walked into the site and looked out over the large granite rocks, steps, and structures, I was overwhelmed with so much emotion! I almost cried in relief, not just because I’d made it here but that I’d made it alone, overcome a reasonably strong fear of heights, and although I had a few minutes of nerves, I felt extremely comfortable and excited by my surroundings which was so unusual for me at a place of such magnitude. I took a few deep breaths as we headed straight into our guided tour of the city. We quickly learnt that it’s not 100% clear what the original name for the city is, but some historic papers refer to it as Machu Picchu which translates to Old Mountain, but there are suspicions it could also be named after Wayna Picchu, meaning Young Mountain, which is the one the opposite mountain that features in the background of all the famous photos.
We learnt that the Inca city was strategically built where it is to sit between the Sacred Valley and the Jungle, enabling the Incas to maintain relationships with both sides at this crossroads. They even had dedicated meeting spaces where Jungle leaders would join them for discussions and to make agreements about the region. There was a clear split in the city, the farming side and living quarters, where there are temples dedicated to Pacha Mama and the Sun. The temple of Pacha Mama was shaped in the form of a uterus so that Kings are buried inside of Mother Earth in the foetal position. They also ensured the temple of the Sun faces east, built in the perfect position that intercepts the sun at both seasonal extremes of the year… to achieve this they would’ve observed the sun for years! They also created a sun dial at the top of the mountain to assist navigating the seasons.
The adventure junkies that we are, Matt and I agreed to a short 30 minute hike to the Inca Bridge not far from the main city which meant more cliffs, but a scenic walk through forest and mud. We made the most of the greenery, having spent so much of the last few weeks in desert. This was followed by some token tourist photos attempting the awkward gaze out at the city…it was spectacular! After several hours of walking, gazing, wow-ing, gasping, and photo taking, we were ready for a pizza and a beer.
It became very apparent that even though the Incas did not conquer the ‘uncontrollable’ jungle people, they were the driving force behind a social, political and religious revolution for the parts of Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina that they ruled. Learning the meaningful and intelligent reasons for everything they achieved in this city just made this aesthetically beautiful place all the more special. A once in a lifetime experience, one I will never forget!