Almost at the Sun Gate.
There it is... the view from the Sun Gate.
This was it. Today would be the day I realized my dream, even if I had to crawl to achieve it (my knees were in agony). I awoke to find that I had been feasted on by mosquites (I am not sure if this was our guides wrong pronunciation of mosquitoes but they are smaller and deadlier here). I had been bitten 13 times on my face (I look like I have acne), 5 times in my hair, numerous times at the nape of my neck and quite a few more in random spots. Jon didn’t get one bite. We were up at 4am, although we didn’t set off from the checkpoint until 5.30am. We were the last to go through. It was approximately a 1.5 to 2 hour walk through the cloud forest (we could see today, and the scenery was amazing) to get to Intipunka (Sun Gate). The idea was to arrive just before the sun’s rays poke over the top of the mountain ranges and light up Machu Picchu. I was not happy when our guide told us half way we were going to be late. I was rather pissed off as he knew the pace we could walk, so I didn’t understand why we had to set off so late. He kept changing the time the phenomenon would occur from 6.45am to 7am to 7.15am and finally possibly 7.30am. I was ready to push him off the cliff. Consequently, we practically ran the last bit (well, we went as fast as possible) and made it with about five minutes to spare. Turns out the event takes place around 7am.
When we arrived at the Sun Gate we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. It didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t believe it was right there before our eyes, looking as majestic and amazing as I had imagined it to be. We didn’t realize that the site would be surrounded by mountains which only added to its grandeur. I am glad I endured the trek, it certainly is the best and most rewarding way to arrive at the site. After numerous photos (thankfully thousands of tourists had not yet swarmed over the site. They arrive in bus loads from around 9am onwards) we headed down the path to Macchu Picchu itself.
Machu Picchu (Old Bird, Ancestral Bird) or Machupicchu (Old Hill, Older Mountain, Great Mountain) is a citadel nestled high in the Vilcabamba range. The sacred Vilcanota River lies in the valley below. The site has a magical, mysterious feel to it because of the fog that swirls around the mountain. The city remained hidden to the Spaniards and was only discovered by Hirman Bingham in 1911. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to stumble upon the overgrown ruins. It was pretty amazing just trekking to it and seeing it from the Sun Gate.
This city is divided into two sectors: urban and agricultural. In the first there are temples, palaces, squares, narrow streets, water sources and houses. In the later are terraces, irrigation channels, store houses and more houses. It is huge and impossible to walk around it all in a day. Besides, we had been up since four and were very tired by the time we arrived so there was no way I was going to last the whole time until our train in the evening. Apparently, the different areas of Machu Picchu form different animal shapes such as a flying lizard (Urin sector), puma (Hanan sector) and the overall layout of the town is supposed to take on the form of the ancestral bird when seen above from Waynapicchu (cant verify that as we were too buggered to climb to the temple at the top of this mountain). However, I really fail to see any of this, maybe if you smoke something.
Our tour guide led us around some of the main areas. We wandered past the ceremonial baths and fountains that cascade down the ruins. I can never cease to be amazed at their plumbing skills. We viewed the Temple of the Sun (a tower with two windows which the sun shines through during the summer and winter solstices). Underneath it is a cave with a carved stone alter and some niches. It is known as the Royal Tomb and is thought to have possibly contained the bodies of important people. At the Sacred Square we saw the Main Temple, the Temple of the Three Windows (orientated towards the sun rise and overlooks the plaza), the Chamber of the Ornaments and the House of the Priest. We then headed through the quarry (where they got all the giant stones for all the buildings) and up a staircase to the major shrine, Intihuatana (Hitching Post of the Sun). The carved rock at the summit acted as a solar clock (incidentally the corner of it was chipped off during the shooting of a beer commercial a few years ago – the crane fell on it) recording the passing of the seasones. To our amusement there were a bunch of people trying to meditate around the lump of rock. Apparently it gives off some type of spiritual energy. If you get too close it just might zap you! These hippy types were getting peeved that tour guides kept interrupting their vibe by talking rather than whispering. Jon insisted on a photo with him pretending to meditate behind the stone. I don’t think some of the women were impressed that he was taking the mickey out of them.
At this point our guide left us and we wandered around the various buildings for the next few hours, including the Temple of the Condor (kind of looks like a bird) with its prison cells underneath, as well as the Royal Palaces. There were hoards of people everywhere so you couldn’t get any clear shots of anything. I will have to do a lot of Photoshopping. One lady was carrying around a Louis Vutton handbag and another man was attempting to see Machu Picchu with a walking frame (not sure how he managed to get far, there are stairs everywhere). At around 1pm we gave up exploring and caught the bus down the mountain to Aguas Calientes (a very boring town with bad restaurants, especially the one we ate at) where we caught a train back to Cusco at 5pm.
The whole experience, although hard, was amazing and definitely lived up to my dream. It has been the highlight of my holiday in South America so far.
When we arrived at the Sun Gate we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. It didn’t disappoint. I couldn’t believe it was right there before our eyes, looking as majestic and amazing as I had imagined it to be. We didn’t realize that the site would be surrounded by mountains which only added to its grandeur. I am glad I endured the trek, it certainly is the best and most rewarding way to arrive at the site. After numerous photos (thankfully thousands of tourists had not yet swarmed over the site. They arrive in bus loads from around 9am onwards) we headed down the path to Macchu Picchu itself.
Machu Picchu (Old Bird, Ancestral Bird) or Machupicchu (Old Hill, Older Mountain, Great Mountain) is a citadel nestled high in the Vilcabamba range. The sacred Vilcanota River lies in the valley below. The site has a magical, mysterious feel to it because of the fog that swirls around the mountain. The city remained hidden to the Spaniards and was only discovered by Hirman Bingham in 1911. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to stumble upon the overgrown ruins. It was pretty amazing just trekking to it and seeing it from the Sun Gate.
This city is divided into two sectors: urban and agricultural. In the first there are temples, palaces, squares, narrow streets, water sources and houses. In the later are terraces, irrigation channels, store houses and more houses. It is huge and impossible to walk around it all in a day. Besides, we had been up since four and were very tired by the time we arrived so there was no way I was going to last the whole time until our train in the evening. Apparently, the different areas of Machu Picchu form different animal shapes such as a flying lizard (Urin sector), puma (Hanan sector) and the overall layout of the town is supposed to take on the form of the ancestral bird when seen above from Waynapicchu (cant verify that as we were too buggered to climb to the temple at the top of this mountain). However, I really fail to see any of this, maybe if you smoke something.
Our tour guide led us around some of the main areas. We wandered past the ceremonial baths and fountains that cascade down the ruins. I can never cease to be amazed at their plumbing skills. We viewed the Temple of the Sun (a tower with two windows which the sun shines through during the summer and winter solstices). Underneath it is a cave with a carved stone alter and some niches. It is known as the Royal Tomb and is thought to have possibly contained the bodies of important people. At the Sacred Square we saw the Main Temple, the Temple of the Three Windows (orientated towards the sun rise and overlooks the plaza), the Chamber of the Ornaments and the House of the Priest. We then headed through the quarry (where they got all the giant stones for all the buildings) and up a staircase to the major shrine, Intihuatana (Hitching Post of the Sun). The carved rock at the summit acted as a solar clock (incidentally the corner of it was chipped off during the shooting of a beer commercial a few years ago – the crane fell on it) recording the passing of the seasones. To our amusement there were a bunch of people trying to meditate around the lump of rock. Apparently it gives off some type of spiritual energy. If you get too close it just might zap you! These hippy types were getting peeved that tour guides kept interrupting their vibe by talking rather than whispering. Jon insisted on a photo with him pretending to meditate behind the stone. I don’t think some of the women were impressed that he was taking the mickey out of them.
At this point our guide left us and we wandered around the various buildings for the next few hours, including the Temple of the Condor (kind of looks like a bird) with its prison cells underneath, as well as the Royal Palaces. There were hoards of people everywhere so you couldn’t get any clear shots of anything. I will have to do a lot of Photoshopping. One lady was carrying around a Louis Vutton handbag and another man was attempting to see Machu Picchu with a walking frame (not sure how he managed to get far, there are stairs everywhere). At around 1pm we gave up exploring and caught the bus down the mountain to Aguas Calientes (a very boring town with bad restaurants, especially the one we ate at) where we caught a train back to Cusco at 5pm.
The whole experience, although hard, was amazing and definitely lived up to my dream. It has been the highlight of my holiday in South America so far.
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