Machu Picchu

We made it! We finished the Inka Trail and are in Machu Picchu. The expectations we were given were a vast underestimate of the true magnitude of the day, in both the sense of being very physically challenging and an amazing sight to see. We awoke at 3 AM for breakfast and then set out in the rain, fog, and dark down the Inka Trail to the entry checkpoint. We waited in line for 90 minutes, only it wasn't much of a line because it was pouring rain and there was only a very limited covered area. To be completely honest, it was quite miserable and cold. When the gates opened, there was quite a rush to get to the Sun Gate. It was starting to get light at least but it was still wet and cold, and our group was moving very quickly on the slippery steps up and down at steep inclines.

Nevertheless, we made it to the Sun Gate. Unfortunately, as it is the rainy season, it was too foggy to see anything. This was supposed to be our first view of the ruins of Machu Picchu (which we have probably been spelling wrong all along). We continued our hike down to the actual ruins and the end of the Inka Trail.

After warming up a little bit, we had our tour of the ruins of Machu Picchu. It was so amazing! Our guide, Juan Carlos, showed us around the different areas of the city, including the agricultural area, the king's house, the urban center, stone sundials, ancient aquaducts, and temples to several gods (almost all associated with different parts of nature).

After this, we took the "short hike" to Waynapicchu, an optional trail that is part of the site. We were told this was easier than our summit on Day 2. However, it took us nearly 2.5 hours to complete (after having hiked in the rain on hard, steep, stone steps for the previous three days plus the 3-4 hours of hiking this morning). This was an extremely steep hike. There were several times that we were literally crawling up and down the steps due to the overall steepness and/or the height of each individual step. This was not like a National Park in the US with multiple switchbacks to make a location more accessible to all. There were many places where the trail was only wide enough for one person and on a 60-70 degree incline with no hand rails nor walking sticks. Keep in mind, this is all on slick wet stone that has been worn down by being walked on for hundreds of years. (Only one photo got taken during the ascent and it gives a taste of what we were climbing, included here.) Not going to lie, Rachel wanted to turn back halfway through due to pain and exhaustion; Nick encouraged her to continue and achieve this accomplishment (and she's glad she did!). Right upon our arrival to the first plateau (just below the summit), the clouds and fog lifted to give us our first aerial view of Machu Picchu. The rest of the morning and late afternoon was very pleasant for our hike down and our continued exploration of Machu Picchu before heading back to Cusco by train and bus.

On 1-22-16, this post and the last two were updated to include pictures, so take a look if you haven´t seen them already! :)Read more