Machu Picchu

The ascent to Machu Picchu by bus at 5 in the morning was ethereal. There were pockets of fog interspersed between the mountains, some of which are really unique monolithic shapes. As it began to get light, we climbed up into the clouds. My first view of Machu Picchu was magical.

The tour of the ancient city was really interesting. Especially remarkable is how the Incas managed to hide the city from the Spanish: they destroyed the first few miles of the Inca Trail so that they were untraceable and retreated further into the jungle. It's incredible that they were successful and the city remained undiscovered by outsiders until 1911.Read more