Peru: Inka trail, day 4, and Machu Picchu

I dealt surprisingly well with getting up at 3.30, especially given the rain starting up again in the night. That could have something to do with the fact that we didn't get a wake up call, and I didn't realise the time till 3.50, but whatever.

Thankfully the rain must've been weak, as my tent didn't let any in, but it was a bit of mad rush to dress, and pack my stuff in 10 minutes instead of 30. I ate a fair amount for breakfast (1 and a half pancakes, and 4 slices of toast), but my metabolism appears to have gone into overdrive, as I was still hungry. There was no time for anything else though, and we left our campsite around 4.30.

We had a quick stop to brush our teeth before getting to the control point, which doesn't open till 5.30. We got there pretty early, so some of us got seats, and everyone was under cover. The people who got there later didn't all get that luxury, so we were pretty lucky.

While we waited, our once taciturn guide Victor amused us with terrible jokes. He was pretty surly the first couple of days, and really cheery the last couple. I swear he has split personality disorder or something, but whatever the reason new Victor is a lot better!

We got going just after 5.30, the groups got to leave in the order they arrived luckily for us, but we still had 5km to cover to arrive at Machu Picchu. The way was probably the easiest we have had it for the majority of the time, with gentle undulations in the path and barely any stairs. Basically the whole time we were right on the edge of cliffs, and the clouds weren't as low, so we got some good views.

Right before Inti Punku (the sun gate) there was the steepest flight of stairs I have ever seen. I walked up it fine, because of youth and etc, but some people had to crawl up, it was pretty extreme! My hunger persisted too, I had 2 packets of biscuits and an apple along the way.

The sun gate was actually quite underwhelming for me, but only because of my unrealistic expectations. I had in mind a 50m tall, carved gateway, but the reality was very similar to all the other sun temples we have seen; a one story building with windows to let in the sun perfectly at equinoxes and solstices.

What was not underwhelming however was the view of Machu Picchu! You see plenty of photographs, but as is so often the case they can't really do it justice. I took plenty of photos anyway though, and of course will upload them when I get home. The day was overcast, but mercifully clear, so we got the full impact of the view.

From the sun gate it was about an hour walk to get to Machu Picchu itsself, with views across the valley to the ruins for much of the time. With the spectacular mountain behind it and the intricacy of the place every different angle along the way looked awesome.

Once we got there we had a quick break to use real toilets (the ones on the trail were dire), and to have a little snack (but I didn't buy anything, due to it being heinously expensive), then we went in again. I got another passport stamp at the entrance.

Victor stayed with us and gave us the tour round Machu Picchu, which took around 2 and a half hours, and packed in loads of info. We saw a couple of temples (a triple temple, one for the sun god, with water on the side to worship the water god, and a cave underneath for the earth god, plus a condor temple), and the various districts of the settlement.

There was a place for the Inka to stay, and rooms for 'pilgrims', or visiting nobles, as well as servants quarters, then there were storerooms, rooms for artisans, and rooms for record keeping.

There was very little military presence though, it was a religious place to which the pilgrims, and Inka would come to venerate the mountains around, whom they regarded as gods, as well as the usual omnipotent deities (the sun, water and earth gods Inti, Qucha Mama and Pacha Mama). My favorite way they did this was when they carved natural stones into the shape of the mountains directly ahead.

The reason Machu Picchu was abandoned, despite never being discovered by the Spanish was that, despite a lot of terraces, the place could only generate around 25-30% of the food required to feed it's inhabitants, with the rest being provided by trade, so they literally had no choice but to leave.

Victor had a little information pack with pictures to help explain things, and the best ones for me were of how overgrown the place had become prior to discovery (it was actually first discovered by a farmer, but he kept it secret and used the terraces). Even today it is estimated that 10% is still covered by foliage.

The day was pretty temperate and overcast, though the sun did come out for half an hour or so. As soon as it did I put sun cream on, but the sun obviously was strong enough through the clouds, as I got sun burnt again.

After the tour we spent a little more time exploring, then took the bus down to Machu Picchu town. Our train wasn't till 7, and we arrived about 1.30 or 2, so we had some time to kill, but we managed to spin out lunch for a good couple of hours. I ordered a family sized pizza, and the guy's eyes bulged, but I ate the whole thing, plus 3 glasses of orange juice.

We then went to a cafe for a good hour, where I had a 'cut coffee' (still no idea why it is different from regular coffee), and discovered that I had eaten and drunk too much, and felt really sick. Oops

Everyone who'd done the Inka trail was pretty tired by the time the train came round, so we pretty much just dozed until getting back to the hotel, around 11, where I collapsed into bed and went to sleep.

Our first view of Machu Picchu