Machu Picchu

If I had to choose one place to live in the ancient world, it would have been here. I wouldn't have wanted to build it, but I would have lived in it.

L - View from trail up Wayna Picchu
R - Shot before sunrise

Situated in a saddle high atop a mountain ridge, Machu Picchu looks down steep mountain slopes to a winding river rushing 2000 feet below and is surrounded by steep green mountains with glaciated peaks sticking up above the horizon in the distance. The mountain Machu Picchu towers behind the ruins, and the nearby Wayna Picchu juts up out of the end of the ridge to form the saddle in which the ruins sit (Wayna Picchu is the famous one in the background of nearly every picture of Machu Picchu). Seemingly too steep to climb without some sort of climbing experience, a stairyway clings to the steep rock faces of Wayna Picchu as it zigs and zags steeply up to the top. If the view was amazing from the ruins, you will be left speechless from the summit of Wayna Picchu. Apparently the Incas were inspired; a religious site sits atop the mountain, complete with terraces and structures. No small undertaking, considering the structures and terrace walls are made of stone carried up from rock quarries far below.

L - View of Ruins from Wayna Picchu Peak
R - Ruins with mountain range

L - Steep steps up Wayna Picchu

R - Wayna Picchu mountain with terraces and holy buildings up top

ALL PHOTOS

Not satisfied with the grandeur of the setting alone, the Inca's construction of the site impresses as well. Intricately carved stones full of notches and angled corners serve as compasses, astronomic clocks, and holy sites. Large blocks of rock sit snuggly together in thick, polished walls, such that a knife blade cannot be inserted between stones in places. Undaunted by the steep mountain slopes, the Incas built numerous terraces, creating enough land to feed the city population four times over. Numerous other sites of apparent significance can be found around Machu Picchu, and theories abound as to their purpose and use. Most of the questions surrounding Machu Picchu remain eclipsed in mystery however, as there was no written history produced by the Incans.

L - Steep stairs and mountain face
R - Inside the ruins

Machu Picchu means "old mountain" in Quechua, though most gringos mispronounce it so that it takes on the meaning of "old penis," a common joke among tourists. "So what did you do today?" "Oh, not much. Climbed up the old penis again." Tourism is the one drawback to Machu Picchu (estimates of 400,000 visitors in 2003), as hordes of visitors swarm the ruins throughout the day. Understandable though, given the spectacular setting, presentation, and preservation of the ruins. The trek to the ruins is the most popular on the continent, as people fork out US$450 for a four day, all inclusive trip along the Inca Trail to the ruins, and restrictions have been set to the number of people able to walk the trail per day.

L - Classic Shot
R - Face of Machu Piccu. Far left peak is chin, middle humps the mouth, biggest peak the nose, right ridge the forhead

Yet despite the large numbers of visitors to the sight and all that comes with that, the splendor of Machu Picchu is hardly diminished, leaving a strong and lasting impression on its visitors. My photos and the panaramic ones I have taken from the web can't do it justice. Standing atop Wayna Picchu and in amongst the ruins, looking down into the canyon below and out onto the mountains surrounding the site, I knew I was taking in one of the best views I had seen or would see on this crazy trip of mine.