Monday, September 24, 2007

MP

We wanted to see Machu Pichu but weren't sure how. We decided the cheapest method was best. So we scoured around, talked to some Israelis and found a four day trek for US155. Not bad considering entrance to the site is US40 alone. It is called the Inca Jungle trek. The trek itself was a lot less walking than Choquequirao and wasn't as interesting. But ended up with the right result with us seeing MP.
The 4 day trek involved 1 day of biking followed by 2 days walking with the final day at MP. The bikes were dodgy with me going through 4 bikes in the 3 hour that turned into 4.5 hour bike ride. The walking was OK. This photo above was interesting as it was a massive avalanche that took out the railway tracks and blocked the tunnel on the right. The train doesn't pass through here any more. And this one cool inca trail on the side of the mountain, below on the left.
And a cool flying fox ride across a river.

On the last day we started walking at 4.30am from the town at the bottom of MP. We made it to the top before all the tourist buses arrived, although we had to wait for our guide. It was a cool walk up through the rain and cloud with the ever increasing sunlight.

The cloud.The morning with an empty MP.


Some of the stone work is amazing. Perfectly cut stones sitting together with no mortar.
The earth moves after a while.Something about 3's in the Incan culture.There is a nearby mountain that you can climb called Huayna Pichu. It's a pretty steep climb so it stops some of the tourists. But the views are great.Bella on some floating stairs showing the steepness of the site.Woops. You get the idea. Huayna Pichu behind the site.Then there are the crowds. By 10.30am the place is crowded with treks coming in from all directions plus the day-trippers from Cusco. All crowded around a rock. It's apparently a sun dial/calendar.
They cut stones to fit in around natural rock structures. Amazing.Us in amongst it.