Peru, Day 4: Aguas Calientes & Machu Picchu

This is probably the post a few of you have been waiting for... MACHU PICCHU.  It was definitely the #1 reason we went to Peru in the first place, our big "bucket list" item.  Ever since I can remember, I've been fascinated by history and old cultures.  My Dad is a history buff, so maybe I got it from him, as well as my history professors in college.

Our driver took us in the morning to Ollantaytambo, where we boarded one of the trains to Aguas Calientes.  We were on one of the nicer trains (though not the most high-end, the Hiram Bingham) and received a beverage service and plated snack along the way.  The ride was along the river, with awesome vistas that showed some of the different microclimates in the area.  After nearly two hours, we arrived in Aguas Calientes, the tourist town at the base of Machu Picchu, which is the mountain on which the Incan site was built.

Aguas Calientes

Aguas Calientes is a tourist town filled with hotels, hostels, stores, restaurants, and shanties that house the people who work there.  You need tickets for the bus up and down the mountain, as well as tickets (and your passport) to enter Machu Picchu and to hike Huayna Picchu, the adjacent steep peak.  Our guide accompanied us on the train ride, then went with us to the site.  (If you don't have a guide, there are plenty for hire standing outside the gates!)  From there, he introduced us to this "new" wonder of the world.

First look at Machu Picchu, in the rain and fog

According to Wikipedia, "The Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become the largest tourist attraction in South America."

Our guide gave us an extensive tour of the property, explaining some of what historians and archaeologists have guessed about the structures over the years.  What's interesting is how little we truly know about the place, as much of it has been exaggerated, assumed, and distorted over the years.  For example, at first it was supposed that the majority of residents were women, as the skeletons were smaller than American and European archaeologists were used to; as it turns out, it was a pretty even split when you factor in the relative smaller size of the Inca people at the time!  Having a guide help explain the history of the place was fascinating, but you definitely have to step back and just accept a lot of it as unknown, and appreciate it for its sheer magnitude of size and effort on behalf of whoever built it hundreds of years ago.

After our tour, we ate lunch at a restaurant just outside the gate, then said goodbye to our guide until the following evening.  We went back into the site (your entry is good all day), to enjoy it at our leisure.  Note: The only bathrooms are outside the gates of Machu Picchu, and they cost 1 "sol" to use... so go before you enter!

Groundskeeper Llama

It wasn't just Machu Picchu that was dizzying and impressive... the entire environment and views seem surreal!  It was kind of like watching the movie Avatar or something, you felt like it was another planet or some kind of dream world.

Our favorite spot in the complex was up past the guard hut, on the terraces that overlook.  As you can see from the photos, we had some rain and fog, but that just added to the mystique of the place!

This was my happy place.

Finally reaching Machu Picchu was the climax of our trip, hands down.  It was just invigorating and moving beyond description.  We sat, relaxed, and soaked it in.  We took our time.  We savored it.  And then we decided to head back to our hotel for the night, knowing we would have the opportunity to come back in the morning to pursue one of the hikes.

Tip: Near the gate exit, on the right you can stamp your passport... we both decided to do it, to commemorate our visit.  It felt so gratifying to do so!  We were finally there, and we couldn't have been more happy.  It was worth every penny, every mile, and every effort to see it in the end.

Passport Stamp! You can get this upon entering/leaving the park, off to the side near the Passport check.

Peru, Day 3: Ollantaytambo and Písac

Our travel agency was smart to take us out of Cusco and into the Sacred Valley, which is actually lower in altitude and easier for acclimatization.  We spent two nights in the Sacred Valley, with one day spent touring the area to see some of the surrounding archaeological sites.  Our first stop was a morning spend at Ollantaytambo, called a "living Inca city" as it has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century.  It is positioned on a hill, navigated by very narrow, cobblestone streets, and is an example of Inca city planning.  It is a popular tourist spot, not only for the Incan ruins, but as a starting point to journey to Machu Picchu via either the Inca Trail or by train.

Terraces at Ollantaytambo

View from the terraces of Ollantaytambo

At the top of the terraces is the Temple of the Sun, honoring one of the most important deities of the Incan religion.  It's an uncompleted structure, with a wall of six monoliths. The city was also the site of one of the few Incan victories against Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s, though they later withdrew those forces.

Six Monoliths

I do realize my hat is dorky-looking... but it was a high SPF and waterproof and bought on clearance before the trip, so oh well.  You'll be seeing it a lot!

After Ollantaytambo, we headed to another Sacred Valley town, Písac.  In the hills above town are old Incan terraces and buildings, which once served military, religious, and agricultural purposes.  Some researchers believe Písac was the southern "gate" of the valley and possibly served as a strategic location for the whole area, with Ollantaytambo to the north.

We did not walk up into the structures at Písac, after climbing Ollantaytambo earlier and not having had lunch yet.  We decided instead to head into the town to shop at the large souvenir market, as well as head to lunch at Tres Keros restaurant.  From there, we relaxed in our beautiful hotel (the grounds were gorgeous, as I will share in a later post) and repacked our belongings for the trip ahead to Machu Picchu.

Overall, I was happy we got to see these examples of Incan architecture before heading to Machu Picchu.  Seeing it in reverse order might have been a little ho-hum, you know?  We were blessed with wonderful weather, and the Sacred Valley allowed us to get used to the altitude in the country.

Peru, Day 1 & 2: Lima to Cusco to the Sacred Valley

Our first "day" in Peru was actually a night; we arrived at nearly midnight after traveling all day, which is around the same time most international flights appear to arrive.  Peru and Nashville happened to be in the same time zone this time of year (they don't do Daylight Savings, so they bounce between CDT/EST) which was a HUGE help for us in avoiding jet lag.  Our Kuoda guides met us after baggage claim and walked us just across the street to our hotel; we only spent one night in this hotel, basically to shower and sleep before flying to Cusco in the morning.  (I will cover accommodations in a later post!)

After a continental breakfast at the hotel the next morning, we were ushered to the airport's domestic terminal for our flight to Cusco.  The airport was easy to navigate, security was fast, and there were announcements and attendants speaking in English given so many tourists take the domestic flights from Lima.

Cusco Airport

At the airport in Cusco, we met our awesome drive, Fausto, and Edgar from Kuoda who took us into the city for a delicious lunch at Pachapapa in the San Blas neighborhood.

Plazoleta de San Blas

After lunch, we were introduced to our guide for the week, Jimmy.  Since we were visiting during Holy Week, we were taken to tour the Qorikancha because it would be crowded later in the week.  The Qorikancha, also know as the Convento de Santo Domingo.  It was the site of the Inca Empire's most important temple, until the Spanish conquest in the 1500s.  At that time, the site was "given" to be a convent, part of a trend we noticed of the Spanish placing Catholic or government buildings on top of important Inca sites to assimilate the cities under conquest rule and order.

Qorikancha

We didn't get to see the panoramic view of the outside, but the inside was stunning.  It reminded me a bit of the Mezquita in Cordoba, where a cathedral was placed in an old mosque.  The mix of architecture was unique.  Due to a major earthquake, the Inca foundations and "rooms" withstood the damage and test of time while the colonial architecture has required reconstruction.

You can see the Incan foundations in the church.

After the Qorikancha, we hit the road, heading away from the higher elevation of Cusco and down into the Sacred Valley.  On the way, we stopped by the "Living Museum" of Awana Kancha.  When people think about Peru, they often think of the famous camelids including llamas and alpacas.  This small roadside "museum" features  corrals where you can see a number of camelids that are important to Incan culture.  Our guide described to us the differences between llamas and alpacas (mainly you can tell by size and ears) as well as the types of wool.  For example, baby alpaca is the first shearing of an alpaca, NOT wool from the baby animal.  The texture of the wool changes after the first shearing, which is why baby alpaca is more expensive since you can only get it once.

Awana Kancha also exists to help preserve the traditional methods of dyeing wool and weaving by hand.  It looks/feels like a small village where these techniques are being handed down even to the very young.  There were old women on down to toddlers present, all observing and weaving.  It was really cool to see their methods in action!

All of the dyes are natural.

Seasoned weavers passing on their traditions to younger weavers.

There is also a wonderful store there filled with the amazing textiles and works.  We didn't buy anything because it was our first day, but if you want to invest in the best quality and authorized/certified good stuff, it's worth checking out!  Then we hit the road again.

Before heading to our hotel for check-in and dinner, we stopped briefly to see the beautiful panoramic view of part of the Sacred Valley.  It was the perfect snapshot to treasure the memories of our first full day in Peru.  We definitely enjoyed the beautiful tour of the countryside on our way into the Sacred Valley, inching closer to our trip's climax at Machu Picchu.