Awesome! 2nd day at Machu Picchu

Friday 20 May
Up at 4 a.m. again!!! Quick breakfast and checked out as we go back to Cusco later today.

We even managed to get on an earlier bus - the 7th according to a fellow (more observant) traveller - possibly a 'bus spotter'?

Our aim was to try and get to the Sun Gate (Intipunku) - a climb of 290 m - as the rising sun crested the mountain - a feat we pretty much managed to do.


The hike follows an original Inca Trail that steadily climbs though Machu Picchu’s agricultural terraces high in to the mountains. Intipunku was once the main entrance to Machu Picchu. This site was the main entry point from the south into Cusco, and the gate would have been protected by its military. Intipunku is dedicated to the cult of the Inti, the Sun god.

As we climbed up, a few Inca Trail trekkers were making their way down - no doubt an emotional moment for them.

We also enjoyed the moment on reaching the famous Sun Gate and joined the throng of trekkers there doing the same thing. We sat around enjoying a pastry from our very early breakfast - and the views and the experience. It was very serene: so peaceful compared to the chaos of tourists below - I think I heard a guide say 5000 people visit Machu Picchu daily.

We spent quite some time here watching the last of the trekkers go. Then, as day trippers like us started to come up, we set off back down. Very relaxing. A lovely morning. Cool and quiet.

Down below I enjoyed wandering back through Machu Picchu complex and I met up with TOP (who had gone off to do something else) at the start of the climb up Huayna Picchu (a climb of 652 m).



The Incas built a trail up the side of the Huayna Picchu (which means 'young peak') and built temples and terraces on its top. According to local guides, at its summit, Inca priests once performed rituals on special dates as well as liturgical greetings to the Salkantay apu (god). And every morning before sunrise, the high priest with a small group would walk to Machu Picchu to signal the coming of the new day.

Only 400 people per day are allowed to do this walk. The view from the top is superb and gives another perspective of the Machu Picchu complex below.

And wow! We did it! Despite our concerns regarding its safety, it really wasn't so difficult after all - we just needed to take a lot of care. There was plenty of scrambling using hands to climb some of the steps and holding onto cables; coming down we watched carefully where we were putting our feet to maintain balance. We were chuffed with ourselves, constantly keeping in mind Sam R's accident coming down when she injured her shoulder badly.

It was a lovely shady walk out of the hot sun. We ambled behind the crowds back through Machu Picchu complex - our last look.

But really, the time up at the Sun Gate this morning was the most special time here at Machu Picchu.

The queue for the bus back to Agues Calientes was immense but we waited patiently and had a nice light lunch back in the township - and found a French patisserie!!!

Then the Hiram Bingham vistadome train to Ollanta: another hub like Agues Calientes - businesses doing lots of wood-fired pizzas and pisco sours.

Our driver Jamie took us back through the Sacred Valley and then ascended up and up with the valley below lit up like fairy lights from the dwellings down below. It was a full moon so the landscape shone. Jamie decided to give us a Spanish lesson as we descended into Cusco - I had to work hard on my listening skills and I got lots of 'muy biens (=very goods)! He took us through old cobble-stoned streets almost as if he was giving us his own personal city tour, dispensing historic pieces of information as he went - like how Calle Pizarro is named after the Spanish conquistador (who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Incan Empire).

We had a wonderful dinner at Cicciolina. Superb food!! We even tried guinea pig (cuy) which was magnificent in this entree dish that we shared.




















More pictures Picchu Day 2: