After visiting the ruins in Ollantaytambo, we were taken to the railway station from where we took the train to Machu Picchu. The train ride was less than 2 hours long and was a spectacular journey through the Andean foothills following the Urubamba River, leading you into the cloud forest to arrive at the small town of Aguas Calientes. We stayed overnight in a hotel in this town.
We had to wake up really early the next day, around 4am or so and get ready to take the 30-min bus ride to the ruins. The busses start taking tourists to the top starting at 5am. We joined a long line of tourists waiting to take the bus.
Machu Picchu – About 600 years ago, a small plateau between two lushly forested peaks high in the Andes became a building site for the Inca Empire’s greatest city. This citadel in the clouds was abandoned only 100 years later but Spanish invaders never found Machu Picchu. It was left to nature before explorer Hiram Bingham caught wind of it on an expedition in 1911 and decided to investigate. A hidden city protected by the mountains, and still wonderfully inaccessible other than by foot or train, Machu Picchu is now one of the most visited tourist site in the world.
Llamas at Machu Picchu – Llamas were used by Incas to transport materials like stones and timber during the construction of Machu Picchu. Their ability to navigate the steep and rugged terrain of the Andes Mountains made them invaluable for this purpose. They are a common sight at Machu Picchu, and are owned by the government and are free to roam the complex, often walking among crowds and stopping for selfies. The steep Inca stairs act as a natural fence, keeping them contained within the protected area of the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu.
The Intihuatana stone – This is the most visited site in Machu Picchu. Most tourist guides will take you first to this stone. The word Intihuatana in Quechua language, means ‘place to tie up the sun’ or ‘hitching post of the sun’. The Intihuatana at Machu Picchu was carved from a huge slab of rock from the surrounding mountains. It stands at the highest elevation inside the archeological site, which is usually known as the Sacred Plaza. It sits above a pyramid-like tiered form with the rock on top. It’s a four-sided stone and each point represents the north, south, east, and west. It does look like a sundial, which was one of its main purposes. You’ll also notice lots of other steps and dents on the stone, which indicate other uses of the Intihuatana.
The Temple of Sun – Incans used the The Temple of the Sun to make sacrifices and hold religious ceremonies. Due to its high location, it is considered a religious building to worship the sun. It is the only construction of the Inca city that has a circular shape. Because it was sacred, only the priests and high-ranking Incas were allowed inside.
The Royal Tomb – The cave-like building below the Temple of the Sun, is thought to be where sacrificial or burial rituals were performed, and there have been more than 100 skeletons excavated here.
Just to the left of the tomb lies a series of ceremonial baths fed by a sophisticated aqueduct system, another reminder of the impressive masonry skill of the Incas.
Temple of the three windows – This structure is located around the main square, also considered the courtyard for The Inca citadel. This temple has three windows that are perfectly embedded into the structure, they are also perfectly symmetrical to the surroundings. Some Machu Picchu researchers believe there were at one point, 5 windows but the structure for the other 2 probably collapsed at some point.
It is believed that temple of the three windows has to do with the different world in existence the Inca believed in. Each window is said to represent a different plane of existence or a different part of the Inca world. The first window represents “Uku-Pacha” which translates to the underground. Uku- Pacha would be what the Inca interpreted as hell, or where the dead are. The second window represents “Hanan-Pacha” or what the Incas would refer to as heaven. Hanan-Pacha was considered the world where all the gods reside. The third window was said to represent “Kay-Pacha” or what we know as the human world where people live their lives.
The Main Temple or Wayrana – Situated on the Sacred Plaza in the Urban Sector of Machu Picchu, the Main Temple is an impressive rectangular shaped building consisting of 2 lateral walls and 1 rear wall. This temple is known as the “Wayrana” in the Quechua language which means “a very windy place“, this is because the temple was built with only three walls facing indoor, and thus leaving one of the sides without a wall where the wind enters from.
House of High Priest – Very little is known about the House of the High Priest, but this is a must-see when visiting Machu Picchu. The building is still standing with all four walls and can be found opposite Main Temple in the Sacred Plaza and the Temple of the Three Windows. This site was named the House of the Priest by the discoverer of Machu Picchu Hiram Bingham, because he believed that from this point the high priest could direct the religious acts that took place in the Sacred Plaza.
Palace of Princess – Also known as the “Ñusta Palace” (palacio de las ñustas), this Machu Picchu attraction is located next to the architectural complex where the Temple of the Sun is found. According to some historians, it served to house the virgin princesses of the Inca empire known as ñustas, or Sun princesses.
The Funerary Rock is located in the agricultural sector of the city. The rock represents symbolically, the entrance to the cemetery in the city of Machu Picchu.
Climbing Huayna Picchu (Wayna Picchu) – Most of the pictures of Machu Picchu has this mountain tucked up against it at the far end. It rises over Machu Picchu, with the Urubamba river flowing around it. According to local guides, the top of the mountain was the residence for the high priest and local virgins. The temple of Moon, one of the 3 major temples in Machu Picchu is situated there.
You will need a permit to climb the mountain. Our tour operator purchased the permit as part of our Machu Picchu tour. When we climbed the mountain in 2018, there were 2 time slots available 7am-8am and 10am-11am. Each time slot was restricted to 400 visitors. We took the short trail which took us 45 min to reach the top. We stopped many times to admire the view and take pictures. Unfortunately, we did not have a clear day with rain and cloud cover most of the morning.
