Put your reading glasses on, this is going to be a long post!
It was finally here, the day we were going to set foot in Machu Picchu. I could hardly believe it. Our alarm clock was set early so we could grab breakfast at the hotel, jump aboard a bus and be at the entrance of Machu Picchu by 6:45. The bus ride was scheduled to take about 30 minutes. Here is a map to help show the area. Point B is actually Aguas Calientes where we stayed and you can see the road up to Machu Picchu has lots of switch backs.
That road is called the Hiram Bingham Highway. I'll explain why in a bit. Here are pictures of those switch backs in real life. Talk about an interesting ride. Good thing our drivers were pretty under control.
The reason we were trying to get to the site by 6:45 was because our tickets to Machu Picchu included entrance to climb Huayna Picchu (Way-na Pee-choo). See that mountain below, thar she blows! In Quechua Huayna Picchu means Young Mountain and Machu Picchu means Old Mountain. Don't let the "young" title mislead you, she was a beast of a mountain.
First we had to find our way from the entrance of Machu Picchu all the way through the ruins to the entrance of Huayna Picchu. Here was a sneak peak of the mountain, we're on our way!
Then we reached the entrance to Huayna Picchu and joined the crowd waiting. Each day the Peruvian government limits the number of people allowed to climb to only 400. On top of that they only let people in at two different times, 7:00 and 10:00 AM. We saw a guy who we had met the day before when we arrived in Aguas Calientes. His name was Matt and he was also climbing Huayna Picchu. He was a nice guy from Seattle and we actually ended up climbing the whole way up and down with him. Come to find out later... he's a doctor. At least we knew we were in good hands if anything would have happened!
Before our hike I posed in front of this large stone that was carved out to look like and represent a mountain. You can see behind it an actual mountain that looks very similar. The mountains were sacred places because they were so close to the sun.
And so it begins. You can kind of make out the trail at the bottom of this picture. For some reason we began the hike going down. I was confused and not enjoying the idea of it which just meant we'd have to go even farther up!
We're getting pretty high now, you can see clouds below us! Can you make out Machu Picchu down there?
Here's a bit of a closer look. Every angle of the ruins looks so different. This angle is really neat and not one you normally see in magazines or online.
Getting even higher...
And now we've made it pretty much all the way to the top. You can see people down below on a ledge, Machu Picchu through the clouds and even the road with the switch backs. Good thing Joe and I aren't afraid of heights. The very top of Huayna Picchu was basically large boulders and it was crowded. It was hard to move around and enjoy the sights.
We went down a little ways and sat on a ledge to eat a snack. After our long hike to the top we needed to refuel. Then to prove we were actually up here we asked someone to take our picture.
It was amazing that even up this high there were buildings and ledges. I don't think a single Inca resident could have been afraid of heights.
Oh and this just shows some of the maneuvering we had to do on our hike. This little tunnel looks steeper than it really was. Most people had to take off their backpacks just to squeeze though. The challenge was going back down, backwards. Let's just say my white shirt didn't stay white. Bad choice of clothing Sara!
Our smiles are a bit bigger now that we're on our way down. I'm not going to lie, this was a very tough hike. Joe described it like our hike in Yosemite times ten. I would have claimed to be in decent shape prior to our trip, but you add the altitude element and the fact that the hike was just flat out tough, I had a hard time.
Oh and this just shows exactly how steep the stairs and climb really was. I am standing a few steps lower than Joe, but my face is about eye level with his feet! I suppose this is how you get buns of steel!
After we got back down from our Huayna Picchu hike we headed back to the entrace of Machu Picchu so we could sit and grab a snack. No food is allowed inside the park. I snapped this picture so we would remember our time with Matt. He was such a nice guy.
On our way we saw some alpacas grazing.
It was my turn to get my picture with an alpaca. At least I didn't have to pay anyone for it! My face shows my emotions, I was kinda scared of this thing. I've heard they can be mean! Plus I did not want to be spit on!
Chomp, chomp, chomp... you chew that grass!
At 10:30 AM our official tour with Ro (remember, we met him the night before in Aguas Calientes) began. There were lots of organized tours going on all over the park. Even at the entrance lots of people would ask if anyone needed a guide, I guess they just wait around until they have paying customers. We were lucky and only had 5 people in our tour plus Ro. It was great to have a smaller group!
And now for my mini history lesson... Machu Picchu was built around 1450 during the peak of the Inca Empire. It is believed that the site was abandonded about 100 years later during the Spanish conquest. After sitting untouched for over 350 years (and overgrown by vegetation), it was discovered in 1911 by American historian, Hiram Bingham. No one is really sure what the purpose of this huge complex was, but one theory includes a winter palace for Inca ruler Pachacutec.
There were multiple fountains like this one showing the flow of water.
No matter the time of year, water is always a-flowin'!
Joe and his doors, gotta love it.
Again with the trapezoid windows too.
Our tour took us winding and wandering throughout Machu Picchu. I'll try to show a few of the really important buildings, stones or temples.
This is the Temple of the Sun. It was used to honor and celebrate the Sun, or Inti. I mentioned before that the Inca people worshipped many beings such as the sun, moon, etc. Something to do with the winter solstice... the sun shines directly through a gateway on the top of an adjacent mountain into the window and on the stone in the center of the temple. I know it sounds confusing, but just trust me, it is some amazing engineering.
This picture shows a rock quarry. These rocks were waiting to be chisled and formed into precise shape which shows that Machu Picchu was not completely finished when it was abandonded. I guess the Incas had more plans for this place.
Hang with me here, there's lots of symbolism. The picture below is the Temple of the Three Windows. They each represented a part of life: the lower or underworld (also represented by the snake), the middle world of humans (represented by the puma) and the upper world of the Gods (represented by the condor). On the solstice the sun would shine through these three windows onto three rocks (in the foreground of the second picture). On that day the rocks and their corresponding shadows created the image of the Inca Cross. Which is this orange thing to the right. 
Joe strikes again. Looks like he will actually need to duck when going through this doorway.
Don't look down!
The buildings here that look like they're missing roofs were the community houses. About 20 people shared a housing unit that included a community area and a couple bedrooms. Although there are no original roofs still in place, it is believed the Incas used thick layers of straw to protect them from weather elements.
Here is an expample of ceiling beams and the floor to a second story.
And here is an example of the straw roof.
The pillar in the middle of the room below would have been taller and been a support structure for the roof.
Near the community houses were workshops. Certain workers were designated to make tools and weapons which of course were used to shape the rocks, tend the crops and fend off any possible enemies.
This was the most important ceremonial location within Machu Picchu. It was the Intihuatana (Inti-wata-na) stone, or the Sun Anchor. The Incas thought this stone held the sun in place along it's annual path in the sky.
Temple of the Condor, well at least the head of the bird. I wish I could have gotten a better picture of this because I literally just got half of the temple. Well the second picture below is actuall the natrual rock that the Incas worked around. The one large rock represents the wings of the 3D condor. If you can imagine putting these two pictures together you'd see the entire condor. And if you remember, the condor represents the afterlife to the Incans.
Check out how the walls are built around these huge stones.
Oh hello little guy.
Baby with moma!
Before our day was done we had one more place we wanted to explore. We knew the best views were from the Guard House way up on the hill, can you see it? After our long day and the amount of walking/hiking we did, this last hike was a challenge. Let me tell you though, it was so worth it!!
We made it up to the top and I'm so glad we did.
Here is the amazing view. Seriously breath taking! There was almost a calming sensation up here. Even though there were other people around, it seemed quiet and unreal. I still can't believe the amazing weather we had this day too. My worst fear for this trip was that we'd have awful, rainy weather the day we visited Machu Picchu. Luckily is was the complete opposite. Although we did have an overcast and dreary morning, it really cleared up and was perfect.
We took an embarassing amount of pictures up here. Some were good, some were weird and some were not worth sharing. I just wanted to show that we not only took this amazing trip, but that we conquered Huayna Picchu. Can't you see she's almost staring back at us. Crazy mountain!
Joe representing Iowa... Machu Picchu style!
The whole day was completely exhausting yet extremely satisfying. We made the long trip back to Cusco... the bus to the train to another bus and finally walked a short ways back to the hotel. We got back to the JW Marriott around 9:30 PM and we were so tired we completely skipped dinner. It was such an amazing day!
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