Our South America Adventure - Day 5 Machu Picchu

It was a great day. We have now visited 6 of 7 modern wonders of the world! Today was all about Machu Picchu. We had high expectations for this place, and it exceeded them. 

We woke up early ~4:15am in order to be ready to go at 5am. Luis, our guide, met us in the lobby and we walked to the bus stop. We took a bus ride for ~30 minutes to arrive at the entrance to Machu Picchu. 

We were so excited to be here. While we were waiting in line we noticed one of the guys in the group in front of us was wearing a BYU shirt. We asked if they were traveling with BYU. They told us they were engineers doing a study abroad in Peru and this was their last day. Alison told them BYU is her alma mater and we chatted for a bit. They were a friendly group. Ironically, we also ran into a group of BYU students at another of the 7 Wonders of the World - the Great Wall of China. 

We were among the first people into Machu Picchu today. When they reopened after closing due to the pandemic they moved to a timed entry system where they only let 2-3 hundred people in per hour. This system was great for us. There was no point during the day where the monument felt overcrowded and it was less crowded than many of the other wonders we have visited.

There are three loops you can take one is long and two are short. Luis told us the long loop was the best so that is the one we started with. 

We climbed up a little way and got a great view of the sun rising over the Andes. We hung out for a few minutes until the sun peaked over the top of the mountains. Luis wanted to ensure we had the best views of Machu Picchu so he encouraged us to hang back until the sun was in the right position. 

Our first glimpse of Machu Picchu

Then we proceeded toward Machu Picchu. We were on some terraces overlooking the city. We sat and watched the sun continue to rise and bathe Machu Picchu in light. It is quite a sight. We loved this view of the city and sat and enjoyed it for quite a while. 

Once we had soaked it in, we moved down toward the city. We stopped so Luis could tell us a little bit about the history of this magnificent place. Fortunately, the Spaniards never came here so the ruins were not converted into a Christian church. These ruins are remarkable. What a place to build a city.

We entered the city and began to explore. We saw many ancient buildings and temples. The temples were our favorites. There was a temple of the sun, a temple of water, a temple to the creator, a temple for Pachamama, and many more. 

Alison loved seeing white-winged swallows all over Machu Picchu

A Sun temple from above

After we made our way through the city we briefly exited to use the restroom, shed some layers, and eat a quick snack. We had permits to hike Huayana Picchu at 9:00am. 

We were prepared for rain and cold. The forecast the day before looked bleak. It showed it might rain from 9am to 2pm and that it could be fairly cold all day, but this was not the case. It was a gloriously sunny day at Machu Picchu. 

When we finished our break we stood in line to get back into Machu Picchu. Luis had waited just inside the entrance for us. We went on a walk through the ruins to the start of the Huayna Picchu hike. Along the way we stopped at a few temples and buildings we didn’t see earlier in the day. You could spend an entire day in Machu Picchu and still not see everything. 

View of the Sun temple from below

We got to the Huayna Picchu entrance point and there was a bit of a queue to enter. When you enter you have to fill in some information and show your passport and your ticket. You also have to sign out when you are finished. Luis was coming with us but he had to wait a few more minutes to sign in so he told us to go on ahead and he would catch up. We started up the trail and pretty immediately came to a fork in the road. The sign pointing straight ahead showed a destination starting with an H, so we thought this was the way to go. Also, Luis told us to go straight. It turns out we needed to turn left. We realized about a quarter-mile into this hike we had gone the wrong way. We backtracked and took the correct path. This path was to Wayna Picchu, which is the Quechua (Incan name) for Huayana Picchu. The hike was steep. It is only 3/4 of a mile long, but it gains 1,000 feet in elevation. Much of the hike is up narrow stone stairs.  It was tough. Alison may have grumbled a little on the way up, but agreed the views from the top were worth the effort. From the top, we looked down on Machu Picchu and the surrounding valleys. It is spectacular. We hung out around at the top enjoying the views before eventually climbing down.  

At the bottom, we took a bus back to town. We had lunch at a local place. I had alpaca and Alison had trout. 

Spiny whorltail iguana

After lunch, it was time to take the train back to Ollantaytambo. This is such a great train ride. You cut through the Andes and follow the sacred river. Everywhere you look the views are stunning. The scenery in this part of Peru is unbelievable. We will miss it when we leave. 

View from the train

View from the train

We arrived back at Ollantaytambo where a van was waiting. We picked up our roller bags and then drove back to Cusco. The drive is about two hours. The sunset shortly after we were on our way so there wasn’t much to see. We also took a shortcut, which was a less scenic, but more efficient route. 

We arrived back in Cusco at 7pm. It had been a long day. We were back at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cusco, which is a really nice hotel. Alison jumped in the shower and I ordered some room service. We have a very early morning wake-up time tomorrow so we thought it would be best to get to bed as soon as possible.