Machu Picchu

The classic Inca city, built on top of a mountain, swallowed by the jungle, lost for centuries, rediscovered and slowly being rebuilt. We stayed in Aguas Calientes which meant we could be on site at the crack of dawn. We were up on the mountain at 8am.

Just as an aside, water is provided by a spring which runs along channelled stones before going through a bundle of fountains and temples and spilling off the mountain. There is a modern resort on top of the mountain which gets its water from the same spring. They had lost their water supply because of a landslide several days earlier. The four hundred year old Inca supply was still working fine.

And the entire place was enveloped in cloud. Visibility was literally a couple of feet, you could not see a thing. I loved it. There was something more magical about having the place emerge from the cloud was amazing. Small glimpses here and there, then over the course of the morning the cloud cleared, slowly allowing it all to be seen.

Another advantage of getting there early is no one else was there. Our guide kept telling us how he had never seen the place so empty. In the first half hour we only saw two other people, they had been there since 6am and we only saw them for a few minutes when they appeared from the mist before disappearing again.

There is the main ruins which everyone sees, then there are the places off the beaten track. The two peaks it sits between, but you have to register to climb those, plus they cost money now and the day we were there, you would not have been seeing much. However, the Inca Bridge was a great walk, not recommended if you're afraid of heights.

Allow lots of time for a visit and don't be afraid to explore. I loved the way it just clings to the cliffs and even with the place crawling with tourists, it's not hard to find somewhere with no one else in sight, which I can recommend.


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First glimpse of Machu Picchu looming out of the mist
8:49pm 1st March 2012
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I use to lag behind everyone
8:52pm 1st March 2012
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My favourite group pic with Machu Picchu in the backgr... oh, wait...
9:00pm 1st March 2012
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lichen in the trees
9:02pm 1st March 2012
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Everyone walking into the mist at Machu Picchu
9:03pm 1st March 2012
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Lots of rock walls everywhere
9:08pm 1st March 2012
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Heather in the mist in Machu Picchu
9:08pm 1st March 2012
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Drains on the terraces
9:09pm 1st March 2012
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Terraces in the mist
9:10pm 1st March 2012
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What you think is a natural cliff turns out to be cut blocks
9:14pm 1st March 2012
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Spider web and morning dew
9:15pm 1st March 2012
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Terraces and the end of the Inca trail
9:17pm 1st March 2012
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Stairways that disappear
9:19pm 1st March 2012
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More dew
9:21pm 1st March 2012
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This is looking up the Inca Trail towards the Sun Gate
9:22pm 1st March 2012
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The Hut of the Caretaker
9:24pm 1st March 2012
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Funerary Rock
9:25pm 1st March 2012
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We thought this was a temple gate. Its not, its a tiny rock room
9:25pm 1st March 2012
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Heather and Jana after everyone else had disappeared
9:28pm 1st March 2012
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I loved the way it disappeared into the mist
9:31pm 1st March 2012
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More terraces
9:33pm 1st March 2012
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The tiny hut we thought was a temple
9:35pm 1st March 2012
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Looking back at the Hut of the Caretaker
9:35pm 1st March 2012
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Path up to the Inca Bridge
9:38pm 1st March 2012
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More of the path
9:43pm 1st March 2012
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Path to the Inca Bridge
9:48pm 1st March 2012
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It has quite a drop on one side
9:50pm 1st March 2012
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Yes, quite the drop
9:50pm 1st March 2012
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The Inca Bridge, they don't let you cross it
9:54pm 1st March 2012
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Looking down at the Urubamba River
9:55pm 1st March 2012
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Close up of the Inca Bridge
9:55pm 1st March 2012
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What was this pose? At the Inca Bridge at Machu Picchu
9:56pm 1st March 2012
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Heather at the Inca Bridge, Machu Picchu
9:57pm 1st March 2012
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Heather and Jana walking back from the Inca Bridge
9:57pm 1st March 2012
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Another of the Inca Bridge
9:58pm 1st March 2012
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Jana and Heather walking back from the bridge
10:01pm 1st March 2012
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Jana and Heather walking back from the bridge
10:01pm 1st March 2012
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Jana at Machu Picchu
10:09pm 1st March 2012
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The mist is beginning to clear
10:12pm 1st March 2012
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Now we can start to see more
10:12pm 1st March 2012
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The gang milling about at Machu Picchu
10:13pm 1st March 2012
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But its still got a lot of cloud about
10:13pm 1st March 2012
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Looking back towards the entrance
10:14pm 1st March 2012
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More of the gang milling about at Machu Picchu
10:14pm 1st March 2012
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Looking towards the Industrial sector
10:16pm 1st March 2012
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Another drainage ditch, I did like these didn't I?
10:21pm 1st March 2012
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Passing the time in Machu Picchu
10:21pm 1st March 2012
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Heading down to pick up our guide
10:26pm 1st March 2012
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Still walking down for the guide
10:27pm 1st March 2012
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The first buildings you see as you enter
10:28pm 1st March 2012
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One of the paths up to the Hut of the Caretaker
10:29pm 1st March 2012
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Jansen with his passport stamped
10:35pm 1st March 2012
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Looking down at the river
10:48pm 1st March 2012
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These are the first glimpses of the site from the entrance
10:49pm 1st March 2012
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A little bit of moss
10:52pm 1st March 2012
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A lot of moss
10:52pm 1st March 2012
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Jana exploring Machu Picchu
10:52pm 1st March 2012
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Drains and steps
10:53pm 1st March 2012
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Looking towards the industrial and residential sectors
10:53pm 1st March 2012
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Looking across the terraces
10:55pm 1st March 2012
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Looking up the terraces at the Hut of the Caretaker
10:55pm 1st March 2012
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Industrial and residential sectors
10:55pm 1st March 2012
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The classic shot of me at Machu Picchu
10:55pm 1st March 2012
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What is up with my poses?
10:56pm 1st March 2012
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The terraces and the steps they put in
10:56pm 1st March 2012
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Old staircases either side of the drain
11:09pm 1st March 2012
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Almost the classic shot, with the carved channel in the foreground stones
11:09pm 1st March 2012
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Looking back towards the entrance
11:13pm 1st March 2012
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Window in the Temple of the Sun
11:15pm 1st March 2012
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Stonework of the Temple of the Sun and Royal Tomb
11:16pm 1st March 2012
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Impressive doorway near the Royal Palace
11:19pm 1st March 2012
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A snail
11:23pm 1st March 2012
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One of the fountains, which still works
11:23pm 1st March 2012
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Looking back out across the valley
11:23pm 1st March 2012
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Here you can see the channelled creek
11:24pm 1st March 2012
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Walking up to the Sacred Plaza
11:24pm 1st March 2012
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The buildings were not big
11:25pm 1st March 2012
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Tina taking a photo... what a surprise
11:25pm 1st March 2012
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Looking down at the Temple of the Sun
11:25pm 1st March 2012
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Taking photos at the quarry at Machu Picchu
11:34pm 1st March 2012
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Looking contemplative
11:34pm 1st March 2012
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The edge of the quarry area and the steep drop
11:36pm 1st March 2012
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Looking up towards the main temples
11:37pm 1st March 2012
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The quarry and Winay Wanya (the mountain)
11:41pm 1st March 2012
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Principal Temple - one of the few places where I noticed the stonework flagging
11:44pm 1st March 2012
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Temple of the Three Windows
11:48pm 1st March 2012
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A steep drop down to the river
11:49pm 1st March 2012
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Looking back over the temples and quarry towards Winay Wanya
11:53pm 1st March 2012
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And towards the entrance
11:54pm 1st March 2012
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Another of the classic tourist shots
11:56pm 1st March 2012
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Looking across the plaza to the Residential and Industrial sectors
11:57pm 1st March 2012
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I loved the way they used every space and incorporated in the natural stone
12:00am 2nd March 2012
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Everyone admiring the Intihuatana
12:01am 2nd March 2012
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Looking across the plaza
12:02am 2nd March 2012
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Quite the view down the valley
12:02am 2nd March 2012
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Impressive rockwalls and aerobatic alpacas
12:02am 2nd March 2012
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All of us at Machu Picchu
12:04am 2nd March 2012
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Walking down to the plaza
12:06am 2nd March 2012
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The Three Doorways building from the plaza
12:11am 2nd March 2012
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Pachamama Stone (aka The sacred rock) is is shaped to the same profile as the mountain behind it
12:16am 2nd March 2012
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The hard way of cutting steps
12:18am 2nd March 2012
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It has a maze of paths
12:20am 2nd March 2012
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Me!
12:24am 2nd March 2012
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Can you tell we liked the view?
12:26am 2nd March 2012
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It was a steep drop
12:27am 2nd March 2012
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Thats the trainstation waaaay down there and a hint of the road up
12:29am 2nd March 2012
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If I look nervous its because there is a big drop to my left
12:30am 2nd March 2012
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The photographers getting themselves ready
12:30am 2nd March 2012
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Netsumi in her usual pose
12:32am 2nd March 2012
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Everywhere are small rooms and things
12:33am 2nd March 2012
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I can't remember the name of this rock, I think it was altar of the puma for some reason?
12:33am 2nd March 2012
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I loved the attention to detail
12:34am 2nd March 2012
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The perfect place to explore
12:34am 2nd March 2012
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Looking back over the site
12:35am 2nd March 2012
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Another moth lurking in the shadows
12:36am 2nd March 2012
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Buildings in the Industrial zone
12:36am 2nd March 2012
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A classic doorway
12:37am 2nd March 2012
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They believe this was used for astronomical observations
12:37am 2nd March 2012
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The agricultural terraces looking back towards the entrance
12:39am 2nd March 2012
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Yeap, that's as close to the edge as I'm going
12:40am 2nd March 2012
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Temple of the Condor
12:41am 2nd March 2012
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Looking back up from Temple of the Condor to Temple of the Three Windows
12:42am 2nd March 2012
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Hand carved steps into solid granite
12:43am 2nd March 2012
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Detail of the ends of the buildings, showing how they use to lash the roof on
12:43am 2nd March 2012
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Looking up towards the Temple of the Sun
12:45am 2nd March 2012
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Windows in the Temples
12:52am 2nd March 2012
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Looking over the Prison Group and the Mortars
12:53am 2nd March 2012
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Detail of a wall
12:55am 2nd March 2012
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Looking at the temple area and Wayna Picchu
12:58am 2nd March 2012
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Doorway, the niches on either side are probably for a locking mechanism
1:00am 2nd March 2012
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Looking up at the Hut of the Caretaker
1:03am 2nd March 2012
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The classic Machu Picchu shots
1:08am 2nd March 2012
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The classic shot of the site
1:09am 2nd March 2012
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Funerary Rock without the cloud
1:11am 2nd March 2012
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Heading back down towards the entrance
1:19am 2nd March 2012
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