The typical day trip to Machu Picchu had tourists leave from Cusco in the morning, spend 3.5 hours travelling on a bus, then a train then another bus before arriving middday at Machu Picchu; spend a few hours on the site then leave. Our tour arrived mid-afternoon, just as other tourists were about to leave and the place gradually calmed down. We spent some time on some of the important sites with our very knowledgeable guide and took our time because we knew we would return the following day. Time and space was needed to get the most out of this unique place. And I was glad I made an effort to find a tour that afforded two days at Machu Picchu. You can see from the photos below how the mountains were everywhere and how the buildings echoed the mountains around them.
The main gate - you walked through and the entire Machu Picchu site opened up in front of you |
View from the Principal Square - surrounded by "skyscraper" mountains |
A closer look at some of the first class stone work in some of the buildings - mortar less, perfectly cut and stacked |
This is one of 16 fountains found on the site, part of a complex system of water supply on the site |
The ever-present sacred mountains - which ever way we turned |
The perfect symmetry of the portals |
The main temple with its wall niches, foundation collapsed on one side, which was how the explorer Hiram Bingham found it in 1911. |
Look at the precise fit of the rocks |
This piece of rock in the sacred plaza must have been a compass - pointing exactly due north |
78 steps took us up to this Intihuatana, a ritual stone that must have been also a sun dial. It was said to give off energy and many visitors considered it a source of magnetic power. |
The Sacred Ceremonial Stone - almost a perfect echo of the mountain behind it |
The four Ecuadorian boys gave a sense of the size of the rock. Guido, the boy in the orange poncho, had asked to have his picture taken with me earlier - what an honour! |
Awe-inspiring!
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