Machu Picchu

It was a very early start to travel to Ollantaytambo to catch the Vista Dome luxury train. This gave us excellent views through the picture windows and roof windows.  The journey through the Sacred Valley was spectacular in itself. If we had been much younger and fitter we would have considered the four day hike. In fact we have both been suffering from Altitude sickness and welcomed being a little lower today. We still had a 30 minute bus trip up the winding road to the Machu Picchu entry.

Once you enter and walk through a narrow gap between rocks you see the old city set out in front of you. Wow what a view. We will not attempt to systematically show you photos of the various sections but pictures certainly do a better job than our words.

Gail in front of the terraces. Some may consider this to be a primitive city but they had a system of water supply, drainage and fountains that still work. They had highly advanced architecture, agriculture and astronomy.

This is the Observatory along with houses. Astronomy was so precise that this marked the Summer and Winter solstices. All without a compass.

                                                          Houses and terraces

                                         The temple of the sun. Yes we did climb to the top!

                                         Llamas and Alpacas near the Inca homes

                            The clouds hang over the site. Later in the day we had heavy rain

Looking down on the Observatory. On the solstice the suns rays came in the larger window.

The inca system of terraces and farming was key to the success of the city

Ruins and terraces. These extend beyond the cleared area way down to the bottom of the valley.

The Church of The Three Windows. This was another astronomical venue. Wonderful!!

                                                   Just to prove we both made it!

After only about 150 years the Incas simply abandoned the site. They removed the valuables and let the vegetation reclaim the area. They destroyed sections of the Inca trail so that this special place would not be destroyed by the Spanish.
In 1912 it was rediscovered with two local farming families living there by Archaeologist Hiram Bingham and is now a World Heritage Site.