MACHU PICCHU

Caught the early train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes - the town near to Macchu Picchu. It took 4 hours but the scenery was amazing. The town was only small, but situated at the bottom of some incredible hills, so you felt very small!

Got up early to catch the bus up to the site and luckily the weather was on our side. You could walk it if you wanted - but that would involve a straight up climb with hundreds of steps - so we took the easier option! Driving up the switch back road you caught glimpses of Macchu Picchu itself - but nothing prepared you for your first full view. Breathtaking how it seems so perched on top of the mountain with the terraces sweeping down the sides that seem scarily high. Quite mind blowing to think how they would have built this place 600 years ago.

We headed straight up to Wayanapicchu (the mountain at one end of the site), in order to see the views. Bloody hell - it was steep! It was worth it at the top though (you can see from the photo above) and the views were phenomenal. Rather than head back the same way we clambered down to see the temple of the moon. On this route we had the added fun of using ladders in a couple of sections and the original Inka steps. Tony was his usual mountain goat self whilst I was a little more leisurely!

The hike was worth it though as it doesnt appear to be that visited and we had the place to oursleves for an hour. The temple was built into an existing cave and the stonework was amazing - true Inka style with no space at all between each block. Making our way back to the main site, the hoards of tourists had arrived - so thought we´d call it a day and head back to the sanctuary of our balcony!

Spent a second day at Macchu Picchu and this time thought we`d make an early start so caught the first bus at 5.30am up to the top. Sod`s law, it was foggy! Doh! Walked up to the Sun gate to see if the clouds would clear - but no. The sun gate is also the entry point into the site, for those who have just spent the past 4 days walking on the Inka trail. Apparently the guides also get them up at 4.30am that morning in order to see the sunrise .... so we felt a bit sorry for the guys who were just staring into fog that morning!

Tony wanted to cover every inch of Macchu Picchu, so he headed up to the top of Macchu Picchu mountain whilst I soaked up the view from the terraces and enjoyed the now appearing sun. To say that we have quite a few photos of this place is an understatement! Also visited the Inka bridge and were again amazed by just how small the paths were and how high they went accross the sides of mountains. I have been wondering how on earth any Inka`s with vertigo would have fared here - or hopefully they were all vertigo free! We`re clocking up a few `Great picnic spots of the world`and this was no exception. You could sit and look at the views over Macchu Picchu for hours.

Headed back to Cusco on the train to spend one final night there before catching the overnight bus to Arequipa. Security was phenomenal as our carry on bags were searched with a `wand`and they also videoed each passenger climbing on board..makes you wonder whats gone on in the past to warrent this much security...did get a chance to finally play bingo on the bus though!