We enjoy the scenery as we travel alongside the headwaters of the Amazon River on our way to Aguas Calientes.
We meet our guide in Aquas Calientes...
...
then take the 30-minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu on a twisty dirt road....
And we start walking in..
And there it is!
Of course there is the perfect spot to take our photos. Must document we were here, you know.
Our excellent guide, Marybel Ortiz guided us around the ruins.
Although it was located only about 50 miles from the Inca capital in Cusco, the Spanish never found Machu Picchu and so did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites.
Inti Watana is believed to have been designed as an astronomical clock or calendar by the Incas.
Inti (the sun god) Watana |
On the floor of the Condor temple you can see a rock carved in the shape of the condor's head and neck feathers Historians speculate that the Inca used the head of the condor here as a sacrificial altar.
Machu Picchu has a number of structures that would have enhanced the spiritual significance of the site.
One of them, the “Temple of the Sun,” has an elliptical design similar to a sun temple found at the Inca capital of Cuzco. It is located near where the Inca emperor is believed to have resided at Machu Picchu.
A rock inside the temple could have served as an altar. During the June solstice the rising sun shines directly into one of the temple’s windows, and this indicates an alignment between the window, rock and solstice sun.
Temple of the Sun |
The sculptured circles carved out from the rock bottom of the sun temple is interpreted as "Water mirrors for observing the sky".
Terry and Jen stayed on Machu Picchu while the rest of us traveled back to Aquas Calientes to check into our hotel. They hiked to the Inca Bridge, which is part of a mountain trail that heads west from Machu Picchu.
The trail is a stone path, part of which is cut into a cliff face.
And they saw some llamas along the way.
While Terry and Jen were hiking to the Inca Bridge, the rest of us walked from the bus stop in Aquas Calientes to our hotel, the Inkaterra.
The Inkaterra is a beautiful hotel; it seemed out of place compared to the local living conditions.
We enjoyed some afternoon tea.
And then when Terry and Jen joined us, it was time for Pisco Sours!
The next day we explore Machu Picchu on our own....and we hike up the mountain called Huayna Picchu for a wonderful bird's-eye view of the Machu Picchu ruins.
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