The focus of my trip to Peru and the last four days hiking up the Inca Trail is Machu Picchu. This 15th century Inca citadel is considered one of the wonders of the world. It was built on a mountain ridge at nearly 8,000 feet and overlooks the valley's on either side. It is the crown jewel of the Inca planning and engineering. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", this location was undiscovered and untouched during the Spanish conquest and subjugation of the Inca. For centuries, it existed only as myth as the cloud forest reclaimed much of the site.
And now, I get to check off a bucket list item by walk around the ruins of this magnificent city. As we approach, my guide, Mario stops and suggests a few areas for taking good pictures of the city from above. The terraces on the southern side of the site provide great views. We linger here for a while and take it all in. After hiking from the Sun Gate, we have arrived early before many of the other visitors that will be bussed up a series of steep switchbacks from the river valley below. This provides an excellent opportunity for pictures and I take quite a few.
Mario begins telling me the history of his place as modern archaeologists have theorized it to be. The construction of the city was ordered by Pachacutec, the Incan Emperor around the mid-point of the fifteenth century, though this date is not universally agreed upon. Pachacutec was the driving force of the Inca's transition to empire and it is believed he built Machu Picchu as a royal estate. Though not completely finished when the Inca fled around 1530 CE, the city was believed to be home to some 750 inhabitants at its height. This number is arrived at by considering the number of dwellings and the likely number of inhabitants per dwelling.
After this initial history lesson, we walk down a series of ramps to the check-in point, where I once again show my passport and we are then allowed into the ruins. Mario seems to know his way around as if he had grown up in this place. With the winding corridors and steep steps, it would be very easy to get lost in here, but luckily, I'm with an expert that has been here several hundred times.
There are varying styles of masonry work throughout the site. Some walls are made of stones and mortar, while others are the masterfully fitted giant interlocking stones. There are also numerous sections where the Inca built around pieces of the mountain. This could have been for either practical or religious reasons, but either way it's very interesting to see the blend of nature and technology. I'm reminded of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural designs, which follow this philosophy so closely. Obviously, the Inca predated him by centuries, but the ideas are similar.
As we continue to walk around, Mario points out various features such as the town square, the three major temples, the locations where mummified remains were found, and many, many others. The amount of detail is truly overwhelming and between that and just the spectacle of walking around this fortress in the clouds, my brain is going into overdrive.
Continuing to walk around the ruin, I notice an area of unworked stone. I'm told this is referred to as the quarry and that it is likely that this was a small mountain peak that the Inca cut through and used as the building blocks of the entire city. They literally processed the mountain to make this city. These people were the exact opposite of primitive. Their craftsmanship and engineering in the areas of city planning and stone work rival anything in the modern world. If only their culture could have survived the Spanish invasion, what heights would it have reached by now.
We take time to look at the various views available from the multiple terraces and balconies all over the city. Each view is more spectacular than the last. I just can't believe what I'm seeing. Pictures cannot do this place justice and I would encourage anyone that has even the slightest interest in history or engineering to visit Machu Picchu.
I could probably type many more paragraphs about what I'm seeing and how I'm feeling, but I'll leave some pictures to inspire you. As for Mario and I, we made our way out of the main city and headed to the snack bar. We have a lunch reservation at the restaurant, but it doesn't open for another hour or so. In the mean time, I think we'll just enjoy a beer and bath in the experience.
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