On the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - Day 4

We could hear the rain beating down on our tents when we woke up at 3:30am.  The plan is to be in line at the control station to the trail as soon as possible, before it opens at 5:30am.  We were all packed and ready for breakfast by 4:00am and by 4:30am, we were in line wearing rain-gear.  In front were a few other groups.  Our porters were very efficient in serving us breakfast, while others were packing up the camp.  Some were to hike straight down to Aguas Calientes, the town at the bottom of Machu Picchu, and take the train back to Ollantaytambo.  About 3 or 4 were to follow slightly later and take our duffel bags to a pizza restaurant, where we would meet after the hike and visiting Machu Picchu

The sky starts to brighten at about 5:00am and miraculously, the rain starts to lighten.  At 5:30am, the line starts to move.  The rain stopped.  Our guide checked us in and alas, we are on the final leg of our hike.  Our first stop is the Sun Gate or Intipunku, about 30 minutes before Machu Picchu.  A group of 4 in front hiked at a fast pace.  This part of the trail has gradual ups and downs but some parts are slippery from the rain.  I hiked alone at a brisk pace, making sure that I don't slip.  I want to avoid any fall when I am so close to the end.

Just before 7:00am I arrived at the Sun Gate.  This is where you get the first glimpse of Machu Picchu.  The place was crowded.  Many of the hikers stop here to catch their first view.  About 30 minutes more to go.  The excitement is building.

Sign for the Sun Gate.  Reached here at 6:40am

First sighting just below the Sun Gate, using a zoom lens, at 6:41am

As we descend from the Sun Gate, we start seeing visitors coming from the other direction.  We also start getting better views of Machu Picchu.  I took my DSLR camera and attached on my zoom lens to get a better close-up shoot of the complex.  The Urubamba River is just below us.  We can also see the serpentine road that takes visitors from the town of Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu.

Another good view of Machu Picchu, coming down from the Sun Gate, at about 7:14am

Road from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes and Urubamba River

Santiago giving us a guided tour of the complex

A postcard view

View of the entire complex

What a Glorious Sight!

View from a different position

A different view

Looking from the bottom up

It is a special and rewarding feeling seeing Machu Picchu from the top.  Only 500 hikers per day are allowed on the Inca Trail.  When we stood on the platform with the postcard view of Machu Picchu, it was a clear sunny morning with blue skies.  Wisp of clouds were floating below us.  It was like being in heaven looking down.

We arrived on the site of Machu Picchu at about 7:30am.  Already there were visitors below.  The gate opens at 7am and tourists who stayed overnight in Aguas Calientes got there before us.  The crowd was still sparse so we were able to get some excellent photographs from the top with minimal people.  At about 8:30am we gathered at the main gate to start our guided tour by Santiago.  He walked us through the different parts of the complex and explained their history and significance.  The tour was over in about 2 hours and we were free to roam the area until about 12:30pm.  Some of us hiked to the Inca Bridge.

Between 12:30 and 1:30pm, we were to take the bus down to the town of Aguas Calientes.  The serpentine road was built in the 1940s' and I understand that Hiram Bingham, the explorer who "discovered" Machu Picchu, came to dedicate it.  Today there is still a legal tussle between the Peruvian Government and Yale University over artifacts that Hiram Bingham took with him when he first visited Machu Picchu.  The Peruvians don't view Hiram Bingham with as much reverence as one might expect because of some of the damages that he did to the ruins and the artifacts that he took.

The bus took about 30 minutes to get down to Aguas Calientes.  We walked about 100m to Pachamama Pizza where our duffel bags were waiting for us.  We had lunch and at 2:30pm we walked to the train station to catch our 2:45pm train.  The comfortable train ride to Ollantaytambo took about an hour and a half.  From there a van waited for us to take us on a 2-hour ride back to Cusco.

Upon arriving at our hotel in Cusco we found out that there was no water.  After four days in the wilderness in rain, shine and sweat and no shower, that was inexcusable.  Not even the honor of sitting on the heavenly toilet bowl and enjoying a blissful bowel movement.  Some of us took up the hotel's offer to shower at a sister hotel but some did not.  In the morning there was still no water.  A couple of travelers on the team decided to move to the other hotel.  An unhappy ending to a majestic trip.

So what does it feel like having to hike for four days to see Machu Picchu?  Rewarding!  Glorious!  Relief!  Accomplished!  I can't say I would recommend this to everyone even though they said anybody can do it.  Why suffer when you can't enjoy the scenery and appreciate the history of the place.  However, if you feel hiking on the Inca Trail, as the Incas did hundreds of years ago, is as glorious an experience as seeing Machu Picchu itself, then I say "Go for it!"  Amen!