Peru, Day 8 - Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu

From Ollantaytambo we catch the train that will take us to Aguas Calientes.

View leaving our room in the morning:

Breakfast is served with azúcar (sugar), butter, and two types of jam: elderberry and aguaymanto--both delicious:

At the train station:

Behind the train station:

The train follows the Urumbaba river through the valley.

This gives us some amazing views.

Aguas Calientes is the town at the base of Machu Picchu. It is a pretty touristy town, with the market full of souvenirs  and lots of restaurants and bars. It has a tributary running to the Urumbaba with foot bridges overhead.

Statue of Pachacutec

Photo courtesy of Pauletta Waugh

Local eateries:

Photo courtesy of Pauletta Waugh

There isn't much time to see the town now though. Upon arrival we immediately catch a bus up to Machu Picchu, which means The Old Mountain.

The bus ride up:

Here you can see the road the buses travel:

Hiram Bingham III made Machu Picchu known to the public.

Much of the ruins have been restored to a point.

Some have been left completely untouched.

The Torean was a religious center.

Next to it is what is thought to be the house of a priestess.

Wooden doors had locks carved into the stone

This is a bathroom. It is for bathing only.

Entrance to the house of beautiful women:

Reflection pools, possibly used for astronomical observations

Condor offering room (shaped like a condor):

Offering altar (also shaped like a condor):

Hiram Bingham thought this was a jail cell. According to our guide, it was a place to hold corpses for the condors to take their spirits.

Stone carved to mimic the mountains behind them.

The Sun Dial

Fountains:

There are 16 working fountains still in Machu Picchu. Aqueducts direct the water flow from a spring in the mountain. Based on the amount of water available to Machu Picchu from this spring, it is estimated they were able to support 500 residents.

There are also drainage channels that direct the water when it rains.

Time to explore!



And find some inhabitants.

Llama photo courtesy of Stephen Waugh

And travel through areas outside the primary touring spots:

And the view you will be familiar with:

Also, I had a goal on this trip. One-legged Siu Nim Tao overlooking the ruins of Machu Picchu. The wind made it more difficult than expected.

And if you're wondering what the wind was really like that afternoon:

The wind was a precursor to the heavy rain that followed. We made our way back to the buses and Aguas Calientes. The ruins were much nicer in the afternoon once most the people had cleared. We still had the next day to spend at the ruins.

The rain continues through our dinner which included a live band, good main courses and drinks, and terrible attempts at cheesecake and tiramisu.

Now it's to bed for an early rise to hike Huayna Picchu tomorrow.