For many tourists, a trip up to Macchu Picchu is the primary reason for embarking on a trip to South America and we'd probably count ourselves amongst that group. The visit to the lost Inca city high up in the clouds with it's inspiring location and well preserved ruins has been a long held ambition for both of us. We seriously considered doing the 4-day Inca Trail trek, but in the end decided against it for a couple of reasons. First, the reviews from folks we know who've done it were a real mixed bag... and probably the bigger issue is that we just couldn't afford the time given all that we wanted to accomplish on this month long whirl wind South America tour.

Our departure from Cuzco started with a 4-hour Peru Rail train journey to the small village of Aguas Calientes. We woke up around 5:30am to catch the 6:15 backpacker train with about 250 other gringos, most of whom appeared to be visiting Macchu Picchu on a day trip. During the high season, Macchu Picchu receives over 1000 visitors, most of whom take the morning train from Cuzco arriving around 11am and head back to Cuzco on an afternoon train that departs around 3pm. Our hope was to avoid the crowds by staying a night in the tiny village of Aguas Calientes and heading up to the ruins at first light.

Besides, it's not like there isn't anything to do in Aguas Calientes. As you might guess, the small village takes it's name from a series of tiny thermal hot springs where tourists can enjoy a warm water soak for around $2.50. We found the international atmosphere at the hot springs quite interesting...  while it seems that the overwhelming number of tourists in Peru are Americans, they were notably absent at the hot springs which seemed to be frequented by the European crowd. For us, it was reminiscent of our visits to some of Germany's great spas. Aguas Calientes also has some great walks and plenty of tourists restaurants where we enjoyed a few beers before turning in for an early night.

The sun was just starting to rise (as were the other tourist) when we finished up our breakfast and departed our hotel. We were on the first bus to climb the 8km winding road the ruins and only suffered a slight heart attack when we were told by an attendant that the ticket office would only take Sole's (Peruvian currency) instead of the US Dollars we'd brought with us. This turned out to be a false as the man behind the counter happily took our US Cash and issued us some of the first tickets for entry to the ruins that day.

Entering the site and climbing some of the terracing you're quickly treated to the classic image of Macchu Picchu that is seen in all the guidebooks. The stone city stretches out below while the towering Huayna Picchu mountain towers in the distance. We were early enough that there were fewer than 100 folks at the ruins so we enjoyed the view while it was quiet... contemplating the changing light and colors of the sunrise. As additional busses started to arrive and additional (noisy) tourist made their way into the site we walked down into the city itself which was still virtually abandoned.

Instead of hiring a guide, we purchased a simple guidebook which outlined the various areas of the mazelike complex. We enjoyed a wandering through the various temples, living areas, storage facilities, prison complexes and defense posts. The stonework of the Inca is impressive with each stone being carved exactly to fit with those that it would sit next thereby making it unnecessary to cement between the various stones. Indeed, some of the stones have 32 or more separate angles. The similarities of Macchu Picchu and Angkor Wat (which we visited about a year ago... See July 2, 2004) were not lost on us although Macchu Picchu lacks the artistic detail of Angkor Wat.

Later in the day we climbed Huayna Picchu, the mountain the towers behind Macchu Picchu in all the classic photos. As you can imagine, at times the trail is steep. We grappled with ropes and climbed stairs that inclined at unbelievable angles, and the altitude posed a significant challenge.  At the top of Huayna Picchu, there are a few Inca buildings that were thought to be a place for religious rituals or a military viewpoint, but the climb is all about the view from the top back down to Macchu Picchu. Incredible!

Assuming all goes well from Aguas Calientes we plan to head back down to Cuzco and directly onto the Peruvian town of Puno which will serve as our gateway for a visit to Lake Titicaca.