#65 Machu Picchu means 'Muchos Pictures'

Llamas keep the grass trimmed to perfection

We overheard a guide telling his group as we arrived at sunrise to one of the seventh 'new' wonders of the world that Machu Picchu means 'Muchos Photos' and it was easy to see why he must make this joke day in day out - it was more magical than we could have expected. As we took in our first glimpse of the Inca palace it was hard to imagine such a grandiose feat of architecture could have been hidden from the invading Spanish and then the world for centuries, buried under a canopy of forest until its western 'discovery' in the early 20th century. We took the guide's word from it and took quite a few pics - a few of the best are included below.

The tour we opted for began with a downhill cycle around countless switchbacks. We began shivering high above the clouds but with every 1000m descent we needed to remove a layer of clothing. The 2 hour speed cycle ended in the humidity of the jungle from where we began the trek to Machu Picchu (hence the tour's name - the 'Inca-Jungle' Trek). 

The highlight for me was a morning of ziplining across a canopy of trees. There were 6 ziplines in total and the first was 400m above the ground. Instructions were given at the beginning but unfortunately for me I had forgotten most of these by the time I had waited for 30 or so odd people in front of us to have their turn.

One I could remember was that if you happened to stop before the end of the line you would have to pull yourself to the end using your arms. Not being certain I had the upper body strength for such activity I was determined to ensure it wasn't required of me, elevationg my legs for increased speed. It worked - there was no risk of me stopping before the end. Unfortunately I couldn't stop myself at all - I had forgotten that particular instruction. With Reece waving his hands in the air as I approached, I waved back wondering what all the commotion was on the dock ahead. Turns out he and the instructor were reminding me to put my hands on the line in an effort to slow myself down. Too late - I bounced hard off the plastic stopper to much laughter from all whom saw.

In all there was only one kilometre of actual inca trail on our four day tour, but it was probably the best part of the walk clinging to the cliff face (although not so for the two on our tour with serious vertigo) as we tried to appreciate that we were walking on paths constructed 500 years ago. With the traditional inca trail booking out months in advance it was never going to be an option for us, but it remains a regret - salt on the table for next time I guess. 

On top of Machu Picchu mountain
looking down on the ruins.

Going down was nearly as hard as going up.

Once at the site, due to having reserved a relatively early train back (2pm) we had to rush to take everything in, made all the more challenging by choosing to climb up Machu Picchu mountain - not the mountain you see in all the pictures, but the 200 metre higher and steeper one on the opposite side. At one point I was climbing on all fours just to make it to the top but once their the view was well worth it although we were so high you could barely see the ruins any longer.