Exploring Marvelous, Mysterious Machu Picchu

Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher
December 2009

We understand why The Lost Incan City of Machu Picchu, Peru tops many a “bucket list.” This sacred place, high in the Andes Mountains, enchants.

We met 26-year-old Mike Blumenthal on the trail to Machu Picchu’s Sun Gate, a narrow notch in the mountains high above the ruins. “I think everyone should visit Machu Picchu,” he said with conviction. “I first came five years ago and had to come back. There’s something magical about it. The sight of it alone is breathtaking, and you end up sitting, staring at it for a long time trying to get the image ingrained in your head.”

It’s an image that you’ll remember for a lifetime: 15th-century ruins of stone-fronted, bright-green, stacked terraces, stone temples, stone stairs, walkways and streets all perched on a precipice nearly 8,000 feet up.

Visitors usually arrive here by train from Cusco to the little town of Agua Calientes, named for the local thermal springs. But now it’s officially called Machu Picchu Pueblo, predicated on the rise in tourism after the site was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. One guide laughingly calls it “pizza town” because of the 60+ pizza restaurants.

We opt to arrive via one of the world’s great train trips: the Cusco-to-Machu Picchu Hiram Bingham train that accommodates 84 passengers in “a world of polished wood, gleaming cutlery and glittering glass.” This journey starts with a champagne welcome and native dance performance at the rail station. Once on-board, reserved seats in the two elegant dining cars make for cozy conversation with fellow travelers.

The train descends through a panorama of landscapes, including patchwork farms, some still using terrace systems. Soon, the plains narrow as we enter a deep gorge carved by the Pomatales River until it meets the Urubamba River. There are glimpses of an ancient, abandoned highway that led to the rubber plantations of the Amazon.

Meanwhile, the kitchen car bustles as the wine brunch is prepared. We’ll soon sample alpaca loin with a local Chardonnay.

In the open-ended observation car, passengers eagerly snap photos and record video of the scenic Sacred Valley of the Inca while being serenaded by a guitarist and singer.

There’s a brief stop in Ollantaytambo, where vendors swarm the tracks hawking colorful backpacks, dolls and blankets representing the rainbow of textiles popular in Peru. A little further, we see a campsite and trekkers at a well-traveled entry point to the Inca Trail.

In the bar car, we make a surprising discovery as we chat with Romulo Lizarraga Valencia, our guide for the day. He is co-author of the book, “Spiritual Wisdom from the Andes: Journey to Machu Picchu.” His knowledge of the region is intricate since he was born here and has hiked the Inca Trail more than 300 times. Even more startling is his revelation that it was one of his relatives who first “uncovered” Machu Picchu from the elements thanks to a fire to burn off farming land. Agustin Lizarraga was our guide’s great uncle, brother to his grandfather, and the two farmed together.

His book’s chapter, “The True Discoverers of Machu Picchu Ruins” notes: “One day (in 1900) after clearing a great stretch of plant growth, he climbed the cleared slopes to explore an area he’d never entered. There, Agustin found an ancient stairway rising from the banks of the Urumbamba River, west of the mountain and leading to a place that is known today as the Sacred Plaza of Machu Picchu. The fire had burned the surrounding terraces and almost reached the ruins. Agustin was very excited when he saw level areas filled with rich soil, apparently waiting to be cultivated. Then he realized his discovery was much greater: the terraces formed the outer edge of a vast, mysterious city hidden in the jungle.”

Remarkably, Machu Picchu wasn’t “found” until July 1911 by Yale University archaeologist Hiram Bingham when local residents led him to the site. Its name in translation means “ancient summit” or “old mountain.”

Bingham wrote, “The sanctuary was lost for centuries because this ridge is located in the most inaccessible corner of a hard-to-reach section of the central Andes... yet, here, in a remote part of the canyon, on this narrow ridge flanked by tremendous precipices, a highly civilized people, artistic, inventive, well organized, and capable of sustained endeavor, at some time in the distant past built themselves a sanctuary for the worship of the sun.”

Nearly intact in Bingham’s day was a village that seemed to sprout from the mountains. An estimated thousand people inhabited 200-some structures, many deemed religious.

From the rail station, a private bus carries our group slowly up the narrow, switchback-laden dirt road to the site. There are audible “ahhhs” when the ruins, also known as the historical reserve, first come into view. Seconds later, we arrive outside the only hotel at the ruins, Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. (But we’ll be staying two nights back in town at the unique Inkaterra Machu Picchu).

Site admission ($40) is included in the train passage as is the bus, guided tour, afternoon tea at The Lodge, plus cocktails and a four-course, wine dinner on the return. There’s no better way to get here and be more pampered in the process, but there are travel options for all budgets.

Our long-anticipated visit to Machu Picchu does not disappoint. We savor our first views: stone ruins and terraces dating back six centuries, llamas lazily munching grass, cloud-topped mountain-surrounds, and the tiny dot of the town and toy-like blue train far below beside the winding Urubamba River.

Our guide, Romulo, takes us through the ruins in about three hours, each new vista as mesmerizing as the last. He points out the highlights, including The Temple of the Sun, where during the winter solstice (in the southern hemisphere), a shaft of sunlight shines through the sole trapezoid-shaped window to light up the temple.

There’s the Guardhouse above the terraces, the Main Square and Main Gate, and the dry moat dividing the agricultural and urban sectors, including the Sacred District, the Popular District and the District of the Priests and the Nobility.

He stops to show us the site’s observatory, plus the huge sundial Intihuatana Stone or “hitching post of the sun,” which was a precise indicator of the two equinoxes.

There’s also the Ceremonial Rock, Palace of the Princess, (its name a mystery), Temple of the Three Windows, Group of the Three Doorways, plus the Temple of the Condor.

Romulo weaves stories of wealth, science, religion and culture amid the dry-stone craftsmanship everywhere, making us all question why such a site was abandoned.

Nearly 3,000 people a day visit Machu Picchu on the peak days of the “dry season,” May-September, and amazingly, 70 percent make it only a day trip. That’s a shame because that’s not enough time to experience the magical effect of South America’s most famous archaeological site.

A one-day guided tour generally will only cover the main grounds. Stay longer to climb to the Sun Gate, as we did, or even climb Machu Picchu mountain and Huayna (pronounced Wayna) Picchu. The adventurous and fit might tackle all three; many manage two.

Our Sun Gate hike was worth every step (though we’d wisely pre-booked massages at Inkaterra for the evening).

Machu Picchu’s purpose remains unknown. Speculation ranges from a temple for priests to a defensive fortress that could not be seen from below to a stopping point on the Inca Trail where goods were carried from the fertile lowlands to the central government in Cusco.

From 1200 to1533, the Incan Empire, centered in Peru, ruled land in South America that stretched from what is current-day Ecuador down the Andes Mountains to the southern tip of Chile. At its zenith, the estimated population was 12 million.

The Incans worshiped the sun, developed a calendar, and traded with other cultures. They built roads, aqueducts, and massive, stone structures that rivaled those produced by the finest stonemasons anywhere. And yet the empire fell to Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro within two years of his arrival.

Incan cities were either ransacked or demolished and built over, or abandoned and grown over by jungle vegetation. The Inca people shared a similar fate, either killed or absorbed by their victors.

Traces, at least, live on in the mysterious myth, unprecedented wonder, and overpowering awe that Machu Picchu evokes. This mountaintop city survived because of its secluded, sheltered location.

No one knows what happened to the Incas of Machu Picchu, but one thing is certain: their bodies may have gone, but their spirit still walks the ruins and the mountains they once ruled.

If You’re Going
Our journey was an add-on after our Galapagos adventure (reported in the last issue of Boom!) with Abercrombie & Kent, which offers customized Machu Picchu itineraries with expert guides. Visit abercrombiekent.com or call 800.554.7016.

Plan to spend a day or two in Cusco to get acclimated to the altitude. (The city is at 11,150 feet; Machu Picchu’s nearly 8,000). The bustling city plaza has a restored cathedral built over one of the most important Inca temples. Four blocks away is San Blas, the colorful arts shopping district with zigzag streets.

For stylish, serene accommodations, try Inkaterra La Casona, a boutique hotel in a former manor house with 11 suites (ask for one of the two plaza suites). Impeccable services start with you personal concierge, who will arrange tours, dining, trains, taxis, and more. It continues a few minutes later with the arrival of coca tea (to increase oxygen absorption and combat altitude sickness). Details: inkaterra.com/en/cusco or 800.442.5042.

PeruRail trains run daily from Cusco to Machu Picchu (perurail.com). The luxury Hiram Bingham train departs at 9 daily from Poroy, a 20-minute taxi ride from Cusco. Visit orient-express.com and click on luxury trains, or call 800.524.2420.

Local buses, $12 roundtrip, make the 20-minute trip from the town of Machu Picchu to the Machu Picchu historical reserve about every 30-40 minutes, 5:30 am–1:30 pm. Return buses run 10:30 am–5:45 pm.

To enter the site, you’ll need the equivalent of $40 in local currency, cash only. You can get a Machu Picchu stamp in your passport just inside the entry gate, so be sure to take it along (safely tucked away).

Book accommodations well in advance; there are two luxury properties: the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel adjacent to the site, (machupicchu.orient-express.com or 800.237.1236), and the award winning, eco-conscious Inkaterra Machu Picchu with 85 casitas (rooms) amid grounds boasting the world’s largest private collection of indigenous orchids (372 species—tours are free). They also offer a gourmet restaurant with free, happy-hour pisco sours, a swimming pool, and UNU Spa with private, outdoor hot tub for two tucked in the foliage. A spa highlight is the Andean sauna treatment, a candlelit sweat-lodge experience in an “igloo” of indigenous bamboo and fresh eucalyptus leaves that smell heavenly. Details: inkaterra.com/en/machu-picchu or 800.442.5042.

*****

Raleigh husband-wife team Kathy M. Newbern and J.S. Fletcher, report on travel destinations, spas and cruising around the globe. They are award-winning members of the Society of American Travel Writers and have visited every continent. When not traveling, they operate yournovel.com their personalized romance novel business based in Raleigh, where they let you star in your own romance.

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