Machu and Huayna Picchu

Machu Picchu

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It's the stuff of dreams, isn't it? I distinctly remember seeing a photograph of Machu Picchu in a 4^th grade text book and being immediately enchanted that such a thing could exist. A city in the mountaintops? Made of stone?

This is an enchanting place, and the arduous nature of the journey adds to the mystique. Even after traveling for a day by plane, van, and train, we arrived near, not at, Machu Picchu. One still needs to climb from the village of Aques Caliente to reach the city of stone.

We took the bus. As do thousands of others each day. But many climb the 3k trail and look worse for the weariness of it. If nothing else, Machu Picchu is...really is, on a

mountain top.

The first thing we noticed was the fog, er...the view, or lack of same. We arrived at this wonderous world wrapped in a cloud, and visibility was non-existent. That didn't dampen our enthusiasm a bit, and as the day wore on, the cloud slowly lifted.

Notice the far stones are finished while the near stones are still rough

With Johathan, our guide in the king's residence

Huyanu Picchu

You know this place. When one sees The Photo of MP, the mountain peak Huyanu Picchu is in the background. The needle like peak is 1,800 ft higher than the ancient city. Steps were constructed to the top by the Inca where there are more terraces and at least one large structure. Climbing HP is a challenge. It's steep and dangerous in spots. And the elevation doesn't help.

Four hundred people per day are permitted to follow the HP trail with 200 granted access at an assigned time of either 7 or 10am. I had the 10 o'clock slot, and I shared the climb with about 60 students from both Lafayette College and Lehigh University.

Looking down on Machu Picchu and the road leading up the mountain

Huayna Picchu summit!

The climb was killer, with many stops taken along the way to recover from the lack of oxygen. When I say there are “steps”, there are, narrow and steep with a high, painful rise to each.

But the descent! Here was the terror! The mountain top trail is one way because the summit is so narrow, so there's only one way down. There were cries of woe with climbers choosing to go down on their butts for fear of falling. At the conclusion, I realized that while 200 may start the ascent, far fewer finish.