Machu Picchu Day 4

We arrived! A very early start to the day, 3am, got us packed up and on the move. It was a very short move as we just walked down to a gate where all the groups were waiting. The idea was to get to the gate early so that you get let into the hike early and arrive at Machu Picchu and get some shots without people swarming all over it. We waited about an hour and the gates were opened and we were let through. We weren't first in the line but due to some groups needing to remove some layers of clothes during the hike we actually managed to overtake quite a few groups.

We had been warned at the start of the tour that Machu Picchu may be covered in fog when we got there as it is located within the cloud forest. That was unfortunately the case. We didn't manage to get the traditional shot from the sun gate of Machu Picchu with the mountain behind it, and even once we got down to it we couldn't see a thing! Luckily after about ten minutes some of the fog moved away and we were able to finally see it and get a few photos. That's how it was all day, a few moments of it uncovered before the fog rolled in again. Nevertheless I was obviously able to get the shot you see above.

It was finally time for us to head down into one of the seven wonders of the world, the ancient city of Machu Picchu.

Once we entered the city we started out tour and learnt many things about the Machu Picchu. It's the largest Inca city that has been found by far, but that doesn't mean that there may not be others out there. You see when the discoverer of Machu Picchu discover the city he didn't just stumble upon it since it had been completely swallowed by vegetation. In fact he only found out about it because a local told him how a family was living in a tiny room of Inca ruins. He visited them and discovered that they were only in one tiny outcrop of the city that had managed to stay above the forest. They then removed all the vegetation and the city was revealed. The tour was fascinating and the architecture proved to be more advanced that it originally appeared.

Following the tour and a good look around which lasted around three hours it was time to leave and get a bus into the nearby town, eat, bath and relax. The hike was over.

From there we got a train then a bus and were back in Cusco, back in our hotel, and most importantly, back in a bed.

- Damian