Vistadome Train to Machu Picchu

June 24, 2016

Now that we have seen the outlying Inca cities & ruins throughout the Sacred Valley, it is time for us to make the pilgrimage to the sacred city itself, the place that Hiram Bingham rediscovered in 1911 and the world knows as Machu Picchu.  In the local language of Quechua it is correctly (and more aptly) known as "Mallqu Pillqu" which translates to "the Condor's Nest".  On our second day's visit, when we hiked to the top of the mountain, the Condor came into full view.

We opted to take the scenic train known as the Vistadome-
a 45-60 minute ride...

...the other option is a 4 day hike along the Inca trail.
This is the bridge that leads to the beginning of the hiking trail.  A donkey is pictured here but it is only a footpath.
The "beasts of burden" are (super)human porters who can make the trek unburdened in less than 3 hours.

Every 20 kilometers along the trail, the Incas built "tambos" or "resting places" for travellers.
They weren't true cities but a place where you could get a meal and stay the night.

Our "tambo" for the next 2 nights-

Immediately after lunch we toured the citadel. Each Incan city was a place of work, worship and itself a fortress for the people.  We learned the differences in the granite stone masonry that revealed the importance of the structure: if the stones were irregular and had mortar, they were common public buildings and if they were perfectly shaped and without mortar the building was for royalty or worship.

A common building

View from the park entrance-
The city is organized into distinct sectors: agricultural, residential, royal and sacred

The Royal Mausoleum
*notice the difference in the stones*

The Sun Temple with the Huayna Picchu looming over

Double doorway entrance to the temple

Temple of the Three Windows-

The Incan religious beliefs centered around a trinity-
the sky or heavens represented by a condor,  the earth represented by a puma and the underworld represented by a snake.

The central lawn where all the monthly festivals were held

Mountains were holy to the Incan people and they made monuments in the shape of the mountain to honor it.

A beautiful view of  the valley

Temple of the Condor

The city perched on the valley ridge- spectacular!!

Waiting for sunset...