Debzizhere: February 2015

General view of Machu Picchu with the Quarry in the foreground

Dec 21^st, 2014, 06:00 hours, we boarded the flight to Cuzco from Lima. We watched the spectacular sunrise while flying over the Andes. There was snow on the higher peaks, yellow and orange sun rays peeking through scattered clouds.

Cuzco

As a child I had read “Prisoners of the Sun”, a sequel to the “Seven Crystal Balls” where Tintin and Captain Haddock traveled to Peru to rescue Prof Calculus. The mystery of the hidden Inca habitat and the way tales about its existence reached the civilized world in rumours and whispers had kept me glued to the book.

Plaza de Armas

The pilot made an announcement that the plane would land in 20minutes and I drifted back into the present. We landed in Cuzco ready to follow the footsteps of the Incas. The taxi driver from the travel agent met us with a big smile at the airport and helped us load our back packs in the boot. We drove down to the hotel first for a short briefing on the trip and then headed into the mountains, driving through the old city of Cuzco, the capital of the great Inca Empire. We drove past the famous Plaza de Armas. It was the square of the warriors that had seen great bloodshed. The panoramic view of the plaza, with the cathedral to the left and the Jesuit church to the right, the wooden balconies and the arcades under the crisp morning sun indeed made us feel the history. The square had witnessed executions, bullfights and processions including "Corpus Christi" and "Lord of Earthquakes". Over the next one and half hours we drove past the majestic ruins, enjoying the striking views of Peruvian mountains, local villages before finally reaching the quaint Ollantaytambo railway station.

The village of Ollantayambo is located on the valley of a tributary of the Urubamba river. It remains the best preserved example of the Inca urban planning. While walking down to the railway station from the parking area, we found ourselves in a riot of colours. Lined across both sides of the street, the vendors gathered proudly to display their wares and artefacts.


Vistadom train

Soon we reached the railway station, which was perched on a small, exposed platform facing the picturesque mountains. A café at the station reminded us that it was time for a cup of coffee. The Vistadom train arrived at 10:00 AM. We took our seats on the gorgeous train, surrounded entirely by glass and wagon, with large panoramic windows. The forty three mile journey from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu through the sacred valley took us one hour and thirty minutes. It stopped at Urubamba station for 10 minutes on the way. We delighted in the amazing views of the sacred valley as we travelled to Machu Picchu. The train followed the Urubamba River as it looped around the Machu Picchu trail. We arrived Machu Picchu station at

noon time. Shortly after, our guide met us at the station with pack lunches. The weather was perfect for hiking and after having a light lunch, we were

on our way to the roof of Andes, breathing in pure mountain air by lungful. After an hour of climbing the legendary Inca trail, we arrived at the cloud forest citadel of Machu Picchu, located at an altitude of 2453m. “Machu Picchu” meaning “Old Mountain” is an enigmatic city, that Incas built mid 15 century. The city served as a home of the Incas elite theocratic nobility. It remained safely undiscovered from the barbarity of the Iberian Peninsula for reasons still unknown. For many centuries it lay hidden out of reach from Conquistadors, cloaked by Cuzco’s high jungle. In 1911, an American explorer Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu using local farmers as guides and stumbled upon Machu Picchu

Houses of the Guardians

There are plenty of memorable moments on the hike, but nothing comparable to the moment when we caught our first glimpse of the forgotten city of Machu Picchu. It was not just an accomplishment, it was a transformative moment. Our guide filled us with historical facts and anecdotes.

Inside Nusta's palace- the inclination of the walls and the beautiful trapezoidal niches

We walked past the terraced cultivation sites and simple stone houses, with water drainage system, located in the southern side of the Inca citadel. We stopped at the watch tower, crowning the agricultural sector of the complex. At last Machu Picchu seemed close enough to hit with a Frisbee. We posed for photographs against the breathtaking backdrop.

Nusta's palace on the left, behind is the tower of the temple of the sun and in the background it can be seen the sun emerging from behind the peak of Huayna Picchu mountain

After climbing a few stone stairs, we walked into a beautiful trapezoidal door which was entry to the urban sector. Here there were rows of buildings with windows facing the Urubamba River. Nusta palace, Royal tomb, King’s quarter, Sun temple, was some of the main attraction in this sector. The stonework at Machu Picchu is the most conspicuous aspect of its brilliance. It’s a civil engineering marvel. They are famous for the jigsaw puzzle masonry. How the Incas in 1400s, who possessed no iron tools, no draft animals and no wheeled vehicles, carved and transported these stones is still a mystery. We spotted a Southern Viscacha , an Andean type of rodent perched in one of the niches of the king’s bedroom. After crossing the courtyard of the king’s quarter, we proceeded towards the Intihuatana pyramid. It’s located at the top of urban sector. This was a sundial, which indicated the position of the summer and winter solstice, information for the farmers to ensure plentiful harvest.

Intihuatana pyramid located on top of the urban sector

Next we passed by the temple of three windows, a group buildings with narrow passages and streets connecting them together and then interesting large building in the industrial sector featuring a double row of trapezoidal niches.

Sreeja, our daughter shrieked with delight. She had spotted some Llamas at the other end of the main square. It reminded her of the Llama spitting on Captain Haddock’s face in the Tintin adventure book. Arnab by this time was bitten all over by the mysterious invisible flies. He was wearing shorts and had red pin dots all over his legs and his plight reminded us of Captain Haddock’s encounter with the forest bugs. Whilst Sreeja thrilled patting the Llamas, we sat down under a shade, munched a quinoa bar and gazed at the sea of tourists. American retirees in matching T shirts, Spanish speaking men in sport coats and ascot, Japanese tourist walking silently in a single file, each carrying a Prada bag, male trekkers speaking German, and the college age couples with dilated pupils, tried to look in all directions at once. Over the next hour, we made the long walk out of the complex, made a last climb to the lookout point.

When I stood atop Mount Machu Picchu, and saw how the site aligned with the natural features surrounding it, I felt a twinge of awe! Transcendence! Whoever planned the Machu Picchu, also had to construct a royal city that could withstand Andean rainstorms, landslides that are capable of wiping out train lines and villages

Soon it was time for us to return and we queued up to get on the bus to Machu Picchu railway station, all exhausted, itchy with bug bites. The exclusivity of being amongst travellers , who have often waited years to see the Machu Picchu and journeyed from around the world, made the mundane task of queuing for the bus seem almost alluring.

Machu Picchu, indeed a Shangri la!!

Two trapezoidal doors in the king's quarters, one door below to the study and other to the bedroom, they are separated by the courtyard

View of the entrance of the city from the inside of the city walls. The security mechanisms built into the wall that allows the placement of a heavy plank to block the entrance. The upper stone ring was used to elevate the plank and allow for adjustment
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