Machu Picchu: The mystery of Inca Empire
March 2016, Peru
Machu Picchu is part of the New 7 Wonders of the World and probably the most mysterious among them. Its purpose is still unknown, despite there are several theories about this ancient city of Inca Empire. Machu Picchu was abandoned suddenly by the Incas, making its past much more mysterious. If this is enough reason to plan a trip to Peru, here is all you need to know before visiting Machu Picchu.
Location
Machu Picchu is located 80 km northwest of Cusco – an ancient capital of the Inca empire and today’s tourism capital of Peru. It takes an hour and a half to reach Cusco by flight from Lima and the competition is very high so prices became quite cheap in the last years (e.g. one-way ticket to Cusco costs less than 30 EUR with low-cost carrier). Once in Cusco, it is easy to reach Machu Picchu as you have plenty of options, depending on your time and budget. I chose to make it within a day trip, as my schedule around was quite tiny because had to visit also Amazon river, Titicaca lake and neighboring Bolivia. In this case, you need to spend at least 2 nights in Cusco, as departure is early in the morning and arrival is late in the evening. However, many people chose to do it by 3 or more days of trek, or spend an extra night in Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu. If you are not prepared for a trek, or don’t have enough time for it, then your route will be like Cusco – Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu. Yes, there is no way to reach Machu Picchu directly, so be prepared for a long day and changing various transportations, including taxi, train and bus.
Getting there
The major form of transportation to Machu Picchu is the train and there are two railway operators – Inca Rail and Peru Rail. Their prices and service are pretty much the same, to the choice would depend only on the travel times. I took the Voyager Machu Picchu Train from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu, because of the times – it leaves Ollantaytambo at 11 AM and arrives back at 8:40 PM, so it meant not another too early waking. The train tickets should be booked in advance either on www.perurail.com or www.incarail.com, because they are always full (especially in the main season). Going to Ollantaytambo train station is easy by the so-called ‘colectivo’, a shared taxi that leaves at Calle Pavitos every 30 minutes. However, the journey takes an hour and a half for 70 km of mountain road. There is another train station nearby Cusco – Poroy, which is 15 km by the city center and could be reached by regular taxi. Still, it depends only on your schedule and preferred time as travel time is almost the same. The train runs along the valley of Urubamba river, so be prepared for amazing views – the whole journey is very scenic. The last station on the Machu Picchu train is in Aguas Calientes, which is the entry point to Machu Picchu. Once in Aguas, you could hike 9 kilometers up or take a 30-minutes ride by bus and find yourself straight at the entrance of Machu Picchu. The bus route is operated by Consettur company and you can book online at www.consettur.com, but the buses are very frequent and at 1 PM there was only few people more and no queues to avoid. However, there are always lines at the entrance in Machu Picchu and having your ticket in advance is kind of mandatory, because the daily visitors are limited to 2,500. UNESCO also has advised Peru to reduce the visitors, but for 2016 around 1.4 million people visited the site with more than 5000 daily visitors in the peak days. In fact, that limit didn’t seem to work and you will always find a ticket, as I bought mine the day before and didn’t had any problem with the availability, but still it’s better to have it in advance. You can buy online at www.machupicchu.gob.be or at the Ministery of Culture ticket office at Calle Garcilaso in Cusco. If you are holding any discount card (e.g. ISIC student card), then present it at the office to get a half fare.
Citadel of Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu means Old Peak in Quechua and was built by Pachacutec Inca, one of the greatest Inca leaders. Upon arrival at the entrance, you can hire an official guide, to understand more about its history. However, there is no any confirmed hypothesis about the purpose of Machu Picchu so be prepared to hear many different theories. Hiring a guide could become mandatory in the near future, as it is one of the measures for sustainable use and conservation of the site. The most popular explanation you will heard about Machu Picchu is the theory of summer retreat residence for Pachacutec Inca. It is based on Spanish documents from XVI century, mentioning a king’s residence, named Picchu. Unfortunately, the Incas did not have script, so there is no way to cross-check if this residence was exactly Machu Picchu. Among the first theories after rediscovering the site at 1911 was the Lost city of Incas, which American academic Hiram Bingham first launched. This theory was further rejected, as Vilcabamba was proved to be the lost city. Whatever the purpose of Machu Picchu was, it seems that Incas didn’t had time to enjoy as they suddenly abandoned the site. Machu Picchu was built in XV century but after a century their empire had been wiped out by the Spanish conquistadors. The last Inca ruler was captured and executed at Cusco in 1572, so probably there was no further need of retreat for the leaders and Machu Picchu was abandoned. However, the sudden abandoning is still another part of the mysterious puzzle about this site. We would never know for sure why it was abandoned, what was its purpose and why the conquistadors never knew anything about it. Anyway, walking around these perfect fixed stones will make you wonder how they made it during the times of Pre-Columbian era. One of the things that impressed me more was the aqueduct systems and terracing here, which is a sign of highly developed water engineering. Despite the disappearance of Incas, their cohabitants are still here – the alpacas. The walk freely around, so you will notice their presence and can even try to make a selfie with them. The alpacas were hunted as prey, before being domesticated by the Incas so don’t worry about this cute animal. It looks like a llama, as the both are from the camelid family, but alpacas are much smaller.
Montaña and Huayna Picchu
The location of Machu Picchu is really impressive – it is located on the peak at an elevation of 2430 m above sea level. The town of Aguas Calientes in Urubamba valley is at 2040 m, so for less than 10 kilometers you will climb an altitude of 400 meters. That makes Machu Picchu so impressive and the difference in height will make you feel higher than 2400 m. If you want to get a better view of Machu Picchu, in other words to hike above the citadel, then you can discover the treks to Machu Picchu mountain, known as Montaña, or to Huayna Picchu. Montaña is located south-west of the citadel, at an elevation of 3050 m above sea level, so to make a trek you would need more time. The entrance is open until 11 AM and visitors are limited up to 400 people per day. Climbing the Inca trail will lead you to the Sun Gate, which offers one of the best view of Machu Picchu. However, if you want something more extreme, then Huayna Picchu is for you. It is another citadel that rises above Machu Picchu with steep incline of 600 m. If we wonder how the Incas built Machu, we can’t even imagine how they brought all the stones at Huayna Picchu. The visitors are limited up to 200 people per group (2 groups daily), as the trail is ascends and descends very sharply, so it could be really dangerous and wrong move could lead to fatal fail. In fact, the fatal accidents all around the site are very rare as all the security measures are being taking on from the Peruvian authorities. If the weather conditions are not okay, e.g. it is slippery because of rainfall, then no visitors are allowed to Huayna. Moreover, climbing Montaña and Huayna Picchu requires booking at least few months in advance, as the tickets are being sold rapidly.
Cusco
As already said, Machu Picchu requires a few-day visit in Cusco, so try to get the most of it by exploring this historic city. In general, it is the best to spend some days in Cusco, before hiking any of the nearby mountain treks, either to Machu Picchu or Rainbow Mountain (colorful mountain at an altitude of 5200 m). Cusco is a relatively big city for the Andes - almost half a million people live here – and there are many things to discover. It was a capital of Inca Empire, the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America, so unlike Machu Picchu, in Cusco you will learn much more about the life of Incas. The Kingdom of Cusco was transformed to the Inca Empire by Pachacuti Inca in 1438 so he had to rebuilt the city from a capital of small state to an imperial headquarter. The nearby rivers were diverted to stop the floods and the palace of Viracocha and temple of Coricancha were built. Their ruins are right next to the main street Avenida El Sol so while passing by, just keep in mind that here was the most important place in the Inca Empire. All around Cusco, you will discover a lot of historic sites from the Inca Empire. One of them is Tambomachay, named El Baño del Inca by the Spanish. This is yet another example of the water engineering performed in the Inca Empire, as complex of aqueducts, canals and even waterfalls built here suggest that it could be something like a spa resort. Again, the purpose is unknown but anyway you will enjoy walking around. It stands on more than 6 kilometers north of Cusco so you can either walk or take bus/taxi. Another impressive Inca-built site nearby Cusco is Sacsayhuaman, which is also part of UNESCO World Heritage. It looks like a fortress and is located high above Cusco, making it important military site. It was built by Túpac Inca Yupanqui in memoriam of his father Pachacuti Inca and was a crucial for the Spanish Conquest of the Inca. After losing it during the Siege of Cusco, Manco Inca withdraw to Vilcabamba (The Lost City of Incas) to establish an Neo-Inca State. His son, Túpac Amaru was the last Inca king, before Spaniards executed him in 1572. Interesting fact is that the American rapper 2PAC was named after Túpac Amaru. You can visit all of these places in just one or two days, so instead of paying entrance fees everywhere, just get a Boleto Turístico Integral (BTCI), a combined ticket valid for 10 days with access to many places. I bought one and discovered more places than I expected to see, including Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo. It is a native art center where every evening Peruvian folklore dancers in traditional costumes have performance. The Spanish conquistadors also left a huge historic and cultural heritage in Cusco. Next to the ruins of Viracocha and Coricanch, you will see the Santo Domingo church and convent. Saint Anthony University, built in 1692 is the oldest university in Peru. Another good example of Spanish work is the church San Cristobal, which is also one of the best viewpoint in Cusco. There are also many museums in the city that keep the history alive, which definitely worth a visit.
This article was originally published in The Economist's magazine Bulgarian issue No. 25 of June 2018.