Machu Picchu (quechua, «Det gamle fjellet», også kjent som Inkaenes tapte by) er en førkolumbisk inkaby i fjellet over Urubambadalen i dagens Peru. Den ligger på omkring 2 200 moh. Machu Picchu står på UNESCOs liste over verdensarven. I en global avstemming som ble avsluttet 6. juli 2007 ble stedet valgt som ett av de moderne underverkene.
Ruinene er meget godt bevart, og anses av de fleste som det fremste symbolet på inkakulturen. Byen ble gjenoppdaget så sent som 24. juli 1911, av Hiram Bingham.
Man mener at byen ble grunnlagt av sapa inka Pacahacutec omkring 1440, og at den var bebodd frem til den spanske erobringen av Peru i 1532. Arkeologiske undersøkelser sammenholdt med tidligere dokumenter fra kolonien viser at Machu Picchu ikke var en vanlig by, men en landsens «ferieby» for de øvre klasser i inkasamfunnet. Anlegget består av omkring 200 byggverk med en rekke funksjoner. Det er inndelt i en bydel og jordbruksdel med kunstig anlagte terrasser. Det er et stort palass og templer viet til flere inkaguddommer rundt en gårdsplass, med andre bygninger for tjenestefolk. Det bodde anslagsvis bare omkring 750 mennesker i byen på det meste, og bare en liten andel av dem befant seg der i regntiden.
Stedet ble antagelig valgt på grunn av den unike beliggenheten og de geologiske trekkene. Det sies at silhuetten av fjellkjeden bak symboliserer ansiktet til en inka som ser opp mot himmelen; den høyeste toppen, Huayna Picchu, utgjør nesen. Inkaene mente at man ikke skulle hugge ut grunnfjell, og bygde derfor byen med tilhugde løse steiner i området, tilpasset til de naturlige formasjonene. Det er brukt svært lite mørtel, og man har i stedet satt sin lit til ekstremt presis tilpasning av steinblokkene. Sprekkene er mange steder mindre enn 1 mm brede, og bevaringstilstanden beviser at teknikken som er brukt var førsteklasses.
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Visitors to Machu Picchu typically leave from Cuzco, either on a day trip, or overnighting in Aguas Calientes, which allows you to visit the park early or late in the day and avoid the worst of the crowds, and on sunny days, gives you a nice window of reprieve from the beating sun. Don’t forget sunblock.
There are 3 ways to reach the ruins themselves: arrive on foot via the multiple day Inca Trail trek, or walking or taking a bus from Aguas Calientes.
If arriving from Aguas Calientes, prepare to spend a lot of time waiting in lines throughout the day…. you’ll be in line for the bus, which drops you off at the end of the often long line at the entrance. You’ll queue up again if interested in scaling up Wayna Picchu or the Temple of the Moon, and then just when you thought it was all over, you’ll be in line for a bus back down to town which, even in low season, can be as much as a couple of hours wait. This is when you may want to reassess how much energy you have left, and maybe start walking back down.
By bus
From Aguas Calientes frequent buses leave to the ruins (US$8 each way, US$ 15.50 round-trip) starting at 5:30am. There’s often a queue, so if you’re intent on being on the first bus up, you should arrive at least 90 minutes early. The journey takes around 1/2 hour to slowly wind around the switchbacks and up to the park.
By foot
Hiking the Inca Trail is a great way to arrive as you first see the city through the Sun Gate (instead of arriving from below as you do from Aguas Calientes). Both the four-day and two-day hikes are controlled by the government. Travelers should be fit enough to walk for days and sleep in tents.
From Aguas Calientes it is also possible to walk along a similar 8 km route that the buses run, which will take about 1-2 hours up, and around an hour back down. This route is mainly stairs, connecting the switchbacks that the buses take. It is a strenuous and long hike but is very rewarding, recommended to start around 4 a.m. to make it to the top before sunrise. The descent is fairly easy, just take care when the steps are wet. Keep alert for the bus drivers that rarely brake for pedestrians.
Fees
Visiting Machu Picchu isn’t cheap. The entrance fee is currently S/126.00 and rising steadily; students with an ISIC card pay S/63. With the train ticket to Aguas Calientes at US$98 return, the bus ticket to the site US$8 dollars each way, and a night’s accommodation it easily adds up to over US$200. Be aware, by the way, that the train ticket you buy as a tourist will cost you ten times as much as a Peruvian pays for the same journey on the same train. They’ll add up to some of the most expensive rail miles tourists will find anywhere on the continent! The same applies to the buses shuttling tourists between the site and Aguas Calientes.
Tip, most hostels can sell you the entry permits and bus tickets. Don´t buy them at the travel agency at the Ollantytambo train station, as they don´t actually sell you tickets, but a receipt that you need to give to a person to get your tickets, you´ll end up running all around Aguas Calientes looking for this person. You can buy your ticket at the Aguas Calientes cultural center, open 5:30 am – 9:00 pm.
Be sure to bring your passport, as it may be requested upon entry and, more importantly, there’s a popular stamp booth as you exit where you can prove to your friends you’ve been there.
Only small packs are allowed in the park (no more than 20 litres), but there is a luggage storage at the entrance mostly used by Inca Trailers. If your pack is checked, any food you carry may be confiscated.
See
Take your time walking around the site, there are many places to see and explore. Although it is not necessary, taking a guided tour does provide a deeper insight into the ancient city, its uses, and information on the geography of it. Keep in mind that relatively little is known about the history and uses of the ruins, and some of the stories told by the guides are based on little more than imaginative hearsay.
- Sun Gate (Inti Punku) – if you’ve just arrived via the Inka Trail, this will be your first experience of the ruins. Others can backtrack from the ruins along the trail and up the hill. From here you can see back down each valley offering excellent views. It’s a fairly strenuous hike (probably 1-1.5 hours each way) but well worth it. If you catch the first bus from Aguas Calientes and head straight here you may be able to reach it in time for sun to peak over the mountain and through the gate.
- Temple of the Sun – Near the summit of the main city, the stonework on the temple is incredible. Look closely and you will see that there are a variety of stone walls throughout the city. Most are rough stones held together with mud, the common stone walls found throughout the world. But many buildings or parts of buildings are done with the more distinctive and impressive closely-fit stonework. The temple is the absolute pinnacle of this technology. Observe it from the side, descending the stone staircase in the main plaza.
- Intihuatana – A stone carved so that on certain days, at dawn, the sun makes a certain shadow, thus working as a sun dial. From Quechua: Inti = sun, huatana = to take, grab: thus grabing (measuring) the sun. (pronounce ‘intiwatana’)
- Temple of the Three Windows –
- Main Temple –
- Temple of the Condor – The tour guides will try to tell you that this was a temple, but look closely: between the wings of the condor is a chamber with grooves cut in the stone to secure manacles, a walkway behind where a torturer may walk to whip the prisoner’s backs, and a scary looking pit to let the blood of prisoners drain. Clearly the condor was a symbol of cruel justice, but a sanitized version is told for the benefit of middle-aged tourists and their children.
Source: Wiki/Wikitravel.