If you stumble upon a stone in Peru, you stumble upon the incas. Or something similar could be a saying. The same can be applied to the huge number of sites built by one of the most famous pre-Columbian peoples.
It is not surprising that the Incas are the best-known people of South America, as they built the largest empire in the region. However, they expanded just before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, which led to their decline.
The Inca Empire emerged in the Peruvian Andes in the 15th and 16th centuries and managed to cover the Andean region from what is now southern Colombia to northern Chile. An enormous region.
It was during this period, at the height of the Inca Empire, that Machu Picchu was built: one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the example of Inca architecture and engineering.
And indeed, it is incredible. Both the ancient architecture and the modern organisation that guides thousands of tourists through the ruins every day are remarkable.
We tried to visit the ruins of Machu Picchu as independently as possible. So we drove to Santa Teresa, where the hydroelectric platform is located, left the car in a secure car park and started the first hike at 5 am.
There are other treks that last several days, such as the Salkantay trek, but apparently it is quite touristy and it was more complicated to organise ourselves without depending on an operator. So we opted for this other option.
We followed the tracks of the train. It was a beautiful walk at dawn, with no one but the four of us (we were with a young German couple). Until we reached Aguas Calientes.
Aguas Calientes can be seen as the fortress that awaits Machu Picchu. All visitors have to pass through it and it was built for the sole purpose of getting people to the ruins and satisfying the whims of the visitors.
When we arrived in the village at 7am, we saw an endless queue of people waiting for the bus to the entrance of the site. We had to wait in another queue to get a number to get one of the thousand tickets available for the next day. We were given numbers 70-73 and told to come back at three in the afternoon.
In the meantime we ate the worst and most expensive breakfast of our trip and looked for a relatively cheap hotel for the night (35 US$). At three we went back to the office, queued up and got our tickets. Afterwards we celebrated with several rounds of Pisco Sour. At least this one was tasty.
The next morning, reluctant to spend 25 dollars on the bus, we did the second hike. One hour, 1.7 kilometres, 500 metres uphill.
We arrived out of breath and had to wait the 15 minutes (there was no one else there) until 9 o’clock, as the ticket slot said, to get in. So all the tourists whose turn it was at 9 o’clock went in at exactly the same time.
Nevertheless, we were very lucky. The sky cleared and the sun even came out, so we were able to enjoy Machu Picchu in all its splendour (making room between the others) and queuing for a good photo (it doesn’t happen too often that we have to queue).
But yes, there is something magical about this place. It’s not clear if it was a spiritual place or a palace, or both. The secret is still hidden among the stones. What is known is that it had good communications with the other Inca cities in the region; even the Spaniards knew about it, although it seems that they did not go to the city to collect the annual tributes, but had them taken to Ollantaytambo.
As time went on, Machu Picchu became more and more isolated. However, it never fell into complete oblivion, as is often thought. The site was known in the region and mentioned in various sources over the centuries, although it was never again the city it once was. The American explorer Hiram Bingham simply recognised its importance and encouraged its excavation in 1911.
Today it is Peru’s main tourist attraction. It welcomes up to 1.6 million tourists a year, about 4000 per day, of which 1000 tickets are sold the day before and those available in advance usually sell out quickly.
Frankly, the number of tourists is insane and they try to control it by restricting access to the site and guiding the masses through established circuits. It works pretty well. The big tourist impact is most noticeable in the town of Aguas Calientes, where there has been an uncontrolled growth of hotels, lodges and restaurants.
After visiting Machu Picchu, we were glad to get back to our car and escape the crowds, having walked back along the train tracks for two hours in the rain. This time we were met by several guided tour groups. No more walking back quietly as we had done the previous morning.