But first, we had to get there. The train ride was wonderful, but once we arrived in Aguas Calientes and met our guide, we were immediately shuttled to a bus that would take us up the mountain.
Now we had been on narrow, winding mountain roads before, and certainly had our share of interesting Peruvian driving tactics, but nothing and no one had prepared us for what Mr. Y nicknamed Peruvian Drift. This is the process by which the busses make the hairpin turns up the side of the mountain: first, a truck has come by and sprayed the dirt road with water (we actually saw this on our way down the mountain). Then, when the bus approaches the turn, the driver turns the wheel sharply, and the front of the bus turns while the back of the bus slides through the mud and swings the bus into line with the front. It's hard to explain, but let's just say Mr. Y and I had quite the experience because we were sitting on the very back row.
Machu Picchu is, in a word, amazing. The stonework is brilliant, the demonstrated Incan knowledge of the sun (and, thus, the seasons) is amazing, and water still runs throughout the town because the Incas built the city with fountains running throughout (it's literally like they left a faucet on). Now the Incas only resided at Machu Picchu for about 100 years, and were actually still building when they abandoned the city--there is a huge stone quarry on one side. Their reasons for abandonment were most certainly Spanish-related, but I've heard three different theories as to the exact reason:
1) the Incas left to fight the Spanish. Now I don't believe this one at all after being to Peru because even at Ollantaytambo, the one battle the Incas won, they won a defensive victory and did not subsequently pursue any offensive tactics. It seems fighting the Spanish was not the Incan style, at least according to every guide we met.
2) the Incas contracted smallpox and died. This one seems more plausible, because the Spanish were certainly a disease-ridden bunch that wiped out plenty of the native population. But the Spanish never discovered Machu Picchu--it's not even visible from below. So smallpox must have preceded their arrival, unless some Incas left, encountered the Spanish, and returned bringing disease.
3) the Incas left in fear of the Spanish. This is the theory the guides at Machu Picchu gave for why the city was abandoned--the Incas were terrified of the Spanish and went to hide in the jungle, never to return due to disease or encountering the Spanish and being killed. The guides indicated that there were some remains found in Machu Picchu, but not enough to indicate that a large amount of the population had died of disease. In addition, when Hiram Bingham "discovered" Machu Picchu, there were, in fact, people living in it. Not many people lived there, but it wasn't completely abandoned and empty like the stories frequently indicate. Finally, one article I read mentioned that Machu Picchu wasn't widely known to the Incas, that it was a special place only for the elite. If this is true, it would explain why the city remained isolated and "undiscovered" for so long.
As with the other ruins, here is more information for those who want the "official" version of the story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu My account is based on our experience, coupled with the information we learned from local guides.
Here are a few pictures:
And here are a lot more:
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