Machu Picchu

Ever since dad was in studied the Incas in 7th grade, the number one on his bucket list is to visit Machu Picchu. He surprised us with a trip to this one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. It was so great. I am so grateful to mom and dad for this trip. I hope the pictures come close to showing just how amazing this place was.

To get to Machu you start in Cuzco and take a train to Agua Caliente. It was a beautiful 3 hour train ride through the Urubamba valley. They served us breakfast and snacks. Very unlike the trains we used to take in Mexico.

The Urubamba River. The views from the train were amazing. The roof of the train even had windows so that you could see the mountains.

Agua Calente was a really neat city. We then got on a bus and rode straight up the mountain. It was a crazy drive. The road was not big enough for two cars to pass each other much less two buses. After a 30 minute drive straight up you leave the bus to finish the journey on foot. You enter the "park" and hike for another 20 minutes until the jungle open up and you see....

THIS!

We are at one of the guard towers in this picture, overlooking Machu.

Machu is located 8,000 feet above sea level and is called "The Lost City of the Incas". They started building Machu around AD 1430 but was abandoned 100 years later when the Spanish came. Because the Incas wanted to protect Machu they left and retreated into the jungle, leaving Machu hidden from the world until 1911 when Hiram Bingham discovered it.

In some places, the only thing missing are the roofs. The Inca architecture is a wonder in itself.

Because the sun and moon were so important to the Inca people, it was against the law to look directly at them. The Incas used water as mirrors to look at the sun and the moon. These stone bowls would hold a small pool of water that would reflect the sun and the moon for them to worship.

The views here were amazing. It is no wonder that the Incas picked this location for their most sacred city.

They are still discovering new pieces of this Inca Empire. Here we saw them digging into a new room.

There were, still running, canals of water that supplied the city with running water and irrigation for the fields.

The flat levels are actually where they grew their food. They never used a wheel nor did they have big strong animals. Everything was built by the people. All rocks moved by man.

You can not be afraid of heights here. The trails are very narrow and rocky but well worth the climb.

Part of Machu's charm is its location.

Our tour guide was amazing. He is Inca and walked us through Machu while explaining everything, as if it was a story. He had even written several books on Machu. The kids hung on his every word, and so did we.