Journey Return

Wednesday, May 21
Start: Aguas Calientes 6693′ (2040m)
Machupicchu 7972′ (2430m)
Huaynapicchu 8835′ (2693m)
Via: Ollantaytambo 9160′ (2792m)
Stop: Cusco 11,152′ (3399m)
2.4 miles
1,246′ ascent
1,190′ descent

4:30 am wake-up, 5:15 am breakfast and 6 am lobby. Elizabeth, Ronnie (Elizabeth’s husband), Ian, Jane and myself all meet in the Hotel Tara Machupicchu lobby ready to check out of the hotel and store our luggage. We walk towards the center of Aguas Calientes as the dim sky starts to spit on us. This strikes fear into many who immediately start to buy thin but brightly colored ponchos from the vendors along the bus queue. Elizabeth explains that ever since Covid, the timing of the bus system and Machupicchu tickets has gotten much more organized. Now, there are set times to catch the bus and enter Machupicchu.

We load onto the bus for the ride up the switchbacks of Carretera Hiram Bingham. Once there, we unload and immediately head to the bathrooms which cost a few soles each. Elizabeth and I have a 7:30 am entry into Circuit 3 + Huaynapicchu. I don’t get to keep my permit with stamps but I snap a picture first. Ronnie will guide Ian and Jane on a higher circuit. Since my backpack is on the larger size, today I have only my ZPacks front utility fanny pack and Elizabeth is carrying my water bottle in her small backpack.

Circuit 3 or the “Royalty Route” includes the lower sacred parts of the citadel, royal residences and agricultural terraces. Elizabeth tells me about the history as the clouds move all around us. There are moments with a view before we are engulfed again.

Left: Rock fronts of agricultural terraces
Right: Houses
Below: A very old Brugmansia

Left: Drainage channel
Right: Agricultural terraces built so that water flows down through them and does not pool up.

Right: Sacred water fountains, water channel and drainage
“Their complex design supplied water to the estimated one thousand inhabitants of Machupicchu, while also irrigating the agricultural zone and serving ceremonial purposes. The fountains located next to the Temple of the Sun and the Royal Palace stand out for their fine stonework, highlighting their practical and spiritual importance.” -Salkantay Trekking website

Left: Royal Tomb
“The Royal Tomb, located directly beneath the Temple of the Sun and aligned with its tower, is one of the most sacred sites at Machupicchu. This mausoleum, carved into solid rock, is thought to have housed members of the Inca elite, including priests and possibly the Inca himself. Its walls display carvings and sacred symbols linked to Pachamama, reflecting the site’s spiritual significance. Inside, precise funerary niches and elements that may have supported ceremonial ornaments can still be seen. The Royal Tomb brings together architecture, religion, and Andean worldview, making it one of the citadel’s holiest spaces.”

Right: Temple of the Sun
“The Temple of the Sun is one of Machupicchu’s most sacred spaces. Built on a large rock, it features a semicircular design with windows perfectly aligned with the summer and winter solstices. The temple reflects the close connection between Inca architecture, astronomy, and spirituality.”

Above: The Temple of the Sun directly over the Royal Tomb

Left: Trapezoidal Doorway

Above: More water systems

Royal Palace

Pisonay Square
“Pisonay Square is one of the largest open spaces in Machu Picchu, serving as both a social and ceremonial center. It is named after the Pisonay tree that still grows in its center, making it an icon for visitors. From this strategic spot, several key areas of the citadel were accessible, reflecting Inca urban organization and the integration of nature into their constructions.”

The Three Doorways Area looking out towards the Main Square
“The Three Doorways Sector features 18 structures that likely served as homes, workshops, or storage spaces for the working class. It also includes three courtyards and three symmetrical doorways, giving the area its name and making it a remarkable example of Inca urban planning.”

Sacred Rock
“The Sacred Rock is a massive granite block over 3 meters tall, considered a highly spiritual ceremonial site. Its alignment with the mountain behind it (not visible in this picture) reinforces the concept of Yanantin, the Inca philosophy of duality and complementarity as guiding principles of life. Today, many visitors regard it as a place full of energy.”

Below is what the Sacred Rock looks like in better weather from ticket machu picchu website.

Just after 9:30 am Elizabeth and I arrive at the Huaynapicchu entry point where our documents are checked. The trail first descends slightly and crosses a short ridge.

Reminder, here’s a picture from yesterday which shows the area we’re touring today. And yes, Elizabeth and I are about to climb Huaynapicchu, the big peak in the middle. Across the lip and up the nose of the supine face profile. The stairs roughly follow the strip of vegetation to the left of the ridge line facing the camera. And zoom in to see the terraces at the top.

And then it’s nothing but stairs and over a 1000 ft. of climbing. Elizabeth tells me that her dad used to work at Machupicchu and she would come with him. She climbed this as a child before there were helpful cables.

Just a few steps from the top, the obvious stripes of a kestrel flash at me. I take a few pictures while staying focused on not falling down the very very steep stairs (pictured above). We crest the top about 10:30 am as the clouds continue to float around us.

We climb up some rocks and sit for a few minutes. Wow, scrambling around the rocks makes me feel uneasy. One wrong move and it will be a horrific tumble all the way down to the Urubamba River. A nearby guide calls out to Machupicchu and Pachamama with a conch shell. We slowly move towards a rock where everyone is taking their picture with Machupicchu in the background. The clouds keep playing hide and seek with the view.

After passing a red-legged millipede, we squeeze through a tight tunnel/crack in the rocks and descend to another look out.

An hour+ since arriving at the summit, we move laterally across a terrace and return to the main trail that ascends and descends the mountain. We wait for a bunch of people ascending before we can join the main route. Elizabeth moves quickly and we fly down the trail. There are spots where the stairs are so steep that it’s easier to turn around and go down backwards. There are a lot of people climbing who seem happy to let us by and grateful for a reason to stop and catch their breath.

The descent takes a half hour as we pass through the entry check point about 11:50 am. Elizabeth is still making fast tracks as we move quickly. We start to move back across the terraces. And then the sacred condor rises, perhaps the most spectacular feature of the Royal Route.

Temple of the Condor
“The Temple of the Condor is one of the most symbolic and impressive structures in Machupicchu. It consists of a massive rock carved into the shape of outstretched wings, with a central stone representing the body and head. The Andean condor was a sacred bird in Inca cosmology, so it is believed this space was used for religious ceremonies, offerings, and possibly funerary practices.”

We join the really long bus queue about 12:20 pm and wait maybe 15-20 minutes before we reach the front of the line where the buses turn around. Elizabeth and I arrive back in Aguas Calientes about 1 pm where the plan is to meet in one hour in the hotel lobby. I go through the large network of shopping stalls which mostly all have the same kind of stuff. I forgot to take a picture so you’ll have to google it. I search around and eventually find two t-shirts. There’s not a lot of options but I get one shirt for the Salkantay Trek and one for Machupicchu.

I get back to the hotel lobby and have just enough time to change out of my bra and shirt and eat a bar. I reorganize a few things so that everything is inside of my backpack. Ronnie, Elizabeth, me, Jane and Ian all head out towards the train station at 2 pm. It’s raining so I throw up my umbrella.

We sit in the waiting area for a little while before it’s time to start loading about 2:30 pm. It turns out we all are assigned different seats. My seat is with a group of seven other Americans. They’re a group of friends that get together for a hike every year. So, we talk trails a bit while as we coast past the Urubamba River. They perk up with excitement when we pass a bridge over the Urubamba and say that’s where they started the Inca Trail.

The vending cart comes around and a few of us buy a beer. They lament how tired they are. You see, they got up at 2 am this morning from Phuyupatamarca. Remember my blog from yesterday when nearly the whole camp got up at 2am? I’m slowly starting to realize how lucky I am. Pure luck to get connected with Mountain Gods Peru and their itinerary where I got to enter Machupicchu Intipunku in the afternoon, spend the night in Aguas Calientes and then return the next day for an additional circuit tour. These poor folks sitting next to me had to wake up at 2 am, hike steep stairs for hours in the morning darkness, only have a few hours in the top levels of Machupicchu and zip through Aguas Calientes to catch the train. If you’re planning a trek to Machupicchu, please make sure you avoid this unfavorable itinerary.

By the time we arrive in Ollantaytambo it’s dark. We slowly unload and I search around until I find the rest of the group waiting for me. We walk to a massive parking lot full of white vans. Unfortunately, our van is all the way near the back and it looks like we’re going to be sitting here for a while. Elizabeth jumps out and starts commanding traffic as we slowly inch our way forward. We eventually get on the main roads and make our way out of Ollantaytambo. Jane sits next to me and we have a lively chat the whole drive back to Cusco. We drop Jane and Ian at their hotel before proceeding to mine, Muru Homely Hotel. Just for tonight, I have to stay in a hole of a room on the first floor just off of the lobby. I take a shower and warm some water for oatmeal before crashing into bed. I look through pictures before falling asleep about 11 pm.