Day 10 Mike and Bone do Machu and Huayna Picchu Bitches!!!

The Machu Pichu Mountain from the Bus Stop Outside the Park

 As the Bus pulled up to the National Park, everyone began to marvel and the glory that is Machu Picchu! Entry to the park is highly regulated and there are only so many tickets issues every year, for both Machu Picchu and climbing Huaynu Picchu. Liz told Mike, Bone, and the Troops about the National Park as they walked in.

Per Liz, Machu Picchu is not only the most important Peruvian National Park, it is also considered a  historic sanctuary – the National Archaeological Park of Machu Picchu which is a cultural and natural area inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It is one of the most biodiverse areas in Peru and harbors more than 60 archaeological monuments linked by a complex Inka road network.

 

Machu Pichu National Park!!

The most important monument inside the or Inka City of Machu Picchu, which was planned and built around 1450 during the reign of Inka Pachakuti. Its construction demanded the participation of specialists in architecture, engineering, astronomy, and massive amounts of labor. More than 50% of the work required for its erection was focused on site preparation, the foundation and the drainage system. Its construction responds to the need of the Inka State to have a religious, political and administrative center within a sacred space that is the link between the Andes and the Amazon.

 

The city of Machu Picchu was abandoned during the second half of the sixteenth century; however, it was never lost as it was occasionally visited and inhabited by local farmers. Some colonial documents refer to the Inka llaqta of Machu Picchu as the "Settlement of the Incas" or the "Old Village of the Inga Named Guaynapicchu". In 1874, the names "Machu Picchu" and "Huaina Picchu" appear for the first time in a cartographic document, which was prepared by engineer Herman Göhring. In 1911, Professor Hiram Bingham visited the site and was impressed with its beauty and majesty. The following year he returned with a multidisciplinary team of professionals who conducted excavations and research in the area.

Since the 1930’s, the Peruvian government has been promoting the research, conservation, and enhancement of the Historic Sanctuary and the city of Machu Picchu, which represents a masterpiece of art, architecture, and engineering in perfect harmony with nature and is the most important legacy the Inka civilization left to mankind.  Once in the Park everyone went silent, but the camera's were noisely clicking in every different direction!!

 

"We made it!" Bruce

 

Mike and Bone!! In Machu Picchu!!!

Liz gave everyone a few minutes to comprehend the 360 view of the beauty of Machu Picchu, then as a good guide should moved the Team to the big test of the day, climbing Huayna Picchu!!

So when most people see a picture of Machu Picchu, there is always a distinctive green narrow mountain in the picture. That 1,000-foot granite pillar is “Young” Picchu or Huanya Picchu.

Liz and the Team had tickets to climb that baby!

 

The Picturesque, Potent, Peak of Huayna Picchu!!!

 

This is a great honor since only 400 visitors are given permission to climb Huayna Picchu daily and, since July of 2011, these groups are broken down into two well-defined time slots--200 visitors leave at 7 AM and 200 more leave at 10 AM. These two groups must return from the peak of Huayna Picchu by 10 AM and 1 PM, Liz wisely got the Team the 10:00 AM slot, before the heat of the day!

 

Looking at it, it couldn’t be that hard could it? Its only 1,000 feet! Buuut, it is pretty steep! Yeah, a short hike, but at altitude! The peak of the mountain is about 8,920 feet above sea level, and about 1,180 feet) above Machu Picchu

Nearing the summit is the Huayna Picchu Tunnel, which is a very narrow tunnel you must navigate.  Apparently, this feature was built into the path by the Incas; the idea was that it would act as something of a "choke point" for any invading forces attempting to make their way up the mountain.  We imagine that it would have worked quite well - it's a small space, and there are points where some people find it necessary to crawl on their hands and knees.

Also found near the summit of Huayna Picchu, the peak's famous "death stairs" are not quite as scary as some might have you think. That being said, they're were no walk in the park either.

Most visitors assume that the climb will be more intense going up, and the presence of this staircase at the start of the descent throws many for a loop. It's quite an extreme set of stairs, reaching an angle of over 60 degrees at some points.  With a brief pep talk, the Team started the climb!!

A Tail of two Climbs: Mikes Sprint to the Top, and the Bonathon!

It did not take long to start to tell that the climb was A: gonna be hard for Bone, B: provide an unbelievable view of Machu Picchu!!!

 

Bone's Coach for the Climb, Mike S!!

The Team quickly spread out, on the climb, with the better in-shape in the front. Bone, still recovering from his Atahualpa's Revenge and bum leg from his surgery, he limped behind the pack encouraged on by the indomitable Mike Stephanik, who was suffering from the bad belly a little bit himself! 

 

The View from Half-Way Up!

Machu Picchu, from the Top of Huayna Picchu!

Bone and Mike S, Almost There!

Lunching and Looking at Machu Picchu!!

Pablo and Bruce, enjoying the view from the Summit!

Mike, smoked EVERYBODY! he boogied up that old Huanya Picchu in 20 minutes!   Everyone else in 40 - 50 minutes. Mike S and Bone show up 20 minutes later with the Team just starting their box lunches. The good news is the everyone got up, and no one got hurt. In the past 10 years, 20 people have fallen to their demise off of Huanya Picchu, so safe was good!

At the Top was an Inkan Fort which made Mike and Bone marvel at the toil it must have been to lug those rocks up the hill, and build the walls. Them Inka's were a sturdy bunch for sure!

 

The Team enjoying the Trip down!

The stair are pretty darn narrow, it would be really hard to have too many people going both ways, hence the tight timelines. After lunch Liz got the Team down in 20 minutes and made it back to Machu Picchu by 1:00 for an archeological tour!

 

One last view of Machu Picchu from Huayna Picchu!

 

An Altar, shaped like a Holy Mountain behind it

The Tour started in front of a altar that was carved to the outline of a mountain in the distance. The craftwork of the Inka's was simply astounding, but the big question was, what is Machu Picchu!!

Machu Picchu was built in 15th-century Inca site and is located on a ridge between the Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu mountains. It sits 7,970 feet above sea level on the eastern slope of the Andes and overlooks the Urubamba River hundreds of feet below.   In 1911, explorer Hiram Bingham III, a professor at Yale University, visited the site and published its existence for the first time. He found it covered with vegetation, much of which has now been removed. The buildings were made without mortar (typical of the Inka), their granite stones quarried and precisely cut.   When Bingham discovered the site he was actually searching for Vilcabamba, the last capital of the Inca before their final defeat at the hands of the Spanish in 1572.   The explorer found Machu Picchu largely intact, having apparently never been visited by the Spanish conquistadors. In fact, the only reference to the site at all in Spanish documents is a mention of the word “Picchu” in a 1568 document, the text implying that it belonged to the Inca emperor.

 

The Mystery of Machu Picchu

 But despite its distinction as one of the most iconic and important archeological sites in the world, the origins of Machu Picchu remain a mystery. The Inca left no record of why they built the site or how they used it before it was abandoned in the early 16th century. Machu Picchu is believed to have been built by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the ninth ruler of the Inca, in the mid-1400s. An empire builder, Pachacuti initiated a series of conquests that would eventually see the Inca grow into a South American realm that stretched from Ecuador to Chile.   Many archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was constructed as a royal estate of sorts, the presence of elite residences in the northeast sector of the site backing that idea up. It would have been used by the emperor and his family as a temporary respite, the site supporting a small number of year-round caretakers. “There is a longstanding debate about what the function of Machu Picchu was because it is so unique and unusual as an Inca site,” Per the Tour Guide “It was too big to be a local settlement. And it’s too small and not the right structure to have been an administrative center for the Inca Empire.” The prevailing hypothesis among researchers is that Machu Picchu was a so-called “royal retreat”—akin to what Camp David is for the White House—where Inca Emperor Pachacuti would have visited and held diplomatic meetings, the Tour Guide explained. The archeology indicates that people who resided there were likely crafts specialists brought in from locations throughout the empire to work at the site.

 

The Tour Guide explaining what Machu Picchu was used for

 

Huayna Picchu's Inkan Ruins from Machu Picchu

 

"You did it Liz! You Got the Team to the Top!!!"

 

One of the common questions was; was Machu Picchu a religious site, administrative site, or university? The answer was YES! Similar to European history when philosophy, architecture, science, and religion were all facets of the same thing, the Inkan culture appeared to use Machu Picchu for the all of them.

 

The Center of Machu Picchu, the Sun Dial!

 

 

 

Incredibly HUGE Stone Foundations, set without equipment

The Tour Guide relayed that Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its three primary structures are the Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. ... In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll. The Inca built the site’s 15th-century ruins without mortar, fitting the blocks of stone so tightly together that you still cannot fit a piece of paper between them. The design included steeped, agricultural terraces to boost planting space and protect against flooding.

 

Machu Picchu's Aquifer

 

 

The Biggest Single Stone at Machu Picchu

 

T  But perhaps the biggest puzzle at Machu Picchu is a giant rock, named “the Intihuatana” by Bingham, after other carved stones found in the Incan empire. The stone at Machu Picchu is situated on a raised platform that towers above the plaza. Its purpose is a mystery, with recent research disproving the idea that it acted as a sundial. It may have been used for astronomical observations of some form. It may also be connected with the mountains that surround Machu Picchu.

 

"Temple of the Sun" Classic Inkan Architecture to offset Earthquakes

 

Interestingly, the dwelling of the emperor himself appears to be in the southwest part of the site, away from the other elite residences. A building known today as the “Temple of the Sun” is adjacent to it. One of them, the “Temple of the Sun,” or Torreón, has an elliptical design similar to a sun temple found at the Inca capital of Cuzco. It is located near where the Inca emperor is believed to have resided at Machu Picchu.

 

Unfortunately, Machu Picchu did not survive the collapse of the Inka. In the 16th century the Spanish appeared in South America, plagues afflicting the Inka along with military campaigns waged by conquistadors. In 1572, with the fall of the last Inkan capital, their line of rulers came to end. Machu Picchu, a royal estate once visited by great emperors, fell into ruin.  By now the really hot Sun was begining to wane and the magical day, the whole purpose of the looong journey was drawing to a close!

Liz gave everybody 15 minutes to snap some last, iconic shots before the tired troops boarded the Bus!

 

The "Post Card Shots" of Machu Picchu!

 

 

A Final Farewell to Magnificent Machu Picchu!

 

As they boarded the Bus Mike and Bone high-fived to check off one of the seven wonders of the world!!

 

A Quiet Victory Dinner!

Liz had reserved the same private room as the night before, however the Team dynamics were a little more reserved. It had been a really, really hot day, lots of climbing and activity and everyone was fairly subdued,,,,,, except Mike and Bone! After dinner, they grabbed a few cold Peruvian brews and jumped into the pool to recount the epic day! They soaked and got soaked till the turn of the day at Midnight and turned in.