Study Abroad Peru 2013: May 4: Day 8 (Manchu Picchu)

Look it is an almost smile at 4:30am!
And yes, I was reppin' BYU Women's Basketball
and California ALL DAY LONG!

So I keep on saying that I hate early mornings, and that every single morning started early, but really I think that we can all agree that waking up at 4:30am to be at the bus at 5:00 am is EARLY! But of all the days we woke up early, this one was ENTIRELY worth every second.

In a word Manchu Picchu is AMAZING. Literally one of my favorite places on Earth. The only other word practically synonymous with Manchu Picchu is hiking. We hiked everywhere, but that was totally ok, because as I said earlier (or impled earlier) I literally loved every single second.

So on to the hiking shall we?

From the top of the mountain just as the sun was rising. 

We'll start off with the hike I didn't do, and slightly regret but I'll make it up this spring when I get the opportunity to go again!

Hiking up: When you go to Manchu Picchu you have a couple of options as to how you want to get up the mountain. If you are starting in Manchu Picchu city (aka Aguas Calientes at the bottom of the mountain) you can catch one of the buses headed up (they start at about 5:15am and run continuously until like an hour before closing time), or you can hike up. Basically there is a set of stairs that cuts straight up the mountain through all of the switchbacks made by the buses on the road.

Classic view of Manchu Picchu

I recommend the buses to all first timers who want to maximize their time at the top of mountain.

The first thing every person should do as soon as they walk in is go up and take a classic picture like the one at left and below. If you've done it right and gotten in with the first of the crowd then the hillside will be empty and beautiful and not crawling with people (yet).

The next thing every person should do is hike up Huayna Picchu. "Where is Huayna (Whine-nu) Picchu?" you might ask, well I'll tell you.

Classic view of Manchu Picchu with my
 favorite Canadian/teammate Whitney!

"Do you see that tall mountain in the background of the picture you just took of what you thought was Manchu Picchu?" "Yes." "That's Huayna Picchu." "Oh."

Unfortunately, most people don't know that you need a separate ticket to get up to Huayna Picchu. But you do, SO GET ONE! (And don't let what I'm about to say intimidate you, because the view is absolutely worth it no matter how long it takes you!)

In a nutshell: 2 hours round trip, 1000 feet change in elevation. Basically if you picture the stairs from LotR 3, add a couple of switchbacks (but still stairs) and then add a really pretty view and beautiful ruins, that is the hike.

Just being a little sassy at the top of Manchu Picchu

Like I said, very intimidating, but very worth it. For those who know their way around a hike it probably takes less time, I just usually wheeze my way up mountains. NBD Keep scrolling down and you'll see some pics from at/near the top, but they don't quite capture the view of the entire valley.

After the whole group got up and down Huayna Picchu without much incident (you have to worry about the guy who had a heart attack two years before, even though it doesn't slow him down any). We met up with our guide for a little tour of Manchu Picchu city (the part on top of the mountain).

Just hangin' out with a great view of Huayna Picchu

If you want to hear all about it you'll have to go somewhere else. Here's the synopsis: 2 hours, I don't know the change in elevation but let me just say that Incans were not fat people. Also, apparently they designed their city just to scare me personally. I have an incredible fear of falling off edges (all of Manchu Picchu is an edge) and an incredible fear of very small spaces (there were several small spaces we had to take our backpacks off and crawl through on Waynupicchu and the tour).

I will say that travelling with engineers has it's perks, including: actual appreciate for architecture, design, and the math/science behind knowing North, East, South, and West with a precision only recently replicated.

Also, I'll throw in my favorite exchange: Guide: "Do you want to know the secret to the Incas' long health?" "Sure" "They chew the coca leaf! You should try it. It will make you smarter, healthier, and live longer" (In case you don't follow that link coca is the basis of cocaine.) "Dr. Lewis can we?" "Only if you want to be on the next plane back to Utah." (This goes back to an entertaining conversation with our TA in March who passed along the rumor that drinking water that had coca leaves in it would help with symptoms of elevation sickness. After discovering the connection to cocaine we were promptly forbidden from doing any such thing.)

Staring up at Huayna Picchu, a short while later
 I'll be at the top.

Climbing through some ruins at the top of Huayna Picchu,
yes that hole is barely big enough to fit a person!

At the conclusion of the tour we all more or less broke into smaller groups to rest, take more pictures, leisurely stroll, or (for the triumphant three) finish off the last two most famous hikes.

Me and my favorite Whitney
at the top of Huayna Picchu

Incan Bridge - 30 minutes round trip, 50 feet change in elevation. This was the easiest by far, but remember what I was saying about edges? Well apparently Incan defenses include being able to shoot your enemies off the edge of the path, so the entire path has as one million foot drop to the river below.

Let's take a minute and appreciate the architecture here...

The Incan bridge itself is pretty clever, after the windy, narrow path that drops off the edge to death the bridge itself is three logs set over a hole built out of stones so if you want to defend your city all you have to do is drop the logs off the side. One of my favorite parts about hanging out with a bunch of guys is their tendency to appreciate the cleverness of war strategy more than the view. Because let's face it the view is pretty, but figuring out how to defend a city on a mountain is awesome. (Yep, that was a little insight into how I evaluate hikes). But really I think that my face in the second to last picture (as near the bridge as we could get) says it all.

...and then be totally blown away that
the same group of people did this!

The Triumphant Three (we were the only three two do all of the hikes, ok, Rydge and Porter did all of the hikes, I rode the bus up) rounded the day off with a quick trip up the the Sun Gate, before racing back down the mountain to round up our things and catch the train.

Sun Gate - 1 hour round trip, several hundred feet change in elevation. We were going at a fairly good clip to make it in this time, Porter said he was impressed with my pace setting, for the incline we were taking. The ruins itself were pretty cool, but also the feeling of halving the time it takes most people was fun. We had a couple of really funny moments on this hike.

Tiny Incan bridge and a sunburn...

Once we passed an Asian couple and instead of greeting us with "hello" they said "hola" which was interesting because as white people we were expecting a "hello". Also, on the way back Porter used his amazing ability to make friends with anyone and everyone to make friends with a black guy from Argentina and they had a nice conversation in Spanish the whole way down. First I had no idea there were black people who called themselves Argentines. And second watching a white guy and a black guy have a totally normal conversation in perfect Spanish, was an interesting moment. (There's some insight into how I grew up, always something to learn about yourself and the world, eh?)

Hike Down - 35 minutes, 1000 feet change in elevation. Porter, Rydge, and I booked it down the mountain (we were almost late for our train out of town). But it was a lot of fun, I felt like a gazelle leaping down the mountain. (Yep, super graceful.) Basically we made it down the mountain 10 minutes slower than the buses that take people up and down.

The Triumphant Three!