Machu Picchu -- Our Own Experience

They say pictures are better than a1000 words. However, showing videos of what we saw, felt and sensed, is the most break taking experience of our lives. We traveled to Peru in 2006. We planned to visit Machu Picchu, and probably embark ourselves on an Inca Trail. But we left it for Chuck Norris and Harrison Ford.

The Inca trail is a mythical road on the Andean Mountains. You have to be in good shape to walk those 300-400 miles on treacherous roads that have been almost erased by time. They were built around 1465 A.D. and still can be seen as a legacy from this megalithic Inca Engineering.

Our trip started in Cuzco Peru. This was the Inca Capital before the Conquistadors arrived in 1532. Our tourist guides would pick us up from the Hotel, very early in the morning as agreed the night before. They did this in order to drive us to the train station and take it from there. The scenery was beyond words; Just think about it, we were as high as 7000 feet. The trip to that realm took us three hours. We witnessed all kind of small fortresses and artificial Terraces called 'Andenes.' South American camels like alpacas, vicunas and even llamas, were roaming the landscape. This was like an experience from 'Narnia.'

Built around 1464 and with the 'help' from enslaved workers from Inca's foes and opponent tribes, Machu Picchu had this splendid look that according to scholars and erudite was chosen as a Sacred Fortress by Inca Emperor 'Pachacutec.' Being itself an almost truncated plateau, the site was chosen by hydraulic Engineers and Architects of the time. Rocks and stone beams would be obtained from the highest area, by knowledgeable masons.

Our tourist guide is telling us in the video, that for a fifteen century culture, there was no explanation of their knowledge. If you notice the walls (china walls kind of..), they are not going straight up like in today's constructions...they go inward as they settle their different 'boulder' layers from the supplying bedrock. This was done to get better support, as shown in the Egyptian Pyramids

After a long trip that started early in the morning, we embarked on this train, that showed us these mountains ridges, that were practically kissing the sky. Some People decided to play poker and other just rest. The air was kind of rare, being practically at 6,700 feet above sea level. We were surprised by a typical dance from the area.

You can hear the music from 'Quenas' and 'Charangos' and its unforgettable sounds. To give you an idea of how the landscape was outside, just imagine a trip from Afghanistan to Pakistan, cutting through mountainous rocks and awesomely watching llamas and rivers waving to us, in an almost imaginary Paradise. We must wonder if Alexander the Great went through all these feelings back in 330 B.C.

After the train reached the boundaries of Cuzco city, We boarded ourselves into a charter Bus. The bus driver was kind enough to stop for a few minutes to let us see another Fortress called Sacsayhuaman. The video shows the lightning on this megalithic construction. Some rocks are as heavy as 25 tons, and you cannot stop thinking...how in the world they did build these marvels?