Experiencing Machu Picchu

On day five of our trip after acclimating to the altitude in the Sacred Valley, we rode a bus to Ollantaytambo to the train station to board the Vistadome Train for Machu Picchu! The countryside was breathtakingly beautiful with mountains and streams, abundant wildlife, and cool, crisp air.

We took only a backpack with provisions for one night for our stay in Aguas Calientes also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo. We checked into our hotel for the night and boarded the bus for the 20-minute ascent to the ruins.

When I say ascent, it was definitely that! If you’re squeamish about heights, narrow roads full of switchbacks, very few guardrails, and straight down drop offs, I suggest you close your eyes for the ride like I did! This road was one lane, when you met another bus, one had to stop and back up so they could get around the other and this happens several times on the way up and back down. The bus drivers seemed to be used to it.

At the top, or what I thought was the top, we got off the bus, used the restroom, it was the only restroom at Machu Picchu. Then we started our walk up, up, up, on narrow steps with very few handrails, stopping often to catch our breath. The altitude made it difficult to breathe. It was easy to spot the people who were used to being at higher altitudes because they were walking by all of us that were trying to catch our breath.

We had coco leaves on several occasions to help with the altitude. We were shown by one of our guides to put the leaves in our cheeks and then we were given an activator to add to the leaves and told not to eat the leaves. It was the closest to chewing tabaco I’ve ever done.

As we reached the top, I realized that I was not prepared for the magnificence of this Ancient Inca Wonder. The pictures and documentaries I had seen didn’t compare to seeing Machu Picchu in person, part of that was the feeling of being there.

The energy there is like no other energy I have experienced. It felt sacred and welcoming; majestic and inviting. I could feel the wisdom and strength of an ancient civilization who was far advanced for their time. To build such a wonder on top of a mountain, in the 1400’s leaves us with many questions.

Our guide shared with our group that the Incas only lived at Machu Picchu for about 100 years. It was a residence for Inca royalty and housed up to 750 people, all in their service. Machu Picchu was first documented in 1911 and 20 percent of it remains covered.

After our tour we rode the bus down the mountain, which was more frightening than going up. We settled into a beautiful hotel and had one of the best dinners of the trip and rested up for our second entrance to Machu Picchu.

We got up early, 4 am early, to get back up to Machu Picchu so we could experience the sunrise over the mountains. Our guide took us into a section of the ruins that was roped off to tourists. We could see the full moon over the mountains. From this point we could watch the sun rise and shine into the Temple of the Sun. This would be my most treasured memory of the trip.

Our guide Al shared stories and told us how the Incas built this temple to worship the Sun. They placed a window at the exact location that the sun would shine directly into as soon as it emerged from behind the mountains. As I stood there and waited for the sunrise, I was immersed in the cool, crisp mountain air, the feeling of anticipation and wonder, the miracle of being in this Divine space. It was pure magic.

As the sun shone perfectly into the temple window, tears welled up in Al’s eyes as he spoke with deep reverence. “This my friends is a miracle, how did these people so long ago do this?” He then recited an ancient prayer as we bowed our heads in the bright shining sun that was now fully visible, up over the mountain.

Here is a big take away from my trip to Peru.

Being in the present moment is where the magic happens in our lives, whether we are at home in our normal routine or we are traveling and immersed in new adventures. We miss so many beautiful things in our lives because we have so many distractions.

The people in Peru seemed to have few distractions in their lives. They live in the present moment fully. I believe that’s where their sense of Connection comes from. They know that the little moments are really the big things in life.

At the end of our lives, we leave our legacy in the lives we touch just by being present and available in the moments we share. Those precious memories are also what we take with us when we leave.

Be present so you don’t miss the magic.

When we change the world changes.