For the second day in a row, our alarms buzzed at 3.30am in our humble Aguas Calientes accomodation, and for the second day we made a prompt decision to sleep on until 5.30am. We would get the bus up to Machu Picchu instead of hiking for an hour and a half in the dark through the jungle.
Everyone wants to climb Huayna Picchu - this is the magnificent mountain you'll have seen in photos towering high behind the famous Machu Pichu. A climb to the top is supposed to be not only challenging but to offer spledid views of the surrounding valleys, not to mention MP itself. The only problem is that there are only 400 tickets a day (all free) due to erosion and destruction of the paths and walkways. There are a maximum of only 2500 people daily at the MP site itself, though surprisingly we didn't have any trouble getting tickets the day before. In any case, Chris and I wanted one of these 400 golden tickets to hike up Huayna Picchu, as did the thousands of others visiting MP the same days as us.
We'd been told by backpackers that the only way to get one of the 400 first-come, first-served tickets was to walk up to MP from Aguas Calientes at 3.30am. That is, in the dark, in the jungle, without a guide... The guide book (and the staff the day before) confirmed this. And while we prepared ourselves for this both mornings, we caved in to more sleep each time. Truth be told, we're just not that hard core. A jungle hike on our own and in the dark and completely uphill just didn't seem appealing so we paid the $6 for the bus up again instead.
Putting Huayna Picchu and our failure-inducing soft behaviour to the back of our minds for a moment, we focussed on the Winter Solstice. This was what we were equally bothered about today: being at the 'Intihuatana' for the 7am sunrise. Our second day at Machu Pichu happened to be 21st June which was not only the Winter Solstice but the beginning of the Andean New Year. Thus a very special day.
We were up at MP by 6.20 after waiting in a line that stretched for kilometres full of people who'd been waiting for the first buses since 4am. There were at least 1000 ahead of us so, without even counting the crazies who'd been hiking since 3.30, it was clear that our chance of a golden ticket was out. What people on our bus hadn't realised however was the significance of the date so when we reached the 'Intihuatana' (the Hitching Post of the Sun) there were not even a fraction of the number of people we'd been expecting. A few American tour groups had been given a heads up by their no doubt very expensive guides but apart from them, that was pretty much it.
The 'Intihuatana' with Huayna Picchu towering behind it.
We'd been told to expect amazing things when the sun rose. This pillar had been used by Inca astronomers for years to predict the solstices. The Spanish succeded in smashing most other 'Intihuatanas' that are said to have been at sacred sites meaning this is one of only a few remaining. Today, this 'Intihuatana' was to cast a shadow on a rock below in such a precise way that it would form the shape of a llama. So we waited...
We waited along with a few token throw-back hippies who were waving feathers and blowing through conches towards where the sun was supposed to be. Dissappointingly and just our luck, there was no sunrise. As the clouds continued to shroud the mountain tops, we realised our luck was out and our hopes of seeing the llama shadow dashed. Instead, I had the pleasure of seeing a Machu Picchu staff member telling the hippy with the conch to belt up after she'd blown it at the sun (or cloud) five times.
It made me quite mad that it wasn't the local Andean people here celebrating their New Year but us - rich tourists - instead. One of the huge contradictions of tourism... Even at half the normal price (for national citizens) the entrance ticket to Machu Picchu is inconceivable for the majority of Peruvians. Shouldn't the site be closed to foreign tourists on this one day of the year? Allowing nationals in for free to celebrate their New Year, Winter Solstice and the magnificent engineering of their ancestors? It's more than sad to see the line of porters carrying bags possibly heavier than themselves for gringoes - this army of 'ants' make the four day Inca Trail trip countless times per month yet have never personally seen Machu Picchu. They can't afford the ticket. What is it to us gringoes if it's closed on this one day? Money obviously drives the opposite to happen - so many millions of dollars were lost from tourism during the weeks that the route to MP was closed after the floods and mudslides in February this year. Who knows how much money would be lost by closing the site for just one day to allow locals in to celebrate their New Year and the Winter Solsitce?
Anyhow, after the anticlimax at the Intihautana and the lack of sun-rising we headed to the Sacred Rock on the other side of the site, behind which lies the gateway to Huayna Picchu. Just in case a golden ticket was still a-lingering. The evening before, we'd been chatting to a staff member up at the 'Intihuatana'. He'd told us two important things: one, make it up to the 'Intihuatana' by 6.30am at the latest; he was convinced it would be chocker-block. As it had turned out, not as many people had cottoned on as we'd imagined. Second, he told us that we absolutely had to hike up to MP early (the 3.30am story again) if we wanted a chance at getting a ticket for Huayna Picchu. The very very first bus might just cut it, he said, but to even get that we'd have had to queue since 4am. He told us to find him the next morning if we hadn't managed either of those things (or if we'd lazily slept in!). He was exactly where he said he'd be at 6.15am when we revealed to him that we'd scandalously slept in until 5.30. He advised that we still go to the gate at 8am because sometimes people with the Huayna Picchu tickets don't show (weird, don't you think!? After going to all that trouble to get one?!).
And so it was that we strode up to the gate keepers, holding our breath and feigning confidence at 7.20am. And would you believe it?!? Not an eye-lash was batted, not a question asked. We just handed over our common entrance tickets, were told to sign our name in the book and, with the numbers 112 and 113 plastered accross our tickets, were sent on our jolly way! Simple as that! After all the plotting and scheming, early-gets ups and dark jungle walks that some people indulge in, there we were after our 5.30am lie-in, strolling in.
Well, a stroll in the park it was not. It was a steep ascent to the top of Huayna Picchu, or 'Young Peak', up steep, sometimes crumbling steps. Having said that, it wasn't actually as long as we were expecting and thankfully, not too too technically difficult. With a few breaks for water and catching our breath in these high altitudes, we were at the top and munching on our packed breakfast by 8am after just 40 minutes climbing. We'd even had to scramble through an Incan tunnel at one stage! Very small and claustraphobic. It can be said that the views from the top are stunning, and also that Machu Picchu looks absolutely tiny.
Breakfast atop Young Peak
You might be able to make out the shape of the animal it was built to represent. You always have four choices: the llama, the condor, the puma or the snake.
We decided to take the alternative route down which would lead us also to the Temple of the Moon on the other side of this mountain along with some sacred caves. What we hadn't realised was that this route would plunge us further down than we'd imagined. Chris continues to tell people that we walked practically all the way down to the valley floor but this is a clear exageration. Despite Chris's porkies, it is no exaggeration to say that this was the toughest part. The path down was incredibly steep and included some rickety wooden ladders; the way back up featured some death-defying drops and some paths where we even had to crouch under open rock tunnels as we walked up the Incan steps.
Temple of the Moon
Incan steps through overhanging caves
We made the journey down and up again with a lady called Pia from Finland. She is currently living in Hawaii and works as a healer. We met an incredible number of spiritual people during our two days at MP. The day before we'd met an English lady with her two teenage sons who were on a two week stay at a Shaman camp. It was interesting hearing about all they'd been up to though the boys were slightly less than enthusiastic about the experience.
Back on Huayna Picchu, Pia was incredibly moved when we reached the Temple of the Moon and could feel huge amounts of energy coming from inside the caves. She had her own pebbles which she placed on a rock while meditating. We left her to it while we took photos and explored.
By the time we got back to MP from our much-enjoyed adventure of Huayna Picchu, we were shattered and it was now just after noon. We explored every last area to ensure we hadn't missed anything over our two day visit then headed back down to Aguas Calientes to enjoy a huge lunch and relax for the rest of the afternoon before our late evening train back to Cusco.
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