Machu Picchu

1 May 2006
Cusco
Peru
Day 44

Getting to Machu Picchu and back to Cusco is a 14 hour day of bus and train rides. The option I would have preferred, if time allowed, was to do the 4 day hike through the jungle and mountains.
I was really excited to get to the ruins as it has been an ambition for a long time to visit it. There are stacks of tourists but there is so much space that it is not really a problem. Everything about the trip is great. From the train ride along the river and between the mountains to the last hike up to the top.
The ruins were started in 1500 and took 40 years and 20 000 people to complete. How the Incas built it was through a taxation system where instead of people paying taxes they worked for the state for a period of time. (interesting concept).
It was an area of worship for the Incas and was inhabited by about 700 people and vacated when the Spaniards invaded the nearby towns and killed the Inca ruler.

Nasca lines next
Its Chow for now.

Ricky