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The Urubamba canyon is very deep at Machu Picchu and the Urubamba River is boulder strewn and runs fast.
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Bromeliads, mosses, and grasses hang precariously from the sheer rock faces of the canyon walls. |
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Cusco - Machu Picchu Index Bolivia, 2001 Home
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Cusco - Machu Picchu
Page 3: Machu Picchu
Copyright: Jim Ciotti, 2001
September 20, 2001
Click on Images for Enlargement
Early in the morning on September 2, we took the "Autowagon" to Agua Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu, and then a bus up to the ruin. The Autowagon is a modern, self-propelled train with lots of glass - obviously made for viewing. It is one of three trains designed primarily for tourists. Peru runs another train for the people living in the Urubamba Valley on which tourists are not allowed.
Machu Picchu is a magnificent work of urban architecture. It is deliberate and planned and yet follows no consistent pattern - a stranger here would have found it hard to find his way around. Rather it is built into and integrated with its setting, and one of the things that makes the city so spectacular is its setting. It overlooks and and is surrounded by a sharp loop in the Urubamba River.
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The Urubamba canyon is very deep at Machu Picchu and the Urubamba River is boulder strewn and runs fast.
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Bromeliads, mosses, and grasses hang precariously from the sheer rock faces of the canyon walls. |
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Machu Picchu itself, is a large, stone city on a spur of the Andes far above the twisting Urubamba River. At the end of the spur is a sharp peak called Huayna Picchu. There are even ruins on the top of Huayna Picchu. |
A broad plaza runs down the center of Machu Picchu. To the left of the plaza (as seen in the previous picture) is a district in which many finely-made temples are located. |
To the right of the plaza, the structures are (generally) more crudely made. They are assumed to be living quarters and workshops. (Note: there are conflicting theories about the actual purpose of various buildings.) |
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| Steep pitched roofs were used at Machu Picchu. Note: these are structures from the living quarters - they are more crudely made. | The Inca did no invent the arch. Instead they used a trapezoidal arrangement for both doors and windows. These finely-made structures are in the temple complex. | Jim is attempting an intellectual look in the "intellectuals' quarters." Again the trapezoidal design, but here, in living quarters and more crudely made. | ||
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| Narrow passageways snake their way through the living/working quarters. (The temple complex is more open.) Stairways connect various levels of the city. | Machu Picchu's water system still works. | |
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The flanks of Machu Picchu are very steep. However, they were terraced and used for agriculture. There were even terraces on Huayna Picchu. |
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| This building is called the Principal Temple | This building is named the Temple of Three Windows for an obvious reason - it has three windows. | In situ rock cut in irregular patterns is found at most Incan sites. This is the "Intiwatana" - probably a sundial or an altar. | |
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| Imaginatively named "the sacred stone" by the modern-day keepers of Machu Picchu, this large stone slab is said to trace the outline of nearby sacred mountains. | The Temple of the Sun is one of Machu Picchu's few round structures - on top, it has an altar of cut stone. | Beneath the temple is the "Royal Tomb," a small, finely-carved cave. |
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| There are a lot of tourists at Machu Picchu in early September, but not so many as to be annoying. However, the entrance to the city is crowded with restaurants, coffee shops, storage areas, and buses. There are llamas in its central plaza tame enough to enjoy a good pet and campesino boys who will beat the bus to the valley for a bit of money. For those really in a rush, there are even copter flights that will get you to Machu Picchu in a hurry. All this is an indication that it is one of the world's most popular tourist stops. | On New Years Eve of 1968, when I first visited Machu Picchu, fewer came here, and those that did were given greater freedom. They were allowed to clamber over walls and to camp out in the ruins. The first hut I camped in (left) flooded. In the evening, there was a lightning storm; apparently Machu Picchu's drainage system still worked (or maybe, didn't work.) Surprisingly, the hut is still thatched today. ...and its floor is damp. Soaked, I raced up to a second hut (middle) and sat in its large open doorway (right) dripping wet watching the storm. Huayna Picchu and the Urubamba Valley could be seen in the lightning flashes. It was a great way to bring in 1969! | |||
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