Machu Picchu - Lost City of the Incas

Climbing Huayna Picchu

No, we're not in Peru! Since we're not traveling at the moment, however, we thought we'd entertain you once a week with some of the best places we've visited over the past 13 years. Sometime we'll highlight a whole country; sometime just a region, but it'll always be an adventure. Come on along...we love the company.

We left Cups berthed in Ecuador and trekked and bussed around Peru for six weeks with just daypacks on our backs. It's an awesome country with some distinctly different offerings. The highlight is, of course, the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu. It's hard to capture the essence of Machu Picchu in words or even photos. It's spiritual, uplifting, amazing, historic, breathtaking … lots of adjectives and none do it justice. It's on the list of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and justly so. It's that magnificent.

Here's just a sample of what we saw. Visit the website for more photos and a blow by blow description of our trip.

View from the Guard House

View after view after view

Llamma grazing

The city of Cuzco was considered the capital of the Inca Empire. We began our exploration there, but were put off a bit by the commercialization of the place. Everybody wanted a piece of the tourist trade.

Cusco Cathedral at Night

View from the train heading into Aguas Calientes

Selling lillies on the train route

We were disappointed to learn that the wait for hiking the Inca Trail was nearly a month, but in actuality, taking the train to Aguas Calientes and then a bus to Machu Picchu worked out just fine and was much easier on the legs.

The early morning fog lifts

Trail up Huayna Picchu

Marcie and David atop Huayna Picchu

We arrived at the site early in the morning and climbed nearby Huayna Picchu for spectacular views of Machu Picchu far below us as the morning fog lifted.

David at the Temple of the Moon

By the way, a good read if you're into the history of the Incas is John Hemming's The Conquest of the Incas.

Lonely Planet Peru was our guide of choice.

So, what do you think? Ready to pack your bags and head to Peru?

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