Peru Pt. 2: Machu Picchu- disclaimer pictures DON'T do it justice!!

Allie and Nelson with the classic view of Machu Picchu. Behind the morning clouds is Huayna Picchu which we later hiked to the summit.

Everyone we spoke with about our travels to Machu Picchu stressed how beautiful and breathtaking this place was, but once we got there we realized that words or pictures did this place NO justice. Machu Picchu was built in the 1400's by the Inca empire, it was built as an estate for the Inca emperor. Located 50 miles northwest of Cusco, situated on a mountain ridge high above the Urubamba river. The site was abandoned 100 years later during the conquest of the Spanish. The advanced empire was slowly phased out by multiple factors including diseases brought by the Spanish.  In 1911 the site was rediscovered by an American archeologist Hiram Bingham. This site is located 8,040 ft above sea level. The city sits between two mountains Machu Picchu (old peak) & Huayna Picchu (young peak). The peak of Huayna Picchu is 8,920 ft above sea level, making it a perfect place to view the entire city of Machu Picchu as you can see in our pictures. The site is truly an archeological marvel. We were taken back by the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains, the ingenuity of the Incan people and the peacefulness of the entire site. Enjoy our pictures of this truly amazing and unbelievable site! Next up is our home stay with a local family on Amantani Island in the middle of Lake Titicaca! Another truly unique experience!

Allie and Nelson taking in the natural hot springs in Aguas Calientes, a small town we stayed in right outside Machu Picchu

Our first Pisco Sours. Not bad.


Beautiful view of Machu Picchu after morning clouds dispersed.

Nelson and Allie with Machu Picchu backdrop.

Nelson with Machu Picchu.

The steep terraces of Incan ingenuity, used for irrigation and drainage important for the wet mountainous climate. Their innovation helped to preserve the site after so many years.

Allie and Nelson walking through the ruins.

Machu Picchu with Huayna Picchu behind the ruins.

A different angle of the terraces.

The circular temple on the bottom of the picture is the temple of the sun. The open window is positioned perfectly to allow the winter and summer solstice sun to shine as it reached high above the surrounding mountains, through the window and light up the stone in the center. 

Small houses on the side of the terraces, meant for workers of the site.  

Beautiful view of the ancient city. 

The temple of the 3 windows. This temple celebrated the 3 phases of time: past, present, and future. 

View of the Urubamba River from high above. 

More stunning views.

Incan ruins.

Everything was either a hike up or a hike down. It seemed we hiked more up than down!

View of the hike ahead of us. The winding trail of Huayana Picchu was not an easy task. The hour and a half hike up this mountain was strenuous but worth the work for the amazing views! 

Nelson with the trail to be conquered!

Allie making the very steep climb up the trail. The trail had many strong iron railings to hold onto, and its a good thing they were there! The climb was so steep at some point we literally used the railings to pull ourselves up. There were also ropes at some points to help us. At the highest points we felt like little toddlers literally crawling with our hands up stone steps, trying not to look down below at the scary heights we had climbed!

The view of Machu Picchu from the hike was breathtaking! It gave us a whole new perspective of the lengths (or heights) the Incas had to overcome to build a city in this unthinkable place.

Nelson tired, but not defeated as we are almost at the summit!

Allie and Nelson at the top of Huayna Picchu looking wayyy down over the city and the river down below!

Allie with the beautiful mountains.

Our last views of the ancient city.

Truly a remarkable place with incredible views. Very happy we made the trip to this marvelous site. We would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in culture, history, and archeology!