Galapagos Day 11 (12/13): Travel day to Machu Picchu.
Town scene along the way: We first took the bus back to Ollantaytambo
and got on the train.
Train follows the Urubamba River Valley. Here's a hydroelectric facility along the way.
First looks inside ancient Machu Picchu, built in the 1400s at the height of the Inca Empire.
Inside Machu Picchu, the map at the entrance.
Contemplating ancient stones and mysteries
I thought it would be relatively flat. SO wrong again!
Amazing fit to the huge stones - various theories about how they did this.
Looks like a cross between a rabbit and rat?? Dunno.
Beautiful and amazing work, and over 500 years old!
Amazing work - terraces and buildings go on and on!
Sorry to repeat, but I did NOT expect such a vertical place!
Walkways and building floors are packed dirt/rocks, no paving here!
Looking down into the valley and the river below
The road up - all switchbacks.
Our two fabulous guides full of amazing details, Alex and Katerina.
Later in the day at Machu Picchu - the mist moved in, I found a dry spot to sit and watch,
to imagine what it must have been like to live there.
A few alpacas dropped in to see the ruins.
What a beautiful peaceful spot.
One ancient :) yellow rainslicker in the empty ancient walls.
Looking at the Andes beyond, huge forbidding mountain range!