In search of Paddington....: Machu Picchu

After not getting much sleep at Aguas Calientes (so many tourists) we got up at 4.30 as we were to be on our way at 5.30 for Machu Picchu... was so excited, this is something been looking forward to ever since I heard was doing to Peru - visiting a wonder of the world. In 2007, it was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World along with the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal in India.

We arrived at Machu Picchu around 6.15am (yes very early - but worth it as not many tourists by this stage) and the first sight we were greeted with us mist and am like oh that is disappointing, but was reassured the mist would lift and it eventually did, after coming and going for an hour, but it did make it romantic looking.

Misty Machu Picchu

We had a tour guide who took us around Machu Picchu (took 3 hours) and then we spent 1.5 hours up there on our own until the heavens opened and we decided to go back to try and get dry (thankfully we had our raincoats with us).

For those of who you do not know what Machu Picchu is here is a brief history. Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Incasite located 2,430 metres (7,970 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba (Sacred) Valley. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. It is often referred to as the "City of the Incas", and is the most familiar icon of the Inca World.

The Incas started building the "estate" around 1400, but abandoned it as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. It was known locally at this time but was unknown to the outside world. However in 1911, it was discovered by American historian Hiram Bingham and since then it has become a very important tourist attraction.

Since the site was never known to the Spanish during their conquest, it is highly significant as a relatively intact cultural site. It was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry stone walls. Its three primary structures are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun and the Room of the Three Windows.

I mentioned before that at the beginning everything was misty and I was a bit disappointed, however when I walked up to the guards house and saw Machu Picchu in its full glory with Huayna Picchu towering above it, it took my breath away at the beauty of it all and the thought of how did these guys construct this so far up in the hills and how did the Spanish never find it. It is an amazing place and has entered my top ten of places in the World.