What Hiram Bingham saw......

We travelled to Ollyantaytambo by minibus on Tuesday morning to catch the train to Aguas Calientes which is the town closest to Machu Picchu. We travelled in 'Vistadome' class, one down from the Orient Express and a couple up from Backpacker.

The train to Aguas Calientes

The views were amazing and the anticipation was building for all of us knowing that we only had one night to go until we arrived at the City of the Incas.

We were up at 4am on Monday as we were keen to be on one of the first buses that drives you the 30 minutes up to Machu Picchu and after a fried egg roll and a cup of coca tea we were on our way.

When we arrived at 6am the cloud was low and the sun wasn't up - when we walked through the entrance gate I had the same feeling of anticipation and expectation that I'd had since 4am but so far it felt like a tourist attraction without much going for it - and then bang!

Not a word I use often; awesome!

For the next two hours the clouds rise and fall exposing and then concealing various parts of these fascinating ruins. Hearing the story of their discovery and getting a better understanding of the history of the Incas is both sad and fascinating. 

Hiram Bingham an American explorer discovered the ruins in 1911. I was surprised at both the size and the completeness of the ruins which only became a tourist attraction in 1980. The ruins are approximately 60% original, 30% reconstructed and 10% in need of renovation. Without a doubt there's still more to be discovered in the vegetation of the lower lands but apparently this will be left for later generations to discover.