The Inca Giant Who Is Looking at the Sky — Machu Picchu
There is a lot of magnificent scenery which I want to tour in my life around this beautiful world. One of them was Machu Picchu. Most people are familiar with it because it’s one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and also the blueprint of the Sky Castle, an animation made by Hayao Miyazaki. Moreover, it is the most precious treasure of the Inca Empire.
After visiting some tourist attractions at Lima, the capital of Peru, I came to Cusco, which was the capital of the Inca Empire, to get used to the high altitude in advance before going to Machu Picchu. The locals prepared coca tea which is particularly effective against acute mountain sickness for visitors.
Cusco is an exotic city which perfectly blends traditional Inca culture and Spanish architecture. Most of the buildings here have large stones made through indigenous construction techniques which fit together without any concrete as foundation and colonial Spanish architecture renovation on it.
One night, I savored a local cuisine - guinea pig, which is called ‘Cuy’ by locals has been one of the main staple foods for hundreds year. After waiting one hour, the roast guinea pig arrived with a red hat made of tomato. It’s skin was golden and bubbling just like a crispy German pork knuckle. Different from it’s skin, the meat was juicy, tender and flavorful. The taste was somewhere between chicken and frog, but gamier.
The next day, I took a train in the early morning to Aguas Calientes which is a small town located at the foot of a mountain near Machu Picchu. Although there was a limit on the number of people everyday and you have to make a reservation in advance, if you don’t go in earlier, you will spend a lot of time waiting in line on the shuttle bus when you get out. Then I transferred from a train to a bus.
Honesty, I really have to say the driver’s driving skills were excellent. There are no fences and the rad was built of dirt and stone. Especially at some sections that was narrow and your bus passed over with another bus. I can still remember what my heartbeats sounds like.
Luckily, there wasn’t much people at the entrance. On the contrary, the were hundreds of people waiting for bus when I get out.
You could see the memorial plaques commemorate Hiram Bingham, the American adventurer who found Machu Picchu, just after the entrance.
The heritage site is on hillside so there are a large number of steps and stairs. The cottages which covered by thatch were samples showed that the houses here had thatch roof.
Finally, I climbed some steps to reach a higher platform where I could see the panorama of Machu Picchu which just quite lying in front of me. It felt like the dream come true when I saw the whole picture, after all, the illusory environment looked so unreal. I was truly moved when I saw it with my own eyes, even though I have seen it on TV or internet. It seemed that the time frozen at the moment to let me appreciated this spectacular scene. By the way, the mountain looks like a face of an aboriginal elder is Hyuna Picchu, the mountain where I stand is Machu Picchu.
The Inca Empire worshipped the supreme Sun God, Inti, so the stones over here were fit seamlessly in an arc shape. That’s a difficult work and showed the importance of the Sun Temple.
The thing that I admired the most is all the big stones were completely connected. Although Machu Picchu was just a resort at Inca Empire, the extremely high quality of stone craft and decoration exhibits the great status as an altar.
It seemed the site was not so big on the picture, but actually when you strolled on the ruin, it’s just like a small city that you have to spend around three hours to go through it.
When I looked back from the other side, the rough road which I came from looked more frightening.
It’s hard to describe how I feel this fantastic view gave me. It’s not only a World Heritage site but also merges history and nature perfectly. Whether you are interested in history or natural marvel, you can enjoy both right here.
