WITHOUT WRITING THEY CREATED A POETRY THAT IS STILL BEING RECITED, WITHOUT IRON THEY MASTERED THE OFFICE OF WAR AND AMASSED AN EMPIRE OF 2 MILLION KILOMETERS, WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF THE WHEEL, HUGE STONES ROSE TO 2,490 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL AND FOUNDED THE ENIGMATIC MACHU PICCHU.
WITH CERAMICS, TEXTILES, SCULPTURE, PAINTING, GOLDSMITHS, LITERATURE, ASTRONOMY, ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, MEDICINE, AGROTECHNICS AND MATHEMATICS, THE INCAS COVERED EVERY ASPECT OF HUMAN LIFE WITH AN INTELLIGENCE THAT HAS NOT CEASED TO AMAZE THE WORLD SINCE THE FIRST SPANIARDS WITNESSED SUCH GREATNESS.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY, THERE WAS STILL A LOT TO DISCOVER ABOUT THIS ENORMOUS EMPIRE. THAT IS WHY THE AMERICAN EXPLORER HIRAM BINGHAM VENTURED TO THE PERUVIAN HEIGHTS TO TRY TO FIND THE LOST CITY OF VILCABAMBA, BUT INSTEAD FOUND A MASTERPIECE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING THAT ONLY DECADES LATER WOULD BE UNDERSTOOD AS A PLACE OF REST AND CEREMONIES FOR THE EMPEROR PACHACÚTEC: MACHU PICCHU.
TODAY MACHU PICCHU IS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE AND ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE TOURIST DESTINATIONS ON THE PLANET WITH MORE THAN 600,000 VISITORS A YEAR.
THOSE WHO HAVE HAD THE JOY OF GOING TO MACHU PICCHU RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRIES TALKING ABOUT A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE, OF DIRECT CONTACT WITH SOMETHING MUCH GREATER THAN THE VICISSITUDES OF THE WESTERN WORLD AND A REORGANIZATION OF VITAL PRIORITIES.
NEXT WE WILL EXPLORE THE OPTIONS THAT TOURISTS CAN ENJOY TO GET ALL THE POSSIBILITIES FOR YOUR TRIP TO MACHU PICCHU.
BY TRAIN FROM CUZCO TO MACHU PICCHU
THERE ARE SEVERAL TRAINS THAT TAKE TRAVELERS TO MACHU PICCHU FROM CUZCO, POROY STATION (20 MINUTES FROM THE CITY) OR THE SACRED VALLEY. THERE ARE THEM FOR ADVENTUROUS TOURISTS, FOR NATURE LOVERS AND FOR THOSE WHO PREFER TO MERGE THE EXPERIENCE WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF LUXURY. EACH TRAIN HAS HUGE PANORAMIC WINDOWS THAT ALLOW YOU TO ENJOY THE JOURNEY WITH TRANQUILITY AND COMFORT. THESE RIDES LAST BETWEEN TWO AND FOUR HOURS DEPENDING ON WHERE THE TRAIN IS TAKEN.
WALK TO MACHU PICCHU FROM THE LARES VALLEY
SINCE THE DAYS OF THE INCA EMPIRE, THE INHABITANTS OF THE CUZCO REGION HAVE MAINTAINED THEIR IDENTITY IN ASPECTS SUCH AS GASTRONOMY, LIFESTYLE AND COLORFUL WAY OF DRESSING. WALKING FROM THE LARES VALLEY TO MACHU PICCHU IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT SIMULATES A JOURNEY BACK IN TIME AND HAS CONTACT WITH VILLAGES THAT AT LEAST SINCE COLONIAL TIMES HAVE REMAINED INTACT IN THEIR IDIOSYNCRASIES.
THE WALK ALSO ALLOWS A FRONTAL CONTACT WITH NATURE AND THE ANIMALS THAT ARE RAISED IN THE AREA, AN IMPRESSIVE VIEW OF THE SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS OF THE ANDES AND THE ENJOYMENT OF PEACEFUL MOUNTAIN LAKES ALONG SEVEN UNFORGETTABLE FULL DAYS.
SALKANTAY MOUNTAIN AND MACHU PICCHU
< DIV STYLE = "TEXT-ALIGN: JUSTIFY;"> EIGHT DAYS OF TREKKING TO UNDERSTAND NOT ONLY MACHU PICCHU BUT THE LIFE OF THE ANCIENT INCAS, THEIR COMMUNICATION LIMITATIONS AND HOW THEY MANAGED TO OVERCOME THEM, THEIR FOOD, THE RESOURCES THEY HAD .. .
TOURISTS WILL BE ABLE TO WALK THROUGH THE IMPRESSIVE FOOTHILLS OF THE SALKANTAY MOUNTAIN, 6,271 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL, APPRECIATE THE SNOW-CAPPED PEAKS FROM A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE AND ASCEND THE FAMOUS PASO FROM APACHETA (4,600 METERS) TO FINALLY FALL IN A TROPICAL AREA ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN AND REACH THE WONDERFUL MACHU PICCHU.
EXPRESS TOUR TO MACHU PICCHU
THOSE TAKING THE FIVE-DAY EXPRESS TOUR WILL HAVE ACCESS TO A FULL WALKING EXPERIENCE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH AND CAMPING WHERE THE IMAGINATION DOES NOT REACH. BUT THOSE WHO CAN HAVE A FEW MORE DAYS CAN ALSO SEE HOW THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE AREA WAS MUTATING FROM INCA TO COLONIAL AND FROM COLONIAL TO MODERN BUT WITHOUT LOSING ITS ESSENCE.
AN EXPRESS TOUR ALSO INCLUDES THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT MUSEUMS IN EACH AREA AND SAVOR THE INCREDIBLE NIGHTLIFE OF THE SACRED VALLEY.
INCA TRAIL TO MACHU PICCHU
THE BEST WAY TO ENJOY MACHU PICCHU IS TO GET THROUGH THE ROAD OF THE INCAS, SINCE IT ALLOWS TO REPRODUCE HISTORY IN ITS OWN FLESH BY SEEING PLACES THAT FOR CENTURIES WERE HIDDEN FROM THE WESTERN AND EVEN LOCAL EYE. MAGIC, NATURE, HISTORY AND CULTURE; ALL IN THE COMPANY OF A BILINGUAL GUIDE AND THE NECESSARY ELEMENTS FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPEDITION.
GET TO KNOW THE INCA BRIDGE
AFTER ACCESSING MACHU PICCHU AND STAYING THERE FOR THE TIME ALLOWED WITH A GUIDE, MANY PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED TO VISIT THE BRIDGE DEL INCA, ANOTHER OF THE WONDERS OF ENGINEERING FROM ABOVE. IT IS A RECOMMENDED NARROW PATH FOR YOUNG ADVENTURERS.
KNOW THE INTUHUATANA OF MACHU PICCHU
AN INTIHUATANA IS A CARVED MONOLITHIC STONE THAT WAS USED FOR RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. THIS IS PROOF THAT THE WORLD'S CIVILIZATIONS HAVE ALWAYS SOUGHT THE ATONEMENT OF THE FLESH TO MAKE THE SPIRIT TRANSCEND.
SAY THOSE WHO MANAGED TO TOUCH THE STONE , BEFORE IT WAS BANNED, THAT IT HAS A PECULIARITY OF TRANSMITTING A CERTAIN ENERGY, BUT THE GUIDES INSIST THAT IT IS ABOUT THE HEAT.
MACHU PICCHU IS A SYMBOL OF ALL HUMANITY AND HOW EMPIRES HAVE FLOURISHED OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND THEN SUCCUMB TO CHANGE. THE VERY EXISTENCE OF THAT PLACE GIVES US AN IDEA OF EVERYTHING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IN THIS WORLD BEFORE US AND ALERTS US TO THE CONSERVATION AND CULTIVATION OF THE SPIRIT SO THAT OUR CULTURAL EMPIRES DO NOT END IN RUINS.