On the Inca trail leading to Machu Pichu, Peru. The Urubamba river meanders along.
The beautiful ruins of Wiñay Wayna on the way.
Machu Picchu is an icon of the Incan Empire, it is situated in the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 7980 feet.
Huayna Picchu or the Wayna Picchu towers over the lost Incan city of Macchu Picchu. It too has temples and terraces on the top.
A two hours drive from Cusco took us to Ollantaytambo station from where we boarded our Peru Rail train. It dropped us off in the wilderness as we were to do the Inca trail to Macchu Picchu. A day's walk through the deep green mountains brought us to the spot that offered us that first sensational view, that view of Macchu Picchu was even better than I had ever hoped it to be.
Also, because by the time you reach there on foot it is time for the tourists to vacate, we got some stunning photos sans the hordes of crowds that throng the inner complex. We could not enter the main complex on that day but after some well deserved dinner and rest we were ready for it on the next day.
At 3am. It was cold. But, I insisted on catching the first bus from the town of Aguas Calientes to Macchu Picchu. We stood patiently and a tad hungrily in the long queue for the bus and then finally made our way to the main complex and explored it to our heart's delight. This Incan marvel is all that and more.