Manu and Machu Picchu

Manu National Park is located about 10 hours southeast of Cusco and covers about 20 000 sq km. It is an Unesco Natural Heritage Site and forms part of the Amazon Basin with the Rio Manu feeding into the Amazon River. Peru is made up of 60% jungle while 30% is highlands and 10% is coastal. Neither the Inca nor the Spanish actually controlled this jungle and the few settlements cling just on the edges of the park. There are at least 15 different peopls with their own distinct dress, customs, beliefs and langauge including the hostile nomadic hunter-gatherer ¨naked people¨ deep in the jungle who avoid contact and have been known to attack rangers. 

The pleasant white-washed and blue door town of Paucartambo is about 4-5 hours away from Cusco is where the highlands and lowlands meet and was the last Inca outpost. From here the roads turns into a winding gravel road with many sharp blind bends. You have to honk and and listen for other vehicles´ horns as the road is mostly single lanes as you descend into the cloud forest and then into the Amazon Basin. If you are prone to motion sickness, bring Gravol. You will need it.       

I have found that when you go trekking in the mountains, it is about the landscape and views while the jungle, it is about the life around you. Whether it is swimming, flying, walking, climbing, crawling or growing, the jungle is teemng with life, often hidden in the lush vegetation. The jungle becomes even more alive at night and you fall asleep to the sounds birds, frogs and insects. The first night we stayed at a small town of Pilcopata which felt like a village in South East Asia. Change the people and add in some spicy food and I could be in Thailand.  There were even people eating on stools from a bicycle street food stall!

The excusion in Manu Park was very comfortable as we stayed at two lodges with our own bathrooms and good mosquito nets. The food was exceptional and they provided rubber boots for the muddy trails and to cross small rivers. Being in a rainforest, it naturally rained and there were plenty of bugs. I say ¨you take from the jungle and you give to the jungle.¨ In this case, blood and bites for the mosquitos. There were plenty of butterflies, monkeys, and birds to be seen and one of the lodges was upriver. The ride on the long boat felt like Asia. There were also some interesting Pre-Inca funeral towers in Ninamarca on the long drive back to Cusco. 

A day after I got back from the jungle, I went on  the 72 km Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. There were some great mountain views on the first two days as we climbed to 4600 meters to the bottom of Mount Salkantay on a steep switchbacked trail. The trail then drops down to 2500 meters into the edge of the jungle as you follow along a river and where the mosquitoes are waiting. On the other hand, the famous 43 km Inca Trail must be booked months in advance as you walk on ancient Inca steps for four days through lower mountain passes, ruins, wells and fountains. Both treks and the train line end at the overpriced town of Aquas Calientes named after the (overcrowded) hotsprings. The town is chalkful of hostals, hotels, restaurants, bars and gift stores catering to the full range of tourists from the penny-pinching backpacker to the $500 luxury train rider. Most people only stay one or two nights as the small town is just below Machu Picchu and the jumping off point to either walk up or to take the short bus ride to the ancient city. To get to the Machu Picchu gate before it opens at 6 am, you start the 45 minute walk up at 5 am and arrive before the rush of the crowds come.  Machu Picchu gets between 2500 to 4000 visitors a day. There  is something to be said when you are maybe the fifth person to walk into the site and for the briefest of moments, you feel like you are the only one there.

It is speculated that Machu Picchu may have been an important religious site and the buildings, temples and surrounding terraces took over 200 years to build. Apparently the building did not involve slaves but citizens fulfilling their tax obligations. Typical of Inca construction, the buildings, pathways and terraces were made up of cut rocks from a nearby quarry. The roofs, doors, walls and windows were slanted for the occasional earthquake. The rocks were split using wood inserted into cracks in the rocks which were then poured with water (the Incas did not pass beyond the Bronze Age and did not have harder instruments). As the wood expanded, the stones opened up and each stone was individually polished to fit perfectly together. It is estimated 400-500 people lived in Machu Picchu. The ancient city was never actually completed as the inhabitants were called to Cusco by their Inca (king) to defend their capital city from the Spaniards. Incredibly 40% of the site remains underground. Only known to the local Quechua people, the site remained hidden until it was ¨discovered¨ by Hiram Bingham in 1911.

For a higher view of the archeological site, you can climb Wayna Picchu . Only 400 people are allowed to climb this mountain a day so book ahead. After a hour on the steep, stepped pathway, we were unfortunately greeted with grey stormy clouds and sudden heavy rain. Coming down we were completely drenched and my boots, socks, jacket and pants were soaked. Sipping some coffee at the cafe below with most of the tourists catching the bus or walking back to town, I said to myself "you can always be dry but you can't always be in Machu Picchu." I stayed with 6 other people from my trek to wander in the rain. It was probably one of the best decisions I have made in South America because by the late afternoon, the sun came out. It was pure magic. There were very few tourists and because of the rain on the trees and sudden heat from the sun, tiny wisp of white clouds hovered in the surrounding peaks of the nearby mountains. It is truly a beautiful sight and the colours of the green terraced fields and sandy brown stoned buildings really came out. I can understand why it is so famous because the site sits ontop of a mountain and the beauty of the ancient buildings is matched by the surrounding beauty of the scenery with mountains, valleys, sheered cliffs, glaciered peaks and rivers.

After two days of rest in Cusco, I am taking a night bus to the colonial town of Ayacucho, deep in the Andes.