As the top attraction of the South American continent and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, Macchu Pichu lives up to its reputation.

– Woke up early at 04:45 in order to get the first 05:30 bus up to Macchu Pichu.

– On our way up the switchbacked road to the MP gate, passed by a bunch of hikers who realized that the road was extremely long, and hiking up to the ruins was not a great idea. They were all trying to hitch rides, but with no luck.

-Arrived at MP just in time to get setup to watch the first rays of the rising sun filter through the jagged tops of the surrounding mountains and illuninate the ancient ruins.

– Grabbed a bunch of good photos of the morning light, including dramatic shots of the sun filtering through the morning mountain mist.

– After enjoying the sunrise for a bit, went back to the cafe for a proper breakfast – egg sanditches and tea.

– Returned to the ruins and took a leisurely walk across to the Wynapicchu Gate.

– The climb up the nearly verticle Wynapicchu mountain was very steep and difficult, but only took about an hour to reach the top – a nice little morning warmup.

– Hanging out on the top of Wynapicchu was spectacular – completely surrounded by jagged andean peaks, with a cool breeeze filtering through.

– After Wynapicchu, we spent some time exploring the rest of Macchu Pichu.

– Returning to Aguas Calientes, we grabbed a quick lunch, and then sorted out our train situation back to Poroy.

– Tonight we’re on the PeruRail Vistadome train headed back to Poroy, then taking a taxi back to our hostel in Cusco.