It is not overrated. Seriously, it's absolutely amazing. Machu Picchu is the most amazing sight I have ever seen in all of my travels.
We finished our trek in Ollantaytambo and boarded a train to Aguascalientes which is the town closest to the site of Machu Picchu. We arrive late at night into pouring down rain and Gringolandia. That town made me feel like I was at Disney land on the small world ride. The streets were chock full of travelers from EVERYWHERE speaking a million different languages. It eas pretty surreal. We stopped on for a quick dinner which needed up being pizza with alpaca meat. It was good and i'ld do it again.
This morning, we woke up at 4:30am to catch sunrise on MP. Packed into a bus, we wound our way up the hill and arrived. I had no idea what to expect.
After climbing up inca stone steps for a few minutes we arrived at our first view of the sacred ancient city.
Holy s***. Seriously breathtaking. Its a pristine sight full of stone structures, terraces, and beautiful green grass. Towering over the ancient ruins was THE iconic mountain named Huaynu Picchu. Every picture has this mountain in it and pretty much all of mine will. Somehow, we arrived just as the sun was rising on Huayna Picchu and the mist was lifting. Again... Hard to put into words.
After taking some pictures, we wandered around the upper terraces with a view down on the city. At this point, I was informed, ha that we had bought the additional ticked to ascend Huayna Picchu!!!! Yes, the f-ing MOUNTAIN in the pictures!!!
So...
Ahhh...We climbed THE mountain. 1000 feet in 1.5 miles. The trail was basically a series of stone steps. It is amazing that the Incas were able to create this CRAZY path up a mountain with carved stone and perfect switch backs. The pictures won't show it, but this trail was v e r t i c a l. I am not sure how else to explain this, but think stairstep for a giant for 45 minutes. The view from the top, of course, was breathtaking. It was surreal to have a 360 degree view of the whole MP site, river and surrounding mountains below. There were definitly some "holy s***... Machu Pichu!l moments. If you are able-bodied and head to Machu Picchu, Huayna Pichu is a must. (God... That last sentence sounded like some Lonely Planet BS... Sorry)
Alas, once down from Huayna Pichu, we met up again with our guia, Paul (the Peruvian Encyclopedia, remember?) and he walked us around the inner city of MP. He described the layout, materials, people, religion and discovery of what we know as Machu Picchu, and most interestingly, the controversy surrounding it all. There is a lot we know about Inca life, but as with all history, there are a lot of theories and uncertainties that might never be settled.
What is known is that this sacred Inca city is definitely a Wonder of the World. The craftsmanship and forethought that is demonstrated from this ancient civilization is pretty awe inspiring. If only the Incas were able to build the first Bay Bridge, we wouldn't need a new one.