So we finally made it to Machi Picchu. I won’t show the classic panorama pictures, but a photographic essay on the Mount that overlooks the Machu, that is Hunaya Picchu.
It is 6 am, the gates of the Machu Picchu have just opened. It is a grey day and a light rain falls over the ancient city.
Low clouds make it difficult to see beyond a few meters.
Only shadows of the long forgotten town appear in the distance.
Wooden roofs disappeared long ago, yet the walls resisted the assault of time.
A few llamas graze on the terraces once filled with thousands flowers.
I wonder how many generations of Incas contemplated the lower valleys from the walls of Machu Picchu.
We now reach the checkpoint to the Hunaya Picchu.
The mountain I thought we would conquest appears at the end of the settlement. I cheer up and think that the climb won’t be that difficult.
Mistake. the true Hunaya Picchu was hiding behind in the clouds. I start to get nervous as I contemplate its high peak and very steep slopes. A few hikers have preceded us, it looks like they are about to fall like small toys.
We engage in the old trail, built in stone centuries ago by the Inca.
The steps are slippery and I can’t help imagining a fall. It would be leathal for sure.
The first terraces of the Inca settlement built on the peak of Hunaya Picchu are reached. The goal is near.
And a few minutes later, Mount Hunaya Picchu is finally conquested.
Still no view of Machu Picchu though. It would come after a long wait. The condor-shaped city finally appeared briefly through a hole in the clouds. The ghosts of thousands Incas rewarded the bold climbers.
All pictures taken with Leica M8 and 35mm Lux Asph