Machu Picchu, so good they named it twice

It was worth it. It was worth getting up at 4:45am (note that, AM) two days in a row in order to be frozen, rained on, misted over and then roasted. I was in Machu Picchu at just after 6am this morning with a group of like-minded souls being taken on a tour of the site. We weren't the only group but we were one of the first and so my photos have few people in them (really just enough to give a sense of scale).

It is a remarkable place and well worthy of being one of the new seven wonders of the world . Some of the buildings have been restored with thatched roofs, others have had walls rebuilt and some are untouched - remaining exactly as they were when the city was abandoned. There are several different types of walls including the famous 'no motar, couldn't get a knife between the stones' used for the temples. If you want to read more about it go here

There is a lot of up and down in Machu Picchu (it is, after all, built on the top of a mountain) and if you don't like climbing stairs, this is not the place for you. Equally, if you suffer from vertigo, don't bother coming here, I saw one poor man who'd made it into Machu Picchu then baulk at the first set of stairs. It can be very scary, especially when everything is wet. Personally, I don't mind the going up (although it is physically tiring), it's the coming down I hate. I have a really poor sense of balance, lousy depth perception and a fear of falling flat on my face (and breaking my camera). Still, I clung onto the walls and handrails, made everyone wait and got round. Then, after the tour, I went back for more. So some of my photos are misty and some are in brilliant sunshine.

Oh and there were llama too, what more could anyone ask for?