Machu Picchu was simply incredible. I always knew it was going to be a place I loved but I wasn’t prepared for how overwhelmingly beautiful and awe inspiring it would be. I would have loved to do the Incan trail though wasn’t sure how the kids would go hiking 100km in five days in over 3000m altitude. Also it is something you need to have planned a long time in advance as they only allow 500 people per day on the trail. As we are the type to plan our travel a few days or a few weeks in advance at best, it wasn’t something that we could do this time.

Therefore, we woke up at 5am and made the four kilometre trek up the mountain from Agues Calientes to Machu Piccchu. I felt like we at least needed a little bit of effort and sweat to see this magical place rather than pay $10 each to get a 15 minute long bus! It was the best way to get there. We were at the top about 7am and the light was amazing. I stood in line wishing they didn’t let 2500 people in per day and that it was only us but seriously after you first glimpse the famous view it’s like no one else exists and you’re just there. It’s such a beautiful feeling…….
By Christos

The walk up to Machu Picchu was tiring but when we got there it was amazing because it was so ancient and beautiful. The look of it made me think it was spiritual. I found it quite amazing how the archeologists could find out so much stuff like where the observatory and the planetarium was.

It was so amazing that their were llamas there and I was wondering if they were farmed or wild. Somehow my legs were shaking when we got back to the town. I didn’t make them shake – they shook on their own from being tired. I was exhausted but glad that I had done it.
By Toby

I was the first one on the track up to Macchu Picchu and I counted how many steps there were going up – there were 1925 which is just to the gate – much more when you got in. I think it might have been more than three thousand by the time we walked all around Machu Picchu. I thought it was actually quite amazing how it has been there for hundreds of years. We saw a double decker house which I didn’t think they would have but it was pretty cool.
By Kiki

When we first got to the steps I counted up to 1 step and I was already tired. I listened to my sister Kalika cause she counted all the way up and there was nearly 2000 steps. When we got there I was tired but when I saw the view I almost fainted cause it was so cool. I liked how the grass was so furry and it actually looked like a village. We walked around and took pictures and told stories.

 

I drew a dinosaur and a village with a dragon in it while I was sitting on a rock. People smiled at us cause we were writing and drawing pictures. After we did that we went to a house and it was quite cool without a roof. We saw a double decker house and the second floor was made out of sticks. It was cool and when we went down we weren’t as tired cause we were running and it felt like we were doing tap dancing.

Then when we got back to the road we went to a park on the way back home.
By Moochie.

I liked Macchu Picchu because it was fun because we climbed up the mountain but I was very tired. I walked all the way up. I liked the double decker house most of all. When we got back to the town I loved the pizza we had. I was very hungry. In the afternoon we played lots of LEGO.
By Zoi

We caught a train from a place with a long name called Ollantayatambo to the town near Macchu Picchu called Agues Calientes. It was such a nice train with big seats and nice tables and my brothers and sisters and I played LEGO and built forts all the way there.

Machu Picchu was a very nice ancient city from the 1500s and the secret city of the Incas. It had been lost for many years and was discovered again in 1911. It wasn’t destroyed by the Spanish because they didn’t find it which was lucky. The view was very beautiful and it is kept very well. Some of the houses had been restored but some had been left and some had the roofs redone.

The houses were made out of stone and roofs out of grass. We stayed there for about 5 or 6 hours because there was so much to see. There were llamas at the ancient city – I’ve no idea if they were wild or farmed but they kept the grass down. When we got to a rocky part we sat down and mum and baba asked all of us to write a passage of what we have learnt about ourselves and what we’ve achieved on this trip.

I wrote:
This trip I have found out lots more about myself and I think I know how I want to be in the world. I have learnt to work with my brothers and sisters but it is hard some times but I always find a way out of the hard times. I have learnt more about the world. Learning a new language wasn’t so hard. It has helped my reading and writing. I once believed I would never learn Greek but I did. All I needed was just a little bit of faith in me.

By YASI

What we learnt about the Incan history:

The Incan culture survives in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The capital city of the Incan empire was Cusco where we are now. The traditional language is Quechua and it is still spoken by many people today. It’s flag is a rainbow flag.
By Kiki

Incan culture is very colourful. A lot of women wear colourful tops with very colourful skirts.
By Yasi

 

 

 

 

 

The Incans from Machu Picchu were wiped out by the late 1500s. Machu Picchu is one of the most famous and spiritual sites of the Incas. The Incan houses were made of stone bricks that’s why they are still standing, the rooftops are made from sticks and leaves which is why they are destroyed. I think it’s common for the rooftops in those days to be made out of leaves and grasses.
By Toby

A visit to an organic farm and an alternative school in the Sacred Valley – this visit was set up for us by our friend Harry Hildebrand and is an inspiring school with currently 10 students – what a beautiful setting……. thanks Aima for hosting us and showing us around.

Images of Cusco…….