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Location: Aguas Calientes
On our second day in Aguas Calientes, we visited the famous archeological site, Machu Picchu. After a long bus ride up the mountain, we finally arrived at a vista overlooking the valley containing the main body of the ruins. Unfortunately, during the morning the valley was obscured by low-hanging clouds, so we were unable to see Machu Picchu from the top of the sun gate. However, as we descended back down into the valley, the clouds parted, and we could see the entirety of the ruined town from the trail. We then turned off onto the Inca Bridge trail for about half an hour. Though the trail was narrow and steep, we made it to the bridge and back with ample time to spare. Finally, we took the trail directly into the main body of Machu Picchu. We toured the entire ruin, but the most notable features were the farming terraces, the temple to the sun, the temple to the moon, and the roca sagrada. All of the architecture was incredibly well preserved and built, especially considering that the massive granite stones were cut without the use of iron tools. After we finished our tour, we returned to Aguas Calientes to catch our train back to Ollantaytambo. We ended the day at our hostel with pizza and a movie.