The coastal part of Peru provided us with lots of great thrills: sand boarding in the dunes at Pisco, the mysterious Nazca lines, Paracas National Park and the Ballestas islands. Arequipa with an amazing view on the Misti volcano was a beautiful break before we crossed one of the highest passes in the Andes and moved inland.
ALSO READ: Peru, from Lima to Arequipa
What would be the highlight in this second part of our trip? The island of knitting men, the floating islands in the Titicaca lake, or Cusco and the famous Machu Picchu?
Titicaca lake
The Titicaca lake is the highest commercial navigable lake in the world (3811 m or 12500 ft). That high up in the mountains the deep blue colors of the sky and the mirroring water were impressive. The Uros people live here on floating islands of tortora reeds. Centuries ago they moved to these islands as a way of defense from colliding with the Inca and Colla cultures. The islands are quite touristy as they depend a lot on selling their handicraft to tourists, but it is seriously a place worth visiting.
You can also visit (or spend the night) at Taquile island, also known as the island of Knitting Men. Here the men walk around with knitting gear, creating the most lovely hats, sweaters and so on. Who ever thought knitting men could be an attraction??
Cusco
On to Cusco. I loved that city. We spent hours on the main square (Plaza de Armas) just watching people. We also visited some nearby sites like Ollantaytambo (a town and an Inca archeological site).
After a day or two we went off to visit the place that is on many of our bucket lists. We didn’t went hiking for 3 days like many travelers seem to do. We just took the train and made it up there early morning: Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu
What is there left to say about Machu Picchu? Google and you will find thousands of travel journals, stories and reports about this elevated place. It is elevated, only by the mere sight of it: a city on top of the mountain in the middle of the jungle.
What actually struck me the most was the mysterious reason why these people choose this difficult to reach place to build their city (we assume it acted as a city). Did they want to be close to their gods in the sky? Where they moving away from the earth as far as possible, just to be ready for whatever (natural) disaster might strike them? Or were they also hiding from invaders, a defense from colliding with others?
We still don’t know. Of course we will discover the reasons why, tomorrow or in one hundred years from now. We will discover more cities like Machu Picchu and somewhere there will be a clue for us to understand. It will take some smart scientist or historian (maybe he was born yesterday without having a clue about his destiny) to recognize the signs. But in the end we will know.
Why? The Macchu Picchu mystery
People always want to know why, don’t they? Don’t we just hate to let things undefined. When people are unable to clarify and explain, they get restless. The most beautiful wonders of the world however, are the ones that have remained unexplained. We can still not stop discussing about the Easter Island statues. We are still unsure how the pyramids could have been built without machinery and why they are shaped as they are, and we still don’t know the reasons behind the Nazca lines. And what about Stonehenge? Machu Picchu is also one of these mysterious wonders of the world. I like these kinds of places because the leave room for imagination!
I call for listing the 7 Mysterious Wonders of the World! Can be small or big, with local or global awareness. This list would make my bucket list. How about you? Do you have a unexplained wonder of the world to add to the list?
P.S. Don’t you dare to make comments about me wearing this original Peruvian hat. It’s a cultural thing!
Click here to read about our adventures in the coastal area!
17 comments
[…] Het Titicacameer, Cuzco en Machu Picchu zijn toch wel de absolute hoogtepunten van Peru. Maar waarom bouwden de Inca’s Machu Picchu op zo’n afgelegen plek? Emiel van den Boomen bezocht Peru en schreef over dit mysterie & de hoogtepunten op zijn blog Act of Traveling. […]
[…] Het Titicacameer, Cuzco en Machu Picchu zijn toch wel de absolute hoogtepunten van Peru. Maar waarom bouwden de Inca’s Machu Picchu op zo’n afgelegen plek? Emiel van den Boomen bezocht Peru en schreef over dit mysterie & de hoogtepunten op zijn blog Act of Traveling. […]
Why dont people move there and live there ? like farmers etc , just restore it and move people in to live , it would be a perfect place yes ?
It certainly looks perfect indeed. But getting there acquires some real effort…have you been there?
Emiel, this is not the first post of Machu Picchu that I’ve read. But this post of yours have not made me giving up the passion to go there myself in the future. In fact it keeps growing higher and higher (as high as Machu Picchu itself.. :))
Thanks Bama! I was worried that this would again be ‘another post about Machu Picchu’. Of course it is, but I am glad it still growed your passion to go there someday!
Yay this is so great to read as I am going to South America in April… Yiipppeee and love the pics too!
gorgeous pics. my mother in law was there recently and I swear has the exact same pic (3rd from bottom) . My daughter’s 3rd grade teacher at her spanish immersion school is from Peru – and at the moment, my daughter – who has a pet guinea pig – won’t step foot there after she heard they eat guinea pig (do you remember the name?)- and she saw photos. hopefully, we can convince her otherwise (chalk it up to cultural understanding) and get to see machu picchu someday.
Oh yes, the guinea pigs…they indeed end up on many plates in Peru. I can imagine having a pet guinea pig that all seems very cruel. Just be proud she has such a strong opinion! Hope you make it to Peru someday, it’s worth the effort of convincing your daughter 🙂
I love your old pictures!! They give your post a lovely touch.
I’ll have to tell D-Man about the knitting men. He likes to joke about how I should learn to knit to ward off the cold here during the Winter (I’ve tried, to no avail, I become bored out of my mind). Maybe HE should be the one to knit!
P.S. I love your hat, it’s a good look for you, Emiel. 🙂
Thanks Michelle! Pictures look great, don’t they? I was worried about the loss of quality when I started to scan these old 35mm negatives, but in a certain way it creates a very special atmosphere. I guess I have my own Instagram here…
P.S. Don’t tell D-Man I told him to start knitting….it’s just one of my travel observations! 🙂
Nice hat there, Emiel. If it is traditional, how come you are the only one wearing it? 😉
Ha ha! I think it was not cold enough for the Peruvian people, but I just wanted to wear that beanie hat…
P.S. I knew you would dare to make that comment 🙂
Oh, lake TITICACA, what a name! It is on my bucket list, and this post of yours has managed to push it up a few notches. Thanks!
Thank Vibeke, indeed one of the most beautiful names around.
Wow, those baby clings are just like the ones the hill tribe people use here in Thailand. Isn’t it funny that its only weserners who put their babies in prams and push them around, forgoing the opportunity to cuddle them warm all day.
Thanks for the comment. I fully agree with you!