Today was a very special day, as it was the day that we would visit Machu Picchu. Having arrived in the small town of Aguas Calientes the previous night, which serves as a gateway to the main Machu Picchu site we were all set to go in the morning. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we headed to the bus stop in the centre of the town, and then took the bus up the mountain to the site.
Fortunately everything ran very smoothly,
which I had been concerned was not the case. As of this year they have a new
system of only designated circuits can be walked, with allocated entry times (although
not exit times). This meant that we could not walk around of our own free will,
but the circuit 2 that we reserved did allow us to climb the mountain
overlooking the site, as well as walk around the ruined Inca town as well.
Machu Picchu was fanastic! Walking among the
ruins was brilliant, seeing all the sights so familiar from pictures. The
valley from which the mountain rises up is absolutely magnificent and really
sets the scene for such a wonderful place. This is my third official ‘wonder of
the world’ and is the first one that has really impressed me. At the last
minute we picked up a guide from the bus station, Luis, and it has to be said
that he helped greatly with our time at the site, understanding what had been
interpreted from the ruins and what it meant about Inca lifestyle.
Although the main focus of Machu Picchu was
the archeology, there was some birding to be done. Inca Wren is a key target
that on our trip could only be found here. Fortunately it did not take me long
to find a pair in the bamboo adjacent to the trails. Outside the ticket gate
there was some forest and here I spotted a White-throated Quail-Dove walking
silently in the undergrowth. Sadly I didn’t notice, until it was too late, that
there were also some Hummingbird feeders on the far side of the bus dropoff zone.
Only once I had boarded the bus did I see them, and feeding on them was a Green-and-white
Hummingbird, my other target for this area. An unfortunate development to an
otherwise excellent morning.
In the afternoon we walked the road through
the valley from Aguas Calientes. Although the road was busy with tourists
walking and buses passing by, it was quite enjoyable birding. A few tanager flocks
passed by, including only my second Silvery-backed Tanager. Another mixed flock
had a Sclater’s Tyrannulet in it, which is not a species I have seen very
often. An Andean Motmot showed fantastically well at one point, at eye level
very close to us.
And on the river there were more birding
goodies, with the usual assortment of fast river species; Torrent Duck, Torrent
Tyrannulet and White-capped Dipper, but there was also a Fasciated Tiger Heron
which is only my second time seeing this species and after the first time my
camera was stolen, so a nice species to finally see again.
After this walk we relaxed a bit in Aguas
Calientes, enjoying a break after a fast paced start to our Peru trip.
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