It's been said that it is about the journey and not the destination. In the case of Machu Picchu it is about both. Certainly our trek trough the Andes was exhilarating and the scenery breathtaking. But when you arrive at Machu Picchu and climb the stone stairs nothing can prepare you for what suddenly appears. There are no early glimpses of the ancient city just a sudden unveiling in front of you as you take the final step onto a viewing platform. Neither words not pictures can do justice to what is before you. For myself and the people around me all we could do was utter a single word - Wow! Around 80% of the original city is intact and you can immediately get a sense of what it would have been like to live in this city in the clouds. Fortunately for us it is a brilliant sunny day and we see the city in all its glory. The Incas were an incredibly advanced race of people. Their engineering and building skills can only be marvelled at. Stones weighing many tonnes, carefully cut and polished and fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle, without the use of cement or other binding products are still standing as solid as when they were first built 600 years ago. The city boasted composting toilets, running water, compasses carved from stone as accurate as anything produced today and sundials as good as todays watches. We toured the entire city and then I set off for the Sun Gate. On the summer and winter solstice the suns rays shine through the sun gate and align perfectly with windows in the Sun Temple, many hundreds of metres away. From here you can also see the entire city and gain a perspective of just how well laid out it is and how it uses the natural geography to the fullest. From here I headed back down and onto the Inca Bridge, which is part of a trail carved out of a sheer rock face. It's not for the faint hearted and for obvious reasons is closed to the public. After a full day of experiencing this magnificent site it was back on the bus to the train station at Agua Calientes, from there to Ollantaytambo and then by bus back to Cuzco. A long but very rewarding day.