Peru -- Primarily Machu Picchu (Dec 2010)

Back to the archeological area.

We had a snack (and a bathroom break) at a reception area just outside the gate. The others took a bus back into town, but I went back into the archeological area to explore some more.

On the early-morning trip with the guide, we had gone directly out onto the terraced area. This enabled going up to a photo point along more gentle slopes -- going thru a portion of the city. This time, I took a cutoff to the left, before getting to the terraced area. This took me up a pretty steep trail (initially without any good views). When I did come to an area overlooking the city, llamas were there. Had heard there were llamas roaming around the area, but had not seen any during the morning trip with the guide.

Note the city on the right hand side of this photo, well below me. It looks like a steep dropoff in this photo. However, I don't recall anything scary here. Maybe I was winded from the hike up that steep trail.