Nestled high in the Andes at an altitude of 2350m, and overshadowed by a 300m peak, lies an Old Mountain. For years, the morning mists settled on this ancient site keeping the complex beneath shrouded in mystery. Covered in forests and overgrown with dense vegetation, it remained hidden from the outside world until 1911, when an archaeologist named Hiram Bingham ‘officially’ discovered the site. 'Old Mountain' was home to the ancient Inca Fortress better known today as Machu Picchu.

Thought to have been built by the Incan ruler, Pachacuti Inca Yapancui, the sanctuary of Machu Picchu overlooks the deep canyon of the Urubamba River, and covers an area of 5km². It is part of the larger Machu Picchu Heritage site, spanning an area of 32 600 hectares and is home to numerous archaeological wonders and a myriad of magnificent flora and fauna.

While the ruins of Machu Picchu can be accessed by train and a quick bus trip, the best way to arrive at the ruins is along the famed, Inca trail.

At a spot called Km82 on the Urubamba River, about 170 tourists gather each day to walk the 53km famed Andean trail to the ruins of Machu Picchu. For many, the path gives modern man a chance to walk in the footsteps of a lost civilisation, but what many people don’t realise is that the route opens a window to exquisite plant life, a myriad of old Incan Ruins and an insight into some of the old traditions of the people.

Walking the Urubamba

Walking along well worn paths, the trail heads through small villages where residents grow corn to make their 'Chicha' Corn Beer. Here, weary porters carrying heavy loads stop to purchase a mug of the pinkish brew to quench their thirst. But first, they pour a little on the earth as a dedication to the earth goddess, Pacha Mama.

Winding alongside the Urubamba river, through deep valleys and up high passes, the trail heads through some of the most picturesque scenery; hillsides covered in red splashes of bromeliads, trees covered in bright purple fuchsias, endless expanses of Puna Grassland and a myriad of hummingbirds darting about drawing off the sweet nectar of the bright orange flowers that adorn the shrubs along the paths.

Shortly after heading up the first of several passes one looks down onto the ruins of Llactapata, or the Town on the Hillside. Rumour has it that the walls of these ruins contain the secret to the whereabouts of a stash of buried gold.

The trail continues towards the most challenging part of the trail — 'Dead Woman’s Pass', so named because from the top the mountain appears as a woman lying on her side. Breathing in the thin air as one puffs to the top of the pass, once cannot help but marvel at the tremendous effort put into building this road network by the Inca civilisation.

Entering the cloud forest...

As the trail rises up passes, falls into the valleys below and heads through tunnels carved out of the solid rock, one soon finds oneself entering the cloud forest. And within the mists that rolls through these valleys, the Inca Trail protects one of the most incredible sights; over 250 species of orchids adorn these paths, the smallest being the Pleurothalis whose flower measures only 2mm in length. Begonias grow abundantly, creating a kaleidoscope of colour as one approaches the ruins of Phuyupatamarka, aptly meaning, ‘Town above the clouds’.

Leaving these ruins behind, the trail heads down an endless combination of stone steps and paths along a section only recently discovered and opened up to the public in 1985. That this trail had remained so well hidden for nearly 600 years makes one wonder what other mysteries lie hidden beneath the dense bush.

But the taste of tradition and history obtained over these three days on the trail are insignificant, compared to the marvel that awaits the excited trekkers on the final day of the trail.

Amidst the excitement of early morning chatter, people queue at the entry gate of the trail at 5am, waiting in anticipation for the gate to open. The final 40-minute trek to the gate of Inti Punku lies ahead and accompanied by the calls of birds waking to their day, one arrives at the sanctuary of Machu Picchu.

Protected by Pachamama

Shrouded by a blanket of morning mist, one looks down at this magnificent complex and watches as the rising sun gently touches the terraces throwing them into morning light, opening the ruins to the eyes of modern man. Deep in the valley below lies the Urubamba river, pounding through the valley like the beating heart of the mother goddess. And behind the ruins of this 'Old Mountain', Huayna Picchu rises sharply like the nose of Pachamama as she gazes at the sky.

Some say that the city was built for nobility, while others say it was a centre for astronomical observations. Built on a pyramidal mound in the centre of the complex, is the incredible Intihuatana, meaning 'hitching post to the sun', a block so carefully designed that at midday on 21 March and 21 September, the sun shines directly above the pillar, casting no shadow at all.

From a city of 1200 people, about 300 000 tourists embark on an annual pilgrimage to the ruins, of which about 12 000 arrive by way of the old Inca trails. But just as the glaciers of Kilimanjaro are withering away through global warming, so increased levels of rain are threatening to destroy the very foundations of the ruins of Machu Picchu.

Once protected by Pachamama and then mysteriously abandoned and handed over to her forests below, its future now lies in the hands of man. Declared a World Heritage Site in 1983, the sanctuary of Machu Picchu is now a protected area and Unesco is determined to ensure that this ancient sanctuary remains intact and safe from ruin and destruction.

Chilean Poet, Pueblo Neruda once wrote, "Machu Picchu is a trip to the serenity of the soul, to the eternal fusion with the cosmos… a resting place of butterflies at the epicentre of the great circle of life. One more miracle." A miracle we trust will survive into the history of mankind.