Machu Picchu
Tuesday, June 13th, 2006The four day uphill trek on the Incan trail to Machu Picchu is infamous for its difficulty and length. It is one of the most popular tourist activities in the world. Yet what most travelers hiking the Incan trail do not realize is that they are following a spiritual pilgrimage. It is the necessary arduous journey one makes in order to prove worthy enough to be close to God. Here God takes the form of massive, furry peaks, formed millions of years ago by the crush of continental plates. At the end of many miles and days of uphill climbing, one crests a peak and sees below a city crouched like a cat on a small bridge of land, thousands of feet above the valley. Machu Picchu is a floating cathedral, a temple dedicated solely to the pure and unadulterated power of the Andes. There are those who claim this place to be a summer resort for the ancient elite Incans, but they are misguided, jaded by our western desires. One must only stand still and gaze for a brief moment for it to become clear that Machu Picchu is a celebration, an epic poem written in stone as an ode to the mountains.