sunrise at machu picchu

woke up at 3:30 am this morning (on my birthday none the less). why wake up at such a ridiculous time ... to catch the sunrise at machu picchu. the sunrises rises around 6:45 am. unfortuantely the first bus up the mountain does not leave until 6:00 and can miss the sunrise. bus takes 20 minutes on a good day, but in the mornings, there are often local people hauling goods into town that slow the bus down (or stops it completely). to make sure i saw the sunrise, i started the 8 km climb up the mountain at 4 am. at 4 am it is pitch black out. i wasnt sure if other people would be as crazy as me, but it turns out that a couple of hundred people were making the hike. the first half the of the hike was in the dark and you could hear birds everywhere mixed with the sounds of people walking. no one waswas overly talkative at this hour in the morning. the hike is 2 hours uphill all the way. the push to get up the mountain is the sunrise. who would want to get up at 3:30 am to hike up the mountain for 2 hours and then miss the sunrise!

when i arrived at machu picchu, i pearched myself at one of the highest points and sat in to watch the sunset. sitting in my perch i ate my pre-packed breakfast and watched all the other hikers make their way into the ruins. the sunrise at machu picchu was amazing. watching the sun slide over the mountain tops and illuminate the ruins made the 3:30 am wake up well worth it. within 15 minutes, the entire site was illuminated by the sun. what a way to spend your birthday!