A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Machu Picchu, Peru by TravelPod blogger Stephanie813 titled "Machu Picchu" Stephanie813’s travel blog entry: "The alarm went off at 4.30am, so we could get up early enough to get the first bus to the site. There is a big mountain you can climb to watch the sunrise over the valley. However, Steph still not having fully recovered we decided to stay in bed and ended up getting up at about 9.30. Machu Picchu is breathtaking, a city of smooth cut stones on a mountain surrounded by thick jungle and hidden from the rest of the world. Around Machu Picchu there are several large mountains also densely covered in jungle but the tips of which tickle the underbellies of the few clouds nestled in the otherwise clear blue sky. 500-700 people would have lived in here in the 15th century, where all these people went is a mystery, and the site was not discovered until 1911. The only current access being an incredibly windy, quite narrow dusty road up the side of one of the mountains. The road itself also providing spectacular views on the drive up (or you could walk up). If you never do anything else, do this. In the late afternoon after returning to Aguas Calientes, we decided to take a dip in the hot springs at the north point of the town. It was very refreshing and not really what we were expecting, but very pleasant nonetheless. A bar above the pools was playing ´dark side of the moon´, but the bar tender was busy chatting so we ...