We camped on top of the world at Phuyupatamarka (3,650 metres) where we watched a fantastic setting sun illuminate the snow-capped peaks around us.

We stopped at the beautiful Inca settlement of Winay Wayna, meaning "forever young" and named after a pink orchid that grows here. Here the Incas had terraced a whole mountainside so as to grow crops and had created a tumbling "stairway" of some fifteen baths. This could have been a religious centre or a hunting "lodge" for important Incas.

On from here to Intipunku, The "Sun Gate" and our first chance to see Machu Picchu mountain - but a bit more downhill walking for 2 hours before we finally see the ruins of the Inca city.

MACHU PICCHU is a magnificent sight and the sheer extent of the stonework and construction that had been completed in this remote location using manpower alone and without metal tools - well it's unbelievable!