Turn Right at Machu Picchu, should we?

“Turn Right at Machu Picchu” will make anyone excited to travel to Peru.  Mark Adams retraces the steps of Hiram Bigham, the “rediscover” of Machu Picchu.  Throughout the book, he explores various Inca ruins, treks through cloud forests and has hilarious interactions with the locals.  As someone who has been to Peru, and explored some of the same mountain regions and Inca sites as Mark Adams, there are two points to be taken away from his book.  The first has to do with the Inca people as a whole.  The Inca were arguably the most powerful and advanced civilization in the New World, prior to the arrival of the Europeans.  Like many earlier civilizations, their relationship with the natural world ran extremely deep within the culture of the Inca.  Inca architecture is an incredible feat of early engineering.  In Cusco, some buildings are still built upon the foundations of Inca structures.  Another aspect of Incan architecture is its incorporation of the natural world.  For instance, at Machu Picchu, the finely crafted walls of Inca cities are regularly broken by boulders and trees.  The Inca did not destroy natural features, but incorporated them into the cities, and respected these features.  Another example of this is that Inca towns were built in the shape of animals.  Ollantaytambo, for instance, the last stronghold of the Inca against the spaniards, is built in the shape of a Llama.  This all shows that the Inca had a great appreciation for the natural world, and Mark Adams makes you wonder, what if the Inca had prevailed over the European settlers?    Mark Adams, intentionally or not, teaches a very important lesson about adventures.  The age old saying “its about the journey, not the destination” rings especially true for Mark or anyone else who has trekked to Inca sites in Peru.  At the onset of his expedition, Mark believes Machu Picchu to be his final destination and the most spectacular aspect of his journey, yet he is ultimately disappointed when he finally gets there.  Throughout his travels with John, Mark is exposed to the raw power of the Peruvian landscape, and gets to see Inca ruins that are largely untouched, yet when he gets to Machu Picchu he is presented with a completely different site.  In part he is disappointed by the state of Machu Picchu, the big entrance gate, large number of people, and switchback bus road up the mountain have a spoiling effect on the place.  Now, Mark adams is not diminishing the wonder of the site, rather calling in to question peoples impact there.  Is it right for people to so exploit Machu Picchu?  Does the heavy traffic and tourist style buildings take away from what the place is?  I believe Mark Adams would say yes, that the mystic wonder, the unseen substance that floats around a place like Machu Picchu is pushed back by the level of human impact there.  Mark Adams felt it, and I felt it to when I went, so that begs the question, are people right to explore and exploit Machu Picchu?