Thou Shall Not: Sacrality in Machu Picchu

As I walked through the gates that led to Machu Picchu, I glanced at the signs on the walls that listed the activities that guests were forbade to participate in while exploring the ancient lands. The list included things like no eating, no stripping, no use of aerosol cans, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary. I didn't think I– or anyone– would have any issues with the rules, but I was very wrong. Apparently, the list of things to not do was incomplete. I learned this the hard way.

After we hiked to the top of the mountain and back down, I and a few of my classmates were sitting on the grass relaxing. I had a tumbling video due for the cheer team, and since I was in one of the only places where there was even grass since being in Peru, I decided that would be a good time to record a quick back handspring. I took off my shoes, did my flip, and was done in literally 4 seconds. But as I went to sit back down, an angry looking guard started walking towards me and asked if I spoke Spanish. I proudly, and reluctantly, said yes– and proceeded to get lectured on why my actions were inappropriate. This was "tierra sagrada" and not a "parque de ejercicio" after all. And then, since the "cameras had seen me", it was imperative that I deleted the video. He was clearly upset that I did not respect the sacred grounds and the incans who came before me. I didn't think my actions were particularly disruptive, but I tried to appease him and pretended to delete the video.

This got me thinking, why was hiking to la puerta del sol an okay expenditure of energy but my back handspring– which took significantly less effort on my part– too un-sacred? The man said nothing of safety, which in my opinion would have been a stronger argument, and instead focused on how the lands were basically holy. If that's the case, shouldn't our vanity-induced selfies also be forbidden? Was the forced labor of those who actually built the ruins considered sacred work, as well?

These are just some things I pondered after being chastised. But they did not damper my overall wonderful experience of Machu Picchu.