Machu Picchu, Cusco & Aguas Calientes

Machu Picchu has been on our wish list for about as long as we have been together, and now we had an opportunity. We decided to organise another side trip, as we did with Galapagos. It is possible to drive from Lima to Cusco, but it seemed such a huge effort and we really wanted to go south to see more of Perú before reaching the border to Bolivia.

The travel agent helped us with the details, and even then it seemed a complete mess to do it. Over four days we traveled from Lima to Machu Picchu, and back. We went to Cusco by plane, spent a night there, and got up at 3.30am on day 2 to get a taxi for 1.5 hours to Ollantaytambo to get the Incarail train to Aguas Calientes. The train ride is another 1.5 hours, and before our eyes nature changed from cold, dry and dusty to almost warm, green and humid. Once in Aguas Calientes, which is the village built for tourists who come to visit Machu Picchu, we lined up to get entrance tickets. This was supposed to be a race, but it had been raining the 3 previous days and people didn't arrive to gamble. We quickly bought tickets for Circuito 2, Circuito Classico, for the next day at 11.00am. We couldn't believe our luck, these tickets are supposed to be impossible to get.

There are 2 ways to get tickets, either book them online months in advance, or chance it and line up to buy one of the 1,000 tickets that are released at the municipal office of Aguas Calientes each day. 200 of the 1,000 are for the Classico.

We spent the night in Aguas Calientes, and went to the bus to get up to the entrance, where our guide waited for us. We had a guide just for the two of us, and that is always best for Karin as it is easier to hear to understand the Spanish.

It was true magic to see the mountain and the site. There are no words to describe it, very emotional and impressive at the same time. The guide was excellent, and after 2.5 hours the tour was over and we got back to the village by bus.

Next we spent the rest of the afternoon having lunch and walking around. The train took us back to Ollantaytambo, then another taxi ride to Cusco, another night at the hotel, and then a flight back to Lima the following day. If we were to organise it all ourselves it would have taken a lot of time and research and we are happy we did it the lazy way.

Machu Picchu is at 2,400m above sea level, but we were both fine with the visit. The air is very clean and it feels refreshing to be there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu

Cusco

This is a famous Inca center, with many historic places to visit. It is a true tourist hub, and many tours start from Cusco. We found it a bit sad until we managed to see the better parts of the city. Our taxi driver explained that Cusco is divided into 7 districts, each with its own mayor. The mayors have very different ideas of how to manage, and it is clear that not all of them appreciate order.

We ate well in Cusco, saw a lot of interesting buildings, and enjoyed walking around to get at least an overview of some of the areas. None of us suffered from altitude sickness, although Karin felt the lack of oxygen at the height of 3,400m above sea level. The trick is to breathe deep and fast, and take it easy of course! There is also tablets to take against nausea, and then it is important to drink plenty of coca tea, offered everywhere.

Aguas Calientes

A true tourist trap! This place is small, and the only locals are those employed in the commerce of providing for the tourists. This makes it suitable for a day. There is a lot of souvenir shops, alpaca wool clothing, restaurants, bars, coffee shops and hotels. And dogs, and little kids playing in the streets while their mothers offer massage sessions to passers by. There are also natural hot springs for bathing. It doesn't feel like cheap and nasty, the souvenirs are good quality and the food is good.

It was a surprise to meet up with Paddington Bear. He was sitting on a bench, probably waiting to leave again after visiting his Aunt Lucy.