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Published: March 29th 2007
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Down the Valley
One of the rather lovely views from the train. When I was about 8 years old, I remember seeing a programme on the telly about Peru and thinking how much I would like to visit this beautiful country for myself. Seeing those images of Machu Picchu, a ruined city in the sky, was ultimately what inspired me to always want to travel and see the world. Who would have thought that today, the dream that began almost 25 years ago, would finally come true?
The day began at the ungodly hour of 5.30am when our taxi arrived to take us to San Pedro station to catch the 6.15 am PeruRail train to Aguas Calientes. We boarded our backpacker class train that was reasonably comfy and, surprisingly, almost empty. For the first 2 hours of the journey, we trudged up the steep Cusco hillsides through a series of switchbacks before chugging slowly through the countryside towards Ollantaytambo. There we picked up a whole host of fellow tourists, most of whom seemed to be attached to a tour group, and the train was full to bursting.
A further two hours of slow progress and we arrived at the semi-jungle surrounded town of Aguas Calientes, the jumping off point for
Smokin´
Yes, that smoke is coming from the engine! Machu Picchu. The only way to reach this town is via the overpriced train (US$68 each) or the even more expensive Inca Trail trek. It was about 10.30am when we arrived. The next task was to find the bus to take us to the site. We followed someone who looked like they knew where they were going, through a colourful market crammed full of typical tourist souvenirs and over a bridge spanning a very fast flowing brown river. A fleet of luxurious looking beige-gold buses stood waiting for the influx from the train. $12 each bought us a seat to Machu Picchu but we still had to find the ticket office.
Luckily, a guy from the bus company with a handy placard saying 'follow me for Machu Picchu tickets' led the way. Aside from one other chap, we were the only people who seemed to be doing the trip independently and it was actually a good job that we did. We had brought along our student IDs just incase we could use them and although we had no luck with the train or bus tickets, we did save a whopping 120.50 Soles (about £20) on the entrance tickets with
Choclo Time
Jude tucks in to a tasty choclo she bought through the window at Ollantaytambo station. It actually tastes like a cross between sweetcorn and potato! them. Can you believe that even with the saving, the round trip from Cusco cost us £104 and without it would have been £125. That makes it the most expensive place we've visited anywhere in the world.
Anyhow, we hopped on the bus and a 30-minute journey took us up the hairpinned road to the top of Machu Picchu mountain. By the time we arrived on site, it was well past 11.00am, meaning we would have under 4 hours to enjoy the ruins before having to head down in time to catch our 3.55pm return train. To cap it all, it was raining and completely foggy!
Trying not to be too disheartened about the weather, we wandered in the opposite direction to all the many tour groups in their luminous plastic rain ponchos and attempted to enjoy Machu Picchu as far away from the masses as possible. Alas this was easier said than done as there were literally people everywhere. God knows how busy it must get in summer season if it's like this now, in the rainy season!
Nevertheless, our first full view of the ancient ruins perched precariously on the mountaintop was enough to make
Ever Green
The scenery gradually changed to a wilder, more jungle-like vegetation as we neared Aguas Calientes. any disappointment just fade away. Through the swirling mists we saw the remnants of this once mighty Inca city located so high up in the jungle-clad mountains, we couldn't help but stand amazed at the sheer feat of engineering for this extraordinary place. The clouds moved in and out quickly giving the ruins that aire of mystery and magic that you simply wouldn't get on a clear sunny day. Rain or not, we felt that we had totally come at the right time.
We explored some of the agricultural terracing first of all, erasing all notion of walking over to see the drawbridge after someone told us it takes about 50 minutes to get there. The views of the valley below were simply breathtaking. When the mists cleared every so often, we could see the river snaking round the foot of the mountain and it was just incredible to imagine the Incas farming on these treacherous, vertigo-inducing high slopes on a daily basis.
Next, we made our way down towards the city ruins (the entrance is situated quite a bit higher than you might expect) along stone staircases which at times clung desperately to the side of the
Hooray for Machu Picchu
We couldn´t come all this way and not partake in some jumping photos, now could we? mountain with nothing but a sheer drop on one side. We followed the route through to the temple areas where even today people stopped to say a prayer to the ancient gods of the Incas. We explored every nook and cranny as we made our way through the virtually intact living quarters that had lost only their roofs and smiled as the clouds began to drift away to be replaced by the warm sun. In the distance, more mountains appeared almost our of nowhere and suddenly the sheer spectacle of how high up we were became apparent. It was truly awesome.
Alas we didn't have enough time to even entertain the notion of climbing one of the two peaks that leer over Machu Picchu (the ones you see in all the photos, ours included!) but we were pleased to find that the crowds almost died away around 1.00pm allowing us the opportuinty to take photos without countless thoughtless strangers wandering into the line of the lens. I felt almost sorry for the people who had come here as part of a tour because they probably spent less than 2 hours here and even the almost 4 hours we had
Hooray for Machu Picchu
Another fine leap by Glynn, I´m sure you´ll agree! was nowhere near enough to fully enjoy this special, sacred site.
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judy
non-member comment
I love your pics
It seems you're having a great time in M.P. I'm happy for you, guys. The pictures you took are awesome! :) Isn't M.P. great?