Blogs from Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 6

After many years of dreaming of visiting Machu Picchu we are almost there! However we took the easy option of getting there on the train from Cusco rather than the 4 day hike up the Inca trail. The journey here up to Aguas Caliente was amazing. As the train chugged slowly through the valley following the Urubamba river, vast mountains towered above us. The river rushed along tumbling over the rocky bed at great speed. Almost four hours later we arrived in Aguas Caliente, the little town that is the gateway to Machu Picchu. We have two nights here so our plan is to set off early tomorrow to see the sunrise and then explore the site itself. We spent this afternoon exploring the area, shopping in the craft market and visiting a butterfly farm. ... read more

This update includes also the impressions of Cara that you can find at the end of my update. So this time you get a double treat. I hope you enjoy…. Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. One of the new seven wonders of the world, a place where most people want to go but can only dream about. And I was lucky enough to have stepped foot into this amazing place for the second time after my first visit in 1982. And it is a place that still has a magic that I cannot explain. So here is what happened at this trip. Ever since I have visited Machu Picchu in 1982 I was dreaming to come back to this place. It was the place I mentioned first when people asked me what the ... read more

When Emperor Pachacuit Inka announced around 1450 that his people needed a new city to link the Andes and the Amazon and set forth his city planners and real estate agents to find the perfect place, few can agrue about the impressiveness of the result. Machu Picchu has a truly impressive location, and whoever climbed those mountains to find its future site I hope received a promotion! We hiked into the scared city by the Salcantay Trail, which lucky for us can still be done independently though I doubt this will last too much longer. The 4 day trek had some beauitful scenery, but its what lies at the trail end that is truly remarkable. Machu Picchu has been constructed on the dizzying slopes overlooking the Rio Urubamba, wherever you stand in the ruins, spectacular terraces ... read more

We traveled to Machu Picchu from Cusco by bus from the Wanchaq train station to the Pachar train station in the Sacred Valley then by train to Aguas Calientes. We bought our tickets online from Peru Rail which runs a very efficient operation. There are Peru Rail offices all over Cusco, if you do not have a ticket when you get here you can buy them in Cusco. There are three types of trains, Expedition, cheapest, Vistadome midrange and Belmond Hiram Bingham the most expensive. We took the Vistadome which has windows on the ceiling for great views. We booked a room for three nights in Aguas Calientes. We could have stayed two nights and caught the train back to Cusco a day earlier. Many people hike to Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail, if you ... read more

I realize that my last blog was relatively short and may have appeared somewhat frazzled. Here are some more details from our time in Cusco. Cusco is "The Cultural Capital of the World" and has a very old feel. It's nestled in the mountains, there are no skyscrapers, and all of the narrow streets and sidewalks are cobblestone. One reference I checked said the population is around 420,000 and the elevation is around 11,500 ft. Because of its history and proximity to Machu Picchu and other Incan ruins, Cusco is very touristy. We stayed at a hostel not far from the edge of town. The hostel is converted from a 250 year old building and has a beautiful open-air courtyard in the middle with tables, a pool table, a fountain, and a small kitchen under a ... read more