Machu Picchu

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There are only two ways to get to Machu Picchu, the famous lost Incan city and one of the new 7 wonders of the world, one is to undertake a 4 day hike, camping along the way (the Inka Trail), the other is to catch a train in Cusco, follwed by a bus up the mountain, so you can guess which one we went for! It was an early start on Tuesday, as usual, to catch the 6am train to the nearest village to MP, only 60 miles or so from Cusco, but a 4 hour journey.

We could have headed straight up to MP on arrival in Aguas Calientes, it's only a further 30 mins on the bus, but the best time to see the site is apparently at dawn, so we decided to leave it until the next day, and had booked into a hostel for the night.

It was an even earlier start on Wednesday when our hostel owner accidentally knocked everyone up at 4am instead of 5 (that went down well), but once we were showered and had breakfast, and headed off for the bus with our tour guide, Percy, the hype started to kick in.

We'd seen the photos, as you all will now, but we can honestly say nothing could prepare you for that first glimpse as you walk through the gate, it's even more amazing than you could ever imagine. And seeing the sun rise half an hour or so after we arrived was more than the worth the early starts! Although we were definitely glad we'd decided not to undertake the whole Inca trail as wed orginally planned, as climbing round the site for a few hours at that altitude was knackering enough, especially once the sun was up.

As usual in Peru, there's never a dull moment on the transport, and on the return train to Cusco on Wednesday afternoon we were treated to just about the scariest sight of our lives when one of the ushers started doing a traditional dance up and down the aisles. When you see the photo, don't underestimate how frightening it was for that guy to appear round the corner of your seat in that mask, stroking a llama and purring! The other 2 ushers for our cabin got off lucky, and all they had to do was undertake a fashion show for us, parading up and down in their finest alpaca wool.

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Photos

Machu Picchu
Our first sighting.

The money shot
The whole of MP from the very top.

On the return train
Told you he was scary!

Comments

[Corrine and Brian]

WOW
Am loving your journals, especially this one, it looks absolutely fantastic. Can't wait for the next update. I've been telling everyone that will listen about your travels! Cxx