Blogs from Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru, South America - page 4

As my good friend Joe will tell you (after becoming $100 lighter in the wallet) Machu Piccu is one of the principle cities in the once mighty Inca Empire. It is theorized that Machu Piccu was commissioned by the great Inca King Pachacuti as a royal hacienda and retreat for the ruling elite of the time. The city was a place of religious and astrological significance for the Inca and even today many mysteries remain of what is dubbed as “The Lost City”. Machu Piccu was “discovered “ in 1911 by Western anthropologist Hiram Bingham and since that time the city has inspired countless millions to make the journey high into the lush Peruvian rainforest to witness the spectacle for themselves. This is the story of how I almost was not among them. After a very ... read more

The past 4 days on the Classic Inca Trail were some of the best I've ever had and the lost city of the Incas, named Machu Picchu after its mountain, is a wonder to behold. The Inca Trail was tough in parts with a couple of high passes (over 4000m), a lot of steps to climb, and going down hill on the 3rd day was tricky in the rain. We visited lots of Inca ruins and sites along the way, the history of which is fascinating. The scenery was amazing hiking through valleys and rainforest. Arriving at Machu Picchu itself was the ultimate reward after 4 days hiking (absolutely spectacular), definitely one of the best travel experiences I've had to-date. The weather was great for the first 2 days, the second of which was Saint Patrick's ... read more

This morning we were up early because we were booked on the 8.00am train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town). Because our room was so far away from the restaurant we decided to clean our teeth and re-pack our small bags before going down for breakfast. At 7.00am (sharp!) Gregorio collected us from the Casa Andina and drove us to the Ollantaytambo railway station. We had to show our boarding passes and passports repeatedly, presumably to prevent anyone from transferring their ticket to another person? I guess that prevents people from 'scalping' the tickets at an inflated price? We were all very excited as we pulled out of Ollantaytambo because the sky was blue and the sun was shining - it was looking postcard perfect for our visit to Machu Picchu. As we made ... read more

January 27th (Late posting as the internet was down at Machu Picchu) We got up early to climb Waynapicchu today. We had a very nice breakfast at the Sanctuary Lodge and as we were already at the gate we did not have to get up as early as most who are going to climb Waynapicchu. The morning was fairly cool and overcast. We were in the first group of 200 allowed to climb Waynapicchu at 7 a.m. Only 2 groups are allowed up per day and we had purchased our ticket when we were in Cusco. The lady that had arranged our train, park and bus tickets had gotten our Waynapicchu tickets online and she had said we got the last 2 openings for the tickets. At the gate you have to sign in, record the ... read more

January 26th We had good travels on the train from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu station in Aguas Calientes. Lots of scenery. Cows on some terraces. We sat across from some young girls who took at least 32 selfies during the 1.5 hour ride. They felt bad for us that we were not taking selfies, so they took a picture of us as well. We took the bus up to Machu Picchu. We are not sure how many switchbacks on the way up the road, but we were happy to get to the top as the drop down off the cliff would not have been an acceptable ending. We checked into the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. Our room had a very nice view overlooking the mountains. We had a very nice lunch...finished with an assortment of treats ... read more