Second Visit to Machu Picchu

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Geo: -12.6779, -72.3834

After staying overnight at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, we went back into the Lost Citadel for another look on our own. We wanted to stay at the Sanctuary Lodge so we would have ready access to the park all day. We were able to come and go on our tickets as we liked. We climbed up to the top so we could see the classic postcard view of Machu Picchu. We spent another several hours in the park on this second day here just to be sure we could soak up as much of it as possible.

I was worried about walking up and down the steep stone steps, but we didn't have much trouble. (The elevation is about 8000 feet--much lower than Cusco.) As we toured, we wanted to stop and look around often anyway, so we rested frequently while we were looking at the views. In the last photo on the next page you can see the grassy area way below and to the right of us. The current entrance to the park is on the right side down below the edge of this overlook.

In the evening, we took the bus down to Aguas Calientes and had a short walk through the market there. Then we boarded the Hiram Bingham again to go to the Sacred Valley. We had dinner on the train with more pisco sours and more good Peruvian wine. Although the train returns all the way to Cusco, we disembarked at Ollantaytambo, about halfway. Another guide from Lima tours was at the train to meet us and took us to the hotel. The hotel used to be a monastery. We found it charming, but unusual. The manual lock on the door, the outer lock on the bathroom door, the concrete night stand, and the beautiful grounds are all unique.

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Photos

Locking Mechanism
I have never seen a hotel lock like this one. You lift the part hanging down and move it from side to side to lock and unlock the door. It is unlocked here, so you lift the hanging piece and move it to the right. You have to insert the tab on the end of the hanging piece into the notch that is on the right side of the circle before you can turn the key to lock it.

Original Entry Gate
Philip takes a photo of the original main gate that was used by the Incas to enter the Citadel. This gate is just below the Gate of the Sun.

Philip at the Sanctuary Lodge
We were waiting on our bus to take us back to the train station.

Philip and Barbara
This is the classic picture postcard view of Machu Picchu. We got there by climbing up to the Gate of the Sun and looking back to the southwest. Yes, we walked all the way up from the grassy areas you can see way below.