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Published: July 29th 2009
Machu Picchu
My first glimpse and isn't it cooel!the unofficial Barton and Brimelow Inca trek to Machu Picchu courtesy of the Danish family in Puno and Dave and Paul from the Southern Comfort hostel in Cusco!
There are mainly two ways to get to Machu Picchu. 1. The train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes and then a walk up or a bus up to the entrance. The other way, a 4 day trek - and it is a real trek (not even close to an infamous Barton family stroll) in heat and altitude involving carrying your belongings with you and camping! Needless to say I didn't jump at the chance of walking four days and camping but likewise we didn't like the idea of just jumping on the (not very cheap) tourist train either. However, whilst in Puno the Danish family who were in the same hostel as us told us about a “different” way to Machu Picchu which involved some tcar ravel, staying in a place called Santa Teresa, hot springs and walking down a railway track for 2.5 hours. We were not sure, but when we arrived at Southern Comfort hostel in Cusco the barman, Dave and his cousin, Paul, the owner of the hostel elaborated
For mum
I know they missed out the "h"! :) on the “backdoor” way to MP and so this is what we did 😊
At around 10am on the 14th July (happy birthday Em) we took a collectivo (basically a shared minibus or people carrier of 6/8 passengers) on a 5 hour journey to a place called Santa Maria. The journey took us through Peruvian countryside, up and down hillsides and along VERY bumpy gravel roads. In fact, on one part of the route as we sailed around the mountain road that was barely two car widths wide the driver had to make some quick moves as cyclists were coming at us! They were in the middle of the road and most of them looked slighty shaky at the 30 degree bends and sloping road ahead of them! In the collectivo Brim and I found ourselves squashed at the back in a space of 3 seats occupied by 3 adults and a child - at the front there were 2 French guys who persisted in playing dodgy French rap music most the time! It was cosy...
So, arrival in Santa Maria complete we met two American girls and with the 2 French guys we grabbed a taxi (a
good 45 minute journey) to Santa Teresa. As there were 6 of us and a driver one of the French guys sat in the boot. This would not have been so bad except he had everyone's bags to contend with and the bumpy mountain roads. The scenery was beautiful but at times it was not wise to look out of the window as the edge of the road and mountain side were the same thing! Slightly squashed, and warm we arrived in Santa Teresa and found a hostel with two double beds and ensuite bathroom with HOT water! What Luxury 😊 Nearby the village of Santa Teresa there were hot springs open to the public for a small fee. We donned our swimsuits and went for a well earned dip. No pictures of us splashing around though as we were too busy laying in the water to take any! :0
Santa Teresa was a lovely little village but it was undergoing some major repair works and rebuilding after an earthquake had leveled the village a couple of years before. As more people hear about this route to Machu Picchu we are sure the village will become more touristy. Already
there were neon signs instead of quaint wood or chalk boards welcoming patrons!
After a good's night sleep in Santa Teresa early next morning we caught a collectivo (full of a tourists!) to the hydroelectric dam, about a 40 minute journey. Here there was a checkpoint where we had to sign in so if anyone makes there way to Hydroelectrica near St Teresa, please be sure to look me up! From here we were on foot and started on a 3 hour walk down the railway line to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu! The shaded parts of the track were not bad but as the morning wore on, it got increasingly hot and hard going. The problem with train tracks is you have to watch out for trains (the track was used and we had to mind one train on the way there and 2 trains on the way back) if you walked on the stones after a while your feet hurt, and if you walked on the sleepers, you had to keep your eyes down as the sleepers were not evenly spaced and could be greasy at times. It did make us chuckle to think though that in
the UK we would certainly not have been permitted to walk on the tracks and even funnier that we were not the only ones. There were not too many walkers although we did sight a couple of small tour groups who were all headed to the “lost city”. All things considered the walk was not too bad (it was flat rather than uphill) and we stopped a couple of times to take in the view and catch our breath. In fact, as we neared the end of the walk you could look up and actually see some of the city of Machu Picchu!! The reason being was the track was taking us around the base of the mountain side where the famous site was resting! So, having followed Dave's careful instructions we reached the railway platform and saw the Pepsi sign! We followed the track (another 30 minutes) passing signs for Machu Picchu and after a hilly walk through the town of Aguas Calientes located our hostel, Pirwa. The hostel was quite disappointing not living up to the on-line reviews so not recommending that to anyone!
Anyhow, after a short lunch stop of cheese sarnie and water we caught
the bus up the final part of the mountain to the official entrance of Machu Picchu city. Tickets (already purchased in Cusco) with a set date (to ensure the site can keep track of tourist numbers) so all we had to do was take the short walk up the final part of the hill...
My first view of Machu Picchu was better than expected. Just like all the classic photos you see of the place, the city is laid out below with a backdrop of mountains, valleys, blue skies and fluffy white clouds. I spent a good 20 minutes just sitting and looking before deciding I needed to get moving if I wanted to see everything before the park closed. Brim, who was far more sprightly than me at getting up the hill was off and away before I could reach the guard's house which is at the top of the city and allows a total view of the city below. Having stared for several minutes I decided to try and head up to the sun gate...big mistake, having made it about half way I realised that if I made it to the sun gate (which is a good
45 minute walk uphill) I would be too tired to then walk back down and around the city. So instead, I mopped my brow, and walked back to the guard's house where I followed the marked trail around the city. The preservation of the city itself is something wonderful (Brim and I now experts on the various ruins we have seen) but I think what makes MP so special (to me anyway) is the surrounding landscape. The Machu Picchu mountain is to the left side and the Waynu Picchu to the right and stretching back as far as the eye can see are various valleys and rainforest covered hillsides. It was so beautiful my words cannot really give it justice.
Another brilliant surprise for me was walking through the city there are resident llama and rabbits! I understand they are as much a part of MP as the city itself and I enjoyed watching the llama rolling in the sand bath they had created by the sacred stone - the importance of the Inca site not lost therefore on the wildlife.
During my wanderings around the city one of the guards (there with a hat and whistle to
Me again
and I made sure I had no hat on which is why my hair is all fuzzy! reprimand those tourists who think it is okay to walk all over the ruins, even if they are roped off!) Samuel, delighted in talking to me about the site and even showed me some of the main spots such as the condor valley, the king's temples, and the moon dial. We even had a short philosophical discussion about the fact that there was only 1 tree remaining in the city - a symbol left by the Inca kings of the fact the hillside would have been covered by trees and shrubs before the city was built.
Although there were a number of other tourists wandering around the city it did not feel overcrowded and as the day wore on in fact you could almost feel you were the only one there at times as you looked out at the surroundings or wandered around one of the dwellings.
For those who may not know the typical way to see MP is to get up at 5am, catch the tourist bus that leaves at 5.30am to the entrance and be at the site to see the sunrise. When the weather is good this is probably the best way to see
the city however, with clouds and rain for most mornings Brim and decided to hedge our bets and arrive at the site in the afternoon so we could stay for an afternoon and watch the sunset instead. Luckily for us our gamble paid off as we had no rain, glorious sunshine all day. I probably could have spent a few more hours at the city but the heat and height does take its toll after a while so I was grateful that around 4.30 I sat at the guards house and watched as the sun began to set behind the mountains surrounding the city. Although the sun could not be seen on the horizon the light effect the suns rays had on Waynu Picchu gave an almost magical feel to the place. The guards were getting anxious to clear the site before total darkness descended and Brim and I had decided to walk down the mountain rather than catching the last bus as it left a bit earlier!
If I had to sum up my feelings about Machu Picchu it would have to be they were the first true pioneers of grand designs. Mr McCloud (from the TV program)
would be inspired (as was I) by the fact that when they built the city, every road and dwelling and even store house is conceived with exactly where and when the sun sets and all the windows are deliberately placed to capture not only the best light for a particular part of the day, but to capture some of the best views I have seen since travelling in South America.
With dusk upon us we spent the next 40 odd minutes stepping downwards on sometimes quite large and irregular stones. We could not conceive being one of the “trekkers” who decide to walk up that same route at 5am in the morning to try and get the sunrise! As we reached the bottom and walked up the track into Aguas Calientes Brim put her head torch on, only to avoid us being mown down by passing cars and cyclists. Extremely tired but content we made it back to the town and the train station.
Now, it had been our plan to get the train back to Cusco the next day. Both us feeling pretty tired from our “trekking” however, there is only one train a day that leaves
at 5.30pm and neither of us felt we wanted to wait the whole day in the town (it is very touristy and expensive and lacks the more local charms of the other places we had seen in Peru albeit we did have a lovely meal that night on the train station platform - sounds a bit strange, but in Aguas they use the length of the very long platform to house various restaurants, one after another). Plus it would have meant a very late night back in Cusco. So, we agreed that we would have to get some sleep and simply do our mini “trek” in reverse the next day. Getting up at 7am we had bags packed and set off back down the track to the railway line. Just under 3 hours later, we were at the hydroelectric dam and as luck would have it a collectivo was already standing by to take us to Santa Teresa where we were hopeful of getting a taxi or collectivo to Santa Maria to get the 12 or 1pm transport back to Cusco. As the only ones in the collectivo to Santa Teresa we were able to stretch out and have the
windows wide open allowing for a great breeze. At Santa Teresa we rolled out of the minibus and into a waiting taxi. Squeezed into the back with our bags on laps there were also a man in the boot (full of luggage) and we set off. Words cannot really describe how scary the journey was....the man was on some kind of a mission as he skidded around the gravel roads, beeping his horn to warn other road users he was not stopping!!! We had a few near misses with oncoming traffic and a stop along route where a second man got in the boot....it was typical south American craziness. I won't lie to you...I said my Hail Mary's and both Brim and I kept our fingers crossed. Making it to Santa Maria in record time, with lives just about in tact, we had but a short wait for a collectivo to Cusco. This time we were not right at back sandwiched between families but in the middle with 3 guys behind us. One of whom thought it quite funny to sneeze without covering his face into the back of my head!! Nice. Anyway, long and bumpy and winding journey later
(passing yet more cyclists on some crazy adventure downhill) we arrived in Cusco and fell back into the Southern Comfort where a couple of beers later it was time for sleep!
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Paul Comper
non-member comment
Jealousy
Rarely have I been jealous in my entire life. Certainly I have not been jealous of a travel story and there I am reading this and feel incredibly jealous of your adventure. It looks and sounds wonderful, I wish I was there. I never made it to MP and now I wish I had made sure I visited. Maybe it is the alcohol I have drunk tonight but it looks brilliant!!! Look forward to seeing you when you return, can't wait.