Blogs from Cusco, Peru, South America - page 439

I just got back from the 4day Inca Trail to Machu Pichu and it was absolutely amazing! We walked for about 6hrs a day, camped each night and ended up at the old Inca ruins of Machu Pichu. It was hard work with a lot of uphill and big steps, and the weather was pretty cloudy and foggy for the first three days and it even rained a bit one day, but when we got there on the fourth day the weather was perfect so we were all so stoked! My group of 14 was made up of a lot of Americans, an Irish couple, a South African woman, a Pom and me, and we had a lot of fun! And our guides and Chef were great too, we ate so well the whole time and ... read more

4 days, 12000 feet, 500 perros, 200 llamas, 10 incan ruins, and 50 gatorade bottles later.... the story continues... (i couldn't send this out on our last day in peru. crappy computer) in the last email, i stated that we were headed to machu picchu on thursday. well, that didn't happen. you see, the only timely way of reaching the incan ruins is by train, and late on wednesday night a major landslide damaged 27 meters of raildroad track. perurail, the gov't owned company that exclusively runs the railway, announced that it would take 3 days to repair the tracks. CRAP. we only had 3 more days in peru! so what would a trip to peru be without visiting the world famous machu picchu? so on top of being pretty bummed out, teresa got pretty sick. ... read more

Peru won independence from Spain in 1824. Travelogue: ... read more

Here I am back in Cuzco, Peru, feeling slightly delirious for two reasons really: the horrendously strong malaria tablets I have been taking (producing strange but cool dreams!) and the fact that I have had no sleep for the past 5 days. Why? The infamous Inca Trail... The Inca Trail runs for 44 kilometres through the Andes, ending at the ruins of Macchu Picchu, one of the few Inca settlements that were never found by the Spanish, and hence never destroyed. Like most people, we decided to do the hike with a tour group, the advantage being that they provide (and more importantly CARRY) all the food and camping equipment that we would need for the 3 nights and 4 days it takes to hike the trail. We were actually really really lucky with the weather,we ... read more

…….6wks SOUTH AMERICA-ARGENTINA, PERU............ “This is deservedly the most famous footpath in Sth America. It has everything: gorgeous mountain scenery, cloud forest and lush sub-tropical vegetation with numerous species of flowers, a stunning destination. There are Inca paving stones, Inca stairways, an Inca tunnel, and of course five sets of ruins, including Machu Picchu itself.” (Bradt) During the busy dry season months of June to September, up to a thousand people a day come to visit the ‘Lost City of the Incas’. Machu Pichu remains a mysterious site, never revealed to the conquering Spaniards and virtually forgotten until 1911 when Bingham, an American historian, found it in his search for the lost city of Vilcabamba, the last strong hold of the Incas. The site when it was found was very much overgrown. It appears that M.P. ... read more