Advertisement
Published: April 25th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Machu Picchu
The classic view! Everywhere in Cusco there´s places where you can vote for Machu Picchu as one of the new 7 wonders of the world... well we went to check it out for ourselves. We opted for a two day tour to Machu Picchu as the Inca Trail is sold out until June and would have cost us $300 each anyway! We also didn´t fancy the idea of doing a walk which 498 other people start every day (meaning that a whopping 2000 people are on the trail at any one time). Our tour started in Cusco where we got the train to Aguas Calientes - believe it or not the train costs an unbelievable $US73 each (return) for a 3 and 3 quarter hour journey! We then stayed in Aguas Calientes, where there isn´t much to do, for the night before departing for Machu Picchu early the next morning (allbeit not as early as we wanted - sore topic, don´t ask)! We got the bus (another $US12 each return) and arrived in Machu Picchu where we met our guide and got our entrance tickets ($US40 for adults and $US20 for students - god bless STA)!
Machu Picchu is, however, absolutely amazing
and worth the money (although we wouldn´t have minded if it had been cheaper)! We know everybody´s seen photos of Machu Picchu but they don´t really do it justice. The site itself is located in mountains and valleys covered in trees where everything is measured in Incan time and tourist time! We were told that it´s 30 minutes Inca time to the top of Waynapicchu (the big mountain behind the site) and over an hour tourist time! We made an attempt to get up it but Cathy and Adam lost their camera about 5 minutes into the walk and after that i kind of lost the impetus!! We climbed up the small one next to it instead and had it to ourselves!
Our guide told us that contrary to popular belief this isn´t actually the ´lost incan city´as there was never any gold found at Machu Picchu. The Incans abandoned it, with a view to coming back, when the Spanish arrived in Cusco. They didn´t want those dirty to Spaniards to find their beautiful city so they cut off all routes to it and left it. They didn´t, however, return and instead went deep into the jungle never to
Us at Machu Picchu
Simon has now shaved but i think it was a record... 2 months without a shave! return. Our guide told us that the real lost Incan city is called Paititi and is deep in th jungle. Apparently it´s protected by a tribe who won´t let anyone go near the city but who won´t deny it´s existence either. When asked apparently they just say ´it´s not for white men´and for them, even Peruvian´s count as white men (the blackest Africans would too) because they have white minds. If you want to find it, it´s 60 days trek Inca speed from Machu Picchu and you have to have achieved a state known as ´Son of the sun´in order to be able to find it - no one has yet but feel free to try! Apparently there a site www.paititi.com where you can read about the various attempts to find it! Happy hunting!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.067s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0426s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Rasta Bob
non-member comment
Dispatch War Rocket Ajax to Bring Back His Body!
Thats really interesting to know that there is another hidden city for us whiteys to bring smallpox to, wiping out the inhabitants and alllowing us to build a new Center Parcs. Bring in the expedition force! I have two things to say. Firstly kids, you know how worried about your bowel movements I am. So ignore the "If you sprinkle while you tinkle" phrase and live by this sage but of wisdom: "If you splatter while you shatter, try not to do it in the cold meat platter". Secondly. Simon. WHY DID YOU SHAVE? you were almost starting to look as good as I did! (maybe thats reason enough) Still, I wanted to see you at some point going "Gordons alive" or even better "DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!" (cue thunderous Queen soundtrack). Take care scrotecakes x