Close to the gods

Lucky the pizza dog!
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Machu Picchu is a tricky place to get to cheaply as the Peruvian government is very aware what a tourist gold mine it is, and has got a total monopoly on the transport to this place, you can only really get there by train and it´s very expensive. The train leaves Cusco early in the morning and arrives at 10am at Aguas Calientes, the incredibly heavily touristed gateway town to the Inca Ruins. This is the easiest way to get there. But it has two major drawbacks... it´s extremely expensive...and it´s packed to the gills with tourists. However, if you travel out of Cusco for one and a half hours, past stunning mountain ranges you can catch another train from Ollanyantetambo Station, which leaves late and arrives late allowing you to overnight and get up at the crack of dawn to visit the ruins before the tourists arrive en masse...by train..

Callum and the first look at Machu Picchu
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So when we returned from the Choquequirao trek we immediately went to the local bus station to catch a collectivo (shared taxi) to Ollyantetambo. Richard negotiated this for us and it went smoothly. In fact because of the census the roads were clear which gave the driver a chance to beat his personal best time for the route he drives every day... scary..

the morning mist had just cleared and we got some amazing views over the Inca city.

The Inca City
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We got to Ollyantetambo with time to enjoy some Pizza and wine and make friends with a stray dog. We called him Lucky coz Claire kept feeding him Pizza and in return he guarded us.

Later we caught the backpacker night train to Aguas Calientes, arriving exhausted at 11pm. A long day considering we got up before dawn to climb a mountain. We found a decent hostel despite the hordes of touts and with the help of a friendly tourist policeman.

The next morning we were up at the crack of dawn to get the bus to Machu Picchu, we were the first people in the queue at 5am! At 6am we had arrived at the gates along with another 3 buses of tourists, this is nothing compared to the masses that decend at 10.30 when the first train arrives!

Another pic of the city
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Machu Picchu itself is such a stunning Inca city with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Like Choququirao, machu Picchu was never found by the Spanish, so much is still intact. However, unlike Choququirao, Machu Picchu is a real showcase Inca city rather than a working city made up of mainly terraces. Many of the buildings, like the Temple of the Sun and the Room of Three Windows are made from carved stones that fit together without having to use mortar. Some of these stones are huge and it is incredible to think that they managed to get them to the top of this mountain. The city also has some ingenious water systems to supply water to all the houses and an amazing carved stone to act as a natural water storage unit. There are even rocks that have been sculpted to mimic the mountains behind, stunning!

My turn!
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We had been told by several people on our travels that we had to climb Huayna Picchu to get a great view overlooking Machu Picchu. The Incas used this mountain to build the Temple of the Moon on top which they used to keep mummies in the caves underneath. The steep staircase the Incas carved to the top is still the only way to get to the viewing point and even with a bad knee it was worth the effort to get there!! You have to set off before 1pm to visit Huayna Picchu and numbers are now restricted, like on the Inca trail, to 400 people a day. At the top there are several viewing points over Machu Picchu, mostly with sheer drops below and nothing to stop you going over........not for my liking but Callum enjoyed dangling his feet over the edge!! As we arrived at the top the morning mist had just cleared and we got some amazing views over the Inca city. We also got an amazing view of a very friendly hawk, which had become very used to the tourist tit bits! He seemed very happy to pose for photos as long as you were throwing bits of bread, cookie.....well anything really!

Claire meets another friend but has no pizza to offer
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On our returned down to Machu Picchu we met a fella by the name of Ben, from Trinidad, he joined us to walk to the Sun Gate on the other side of the city (if you do the Inca trail you enter Machu Picchu by the Sun Gate at sunrise). By this time though the crowds had arrived from the trains so we didn´t stay much longer, just a few more pictures of the city and a few of the resident Llama community and then we headed back to Aguas Calientes and some lunch.

We managed to find a great place for lunch which offered an all you can eat buffet, well you can imagine how Callums eyes lit up!! After about 3 courses, 4 for callum as he had missed the sushi section before he had eaten dessert, we departed to catch our train back to Ollyantetambo.

Inca doorway
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A short train ride and after some bartering, a taxi ride and we were back in Cusco, yet again!! However not for long as we had already booked our overnight bus to Arequipa and the Colca canyon.....onwards........