Amazing ancient city in the hills

The Train to Machu Picchu
see all photos »

Monday morning we woke up early and grabbed a taxi to the train station to go to Machu Picchu.  It is a 70 mile train ride to a small town called Aguas Calientes and then a short mini bus ride up the hills to Machu Picchu.  When we booked it we were told that we had two options.  To get on the train at the main station in Cusco or to take a 30 minute taxi up to a small train station at the top of the hill.  Seemed easier to get the train at the main station in town so that is what we did.

Scenery on the way to Machu Picchu
see all photos »

The train itself was very nice and full of excited travelers.  As it left the station it started to rise up a hill and we got a good view of Cusco.  However, we started to notice that the higher the train went up the hill the slower it went.  Eventually the train came to a complete stop.  While Daph and I were wondering why it stopped it started to roll backwards!! Apparently the certain sections of the climb are very steep and they need to get a run at it.  Basically, they get up to the section and then roll backwards and gun it to get past the section.  We tried this three times before we finally had enough speed to get past the section.   An hour and a half later we arrived at the small town that was a 30 minute taxi ride away.

Truly one of the wonders of the world

Tourists climbing the stairs toward Machu Picchu
see all photos »

Once we were past the main hill out of town the train ride flattened out as we made our way through what seemed like a series of valleys with beautiful views of the surrounding hills.

When the train stopped we found ourselves in the midst of a very busy little town called Aguas Calientes.  The town clearly caters to tourists and has a little bit of a frontier town feeling to it. (People that hike the Inca Trail end up here prior to seeing the ruins.  Others stay here so they can spend more time at the ruins.) We had arranged to be part of a group and quickly spotted our guide holding up a sign.  Once our group was assembled our guide led us down a narrow path through a maze of tented stalls selling all sorts of trinkets.  When we emerged at the other side of all of the tents he had us wait in front of a variety store for our bus.  The mini bus arrived and we were on our way up a winding road towards Machu Picchu.  As we climbed up the hill you could literally look out the window and see down the steep cliff that the road clung to.

Machu Picchu
see all photos »

When we got to the top we were surprised to see a large line of tourists winding their way up the stairs leading to Machu Picchu -- a long line.  Our guide told us that the site could only handle so many visitors per day and it seemed that there were more than that on the stairs in front of us.  To say nothing of how many were already at the site.

We joined the line and slowly started making our way up the ancient rock stairs.  We eventually reached a gateway where a young guy was lying on a bench - clearly suffering from altitude sickness.  His friends were taking care of him but we were certainly glad that we had taken our altitude pills.  We eventually reached a look out point where we got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu.  We were actually above it looking down on the city.

Daph over looking Machu Picchu
see all photos »

Machu Picchu really is an amazing city.  It litterally sits right in the  peak of a surrounding hills.  Terraces are all around and everything is green.  Contrary to popular myth it was a pretty normal city that was used by traveling traders.  The thing that has made the ruins so famous is the fact that they survived.

We decended from our look out point into Machu Picchu.  The walls of the farmers houses remain and they have added roofs to a couple of the houses to give you a real sense for what it used to be like.   There are worship areas, common areas.  Generally a very well laid out town that I'm sure operated very well in its day. Aside from tourists the only inhabitants now are Lamas which made for some fun photo opps.

Daph and I at Machu Picchu
see all photos »

Some people hiked to the top of a nearby hill for a different view of MP but Daph and I were concerned that  we wouldn't have enough time to do this and look around before we had to be on our way to catch our train.  I think if we were to do it again we would stay nearby so we could see the sun rise and set here as well as climb the nearby hills to get a better view.  We talked to some people that had done this and they said that it was far less crowded. That being said, it really was an incredible experience to be at MP.

Lama at Machu Picchu
see all photos »

Later in the day we took the bus back to town were we had time to grab a bite to eat in a nice restaurant right by the river.  Unfortunately I forgot my hat and sunglasses there. We only realized that I had forgotten them when we were at the train station and rather than chance missing the only train back to Cusco I said my goodbye my hat and glasses.

On the train ride back Daph got a really big cooked corn on the cobb from a vendor at one of the little stations that we stopped at on the way back.