Machu Picchu!


What a day! 

Up at 5.30a.m. for a 6.20a.m. pick up and transfer to the railway station in Ollantaytambo to catch the 360° train for Machu Picchu. It felt a bit like Harry Potter! 

First we passed through the centre of Ollantaytambo where our guide pointed out an original Inca street.


There had been a carnival in town for two days, and now the clean up was going on, at 7a.m.

And so to the train. All seats for travel to Machu Picchu must be pre-booked and boarding is controlled, by checking passports. A drink and snack is served, and then the staff dress up to play out the drama of the legend of the love story between the army general and the daughter of the king; a forbidden romance. You can guess the result.... it ended in "...ever after!" The train travelled along the Urubamba river valley, and from one ecosystem to another, passing from dry mountains to the rainforest. Finally we arrived in Aguas Calientes,  the point of departure of the buses for Machu Picchu. It's now about 9.15a.m. and our entry is booked for 10.00.






Inca trail porters returning from a trek.




As I mentioned we had to get a bus to MP. The only traffic allowed in Aguas Calientes is buses and delivery carts. The buses are 30- seater and the queue moves in groups of 30, so even though it's long, you don't have to wait too long. Tickets and passports checked, we hopped on for a spectacular journey up and up and up! The "road" is just wide enough for two buses to pass each other. Sitting on the LHS, you get a jaw dropping view down into the valley. I was reminded of a friend of mine (you know who you are!) that was scared to sit on the side of the bus where all you can see is the drop!
Our guide had taken care of all of the tickets, so we only had to follow him to the entrance and show our passports again!
The first 20 minutes was a steep climb,  but there were opportunities to stop for a breather.  Then we reached the point where Machu Picchu is just waiting for you to photograph it! After a run down on the history of the place and of how Hiram Bingham found the place in 1911. (The people who lived there always knew that it was there, but had no idea of the significance of the site. The family who lived in the ancient food storehouse sent their son Pablito to show Hiram the ruins that were overgrown by the forest, and the rest is history. I'm trying to paste a link here, but the technology is getting me down! The website that might interest you is: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/secrets




Llamas!



Star mirrors which reflect the night sky.





The rain forest lives up to its name!
These poor creatures were facing into a two hour trek in the rain.

By the way the Inca Trail is not just the hike into Machu Picchu; it's the trail of Tambos that connected the Inca civilisation from Colombia to the south of Chile and Argentina. 

This visit exceeded our expectations. It was such a privilege to walk in the footsteps of the Inca people.










 





Comments

  1. TigUíShűilleabháin2431 October 2024 at 07:06

    Really wonderful blog post Mags- almost felt I was there too :) 👏 time for some R&R today I’m sure :)

    ReplyDelete

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