Machu Pichu

Yes, its super famous, its expensive but its worth the trip. We knew that we wanted to visit Machu Pichu: the train journey there and back was out of the question due to price and the lack of adventure, the Inca Trail was sold out and full of bandit agencies and Angel´s leg wouldn´t have held up for the five day Salkantay Trail. So with a little luck we met Nicolas in our youth hostel who told us of an alternative route.

We left Cuzco in the popular minivans for the for hour journey to the village of Santa Maria where we would start our two day hike. Our journey took us from the green, fertile valleys around Cuzco up through a mountian pass to 5200m and down into the humid valleys around Machu Pichu. During our steep climb to the pass we were amazed to pass through the clouds, feel the temperature drop and finally to see glaciers on the mountian peaks. One of the most beautiful aspects of the trip has been seeing how diverse the landscape is in these countries. We then dropped down the other side of the valley into the humid, fertile valleys.

Early morning we left Santa Maria toward Santa Teresa on the local road, which would at best probably be classified as a track back home. Along the way we picked mangos, bananas, oranges and avocados from the trees. All of which tasted divine. On our way we saw families crossing the river on cables and carts. Stupidly we missed the turnoff which would have joined the Inca Trail. Instead of walking the valley floor we followed the dusty, windy and steep road which under the baking sun was hard work. Angel, his typical self cursed and cursed whilst I laughed hoping that things would get easier.

After 7 hours we reached Colcomayo thermal pools and all the effort was rewarded. The feeling of jumping into a cold waterfall and then into a hot thermal pool was almost emotional enough to bring a tear to my eye. We stayed at the pools for hours, resting our tired legs and enjoying ourselves immensly. We spent the night at Santa Teresa.

Whilst having a meal with another Spanish traveller we got into a discussion regarding our impact through tourim (Yes, a repeating subject). For our meal we were waitered for by two young boys who couldn´t have been older than ten years old. They work as hard as any waiter and I gave them each a five soles (two euro) tip for their hard work. Our Spanish travelling companion argued that this was having a negative impact and that I should not have given a tip. He argued that such a tip was almost 50% of a persons daily wage and would undermine their parents hard work. He also suggested that these children would grow to think as tourists as a source of money and little else. By now I had had a couple of pisco sours, the lovely local drink and argued that they had earned their money like any worker and that our tourism i.e spending money in the village was a positive impact. All good banter but I left with my head spinning with all these thoughts.

The next day we caught a taxi for five miles to Hydroelectrica and then followed the trainline to Machu Pichu. We arrived at Aguas Calientes, the village below Machu Pichu absolutely knackered and had to climb uphill to our hostel. Considering that Aguas Calientes is the most touristic village in Peru it still held some charm, particlarly considering the beautiful location nestled into the lush green hills. That day we spent in the village, buying our tickets and haggling for reasonable food prices.

The next morning at 4am we rose to walk to Machu Pichu. Our aim was to get to the entrance before the first buses at 5.50am. We started in the dark and walked uphill for an hour. Sweating like mad we reached the entrance and collapsed for a few minutes. Once we were allowed in we made our way to Waynu Pichu, the peak overlooking the site of Machu Pichu. When we were allowed up at 7am we scrambled up as quickly as possible and had the summit to ourselves for ten minutes. The 360 degree view was fantastic, with Machu Pichu below, the train line far down in the valley and the snow covered peaks in the distance. See the photos...

We spent the day exploring the site, listening into guided groups in Spanish, English and French and gaining an insite to the history. There are numerous hypothesis as to how Machu Pichu came about but without doubt the Incas were amazing people. The remoteness of the location, the workmanship (all the rounded rocks were worked byhand) and the construction in keeping with the stars, sun and moon. Also there believe that this hard work was to please the Gods (to be honest I dont think that they were all voluntary and surely a lot of slaves would have been used).

We caught the bus down to Aguas Calientes and destroyed an all you can eat buffet. We then caught the train to Cuzco and back to our lovely hostel. The next day we hung around Cuzco and prepared ourselves for a trip to the beach.