Friday
15th April Ollantaytambo
After
checking into the hotel, had a walk round the town, some of which still has the
original Inca street layout and then focused on the main square where among
many restaurants I found one that was pleasant and fairly busy, where I had one
of the local specialities, trout, which was tasty and free of bones.
Saturday
16th April
Early
morning start since I need to be at the station half hour before the train
departs, at 7.30. Perurail warns me that if I’m not there on time I may not be
allowed to board and I paid US$80 for the one-way ticket for a journey of about
30km. Perurail is part of the Orient Express Group and operates the tourist
services, some passenger services for local people and long distance freight
services http://www.perurail.com/
Can’t
help feeling Machu Picchu is their licence to print money. There is another
company Incarail but they are only marginally cheaper.
 |
| Train to Machu Picchu |
But
once I am on the Vistadome train it is very pleasant and the scenery is
spectacular as we follow the Urubamba River through a deep steep sided valley.
There is a little snack of a cake, pygmy banana and cup of coffee. It takes
about an hour and a half to reach Agua Calientes, the small town at the bottom
of the Machu Picchu mountain. From there it is a 20 minute bus ride, US$24
return, up a series of hairpin bends to Machu Picchu itself which costs 128
sols or about US$40. So I can’t help feeling someone is making a lot of money
out of this.
 |
| Not your Average Bus Route |
 |
| Looking Down at the Urubamba River |
Of course there are cheaper options but they all involve lots of
walking. Fortunately I didn’t suffer from altitude sickness in Cusco, or
anywhere else for that matter, but I did find that even a gentle climb had me
out of breath. Despite the grey and damp weather the Machu Picchu site was
stunning, the ruins of what is believed to be a royal city perched high up on one
mountain surrounded by others. Although there were lots of other visitors, the
site is big enough that you can find a bit of space to simply stand and stare.
There isn’t much information at the site, just little signs pointing to “Sun
Temple” and similar, so I was pleased to have invested 20 sols to go round the
Machu Picchu museum in Cusco. There were guides offering their services at the
entrance but I was very happy to wander round on my own.
 |
| Amazing Setting |
 |
| Not quite enveloped by Cloud |
 |
| Temple of the Sun but the Sun was not in Residence |
 |
| Main Temple of Machu Picchu. |
 |
| Think the Inca Steps may Outlast the Modern Ones |
 |
| Inca Broom Cupboard |
 |
| Llamas have Right of Way |
Was listening into one
of the guides, not sure whether he was official, telling some poor tourists
that the stones of one of the temples have great energy since they contain
quartz which emits microwave radiation. I fully understand why the Incas and
most other people from past civilisations created myths and religions to
account for the workings of the natural world but it does annoy me when people
who have access to the world’s scientific knowledge prefer to follow mumbo
jumbo.
My normal precaution of carrying
an umbrella to placate the rain gods failed on this occasion and I had to
unfurl the thing. Quite sensibly the Incas had thatched roofs on their
buildings but few of these have been replaced so there aren’t many places to
escape the rain. By mid-afternoon I decided I had seen most of it and headed
back down the hill to a cup of coffee and a mushroom omelette in one of the
many cafes in Agua Calientes. Once the rain had stopped had a quick look round
the town which is the middle of a building boom. Probably the modern equivalent
of a gold rush town in the American West. Since there are no roads into the
town I assume all the building materials and construction equipment must come in
by rail, along with the buses. My trip back was on the nominally more basic and
cheaper Expedition train but there didn’t seem much difference between it and
the Vistadome either in price or service. Both have tables and offer a snack.
The Vistadome comes with wooden tables, a tablecloth and coffee in a proper
mug. The Expedition has tables with plastic laminated surface and the coffee
comes in a disposable plastic cup. There wasn’t any milk on the Expedition
train but think this was an oversight rather than an attempt to differentiate
the service.
Back
in Ollantaytambo had dinner in Piccolo Forno, a pizza place in one of the
narrow streets.
Sunday
17th April.
Leisurely breakfast.
Explored the town in daylight when it is easier to see the Inca masonry at
the bottom of many of the houses. Climbed
up to one of the more accessible ruins with a good view over the town. Later
got the collectivo minivan back to Cusco.
 |
| Inca Street in Ollantaytambo |
 |
| Inca Street in Ollantaytambo |
 |
| Impressive Doorway |
I visited Machu Picchu in November 1993, the year when there were around 100,000 visitors, of which slightly over 50% were Peruvians. In 2013 Machu Picchu had almost 1.2 million visitors. In 1993, I don't remember paying that much for the tour, and there wasn't a choice of train from Cuzco (one tourist train, and a local stopping train for stopping locals). Both trains were shortish because they had to negotiate the zigzags and I think there was only enough space beyond the points for a few carriages. I vaguely remember that the carriages in the tourist train were provided with oxygen taps up by the luggage racks, but no hoses were attached. It was a jolly day out and my photos show wide-open views over Machu Picchu with very few people to be seen.
ReplyDeleteYes the tourist numbers are in the millions now and there is a limit of 2500 allowed in per day. The trains no longer go from central Cusco, cutting out the ZigZags. Didn't see any oxygen taps.
ReplyDelete