Machu Picchu (meaning old peak or mountain in Quechua) was a major sight to tick off my wish list when organising my South America tour. It was always going to be hard to live up to my expectations after seeing so many photos of the place but in the end I loved it. We were very lucky with the weather as the start of the rainy season seems to be starting late this year. We had sunshine and blue skies with just the right amount of wispy cloud up at Machu Picchu early in the morning for the picture postcard look!
Because we spent just over 2 weeks in Peru and Bolivia, we did not want to do the multi day Inca trail. I am happy with our decision as I met so many travellers who said they suffered on it and described the trek along the lines of “it was an achievement but…**long list**” or “I was so exhausted by the time I got to Machu Picchu…” It was probably just our good fortune that we met folk who made us feel good about our own decision.
We opted for a 2 day trip with Bamba Experience that we had booked back in London with STA travel. The tour company was professional with fun and knowledgeable guides.
On day 1 we had an early start to drive from Cuzco to Chinchero, a small village. From there, we hiked through hills and past Pluray Lake. Adam and I were with 3 other friendly tourists, our guide Vincent and his fiancĂ©e. The first part was all uphill to Pass at 4300m altitude – see map above for our route. There were some piles of wishing stones near the top and another marker of stones for the peak. We made it!
We then had a downhill path (which I usually dislike but altitude makes uphill so much tougher!) to some beautiful Inca ruins that are not accessible by car called Huchuy Qosqo. We ate our packed lunches there and Vincent taught us about the lego system the Incas used rather than cement and the strong trapeze shape used in their alcoves and architecture that has proved earthquake resistant.
The final downhill switchbacks to Lamay were tough on our legs but offered stunning views of Lamay town and the Urubamba River below.
What I loved about the hike is that we did not see any other tourists on the entire trail aside from some Peruvian families at the ruins themselves, in stark contrast to the more commercial Rainbow mountain and Machu Picchu hikes.This was fortunate given the amount of “scenic peeing” that we all needed to do over the many hours on the trail.
On the downhill when I could actually enjoy conversation, as well as chatting to the rest of our small group I shared stories with Vincent our guide. It was interesting to hear about his relatively non traditional family. His father is a chef who also does a lot of the cooking at home (seen by the wider family as a woman’s job) and his sister was supported through a divorce from a violent husband (divorce is still very much taboo in their social circles.) It was also interesting to hear that another of his sisters loves bollywood and knows the dances to the major hits.
Once we reached Lamay, we had some rest on a minibus journey to Ollantayambo. From there, we boarded the lovely Inca Rail to take us to Aguas Calientes. The train had gorgeous river views (tip – sit on the left hand side of the carriage on the way), classic wooden decor and complimentary drinks and snacks. That was old school travel!
Once we arrived at Aguas Calientes, also known as ‘Machu Picchu town’ our next guide Pavel met us and we had an inclusive dinner at a small restaurant. The Andean veg soup with quinoa was excellent and I opted for garlic trout which was also tasty. We met Romeres, a 40-something lady from the US fitting in some tourism on her business trip. She looked no older than 30 so in my view supported the argument for avoiding meat (she is pescetarian) and continuing HIIT exercise classes! She was great fun and hiked the next day with us at Machu Picchu.
I have to say, I thought our all inclusive STA Bamba Experience trip would involve more “roughing it” but our hotel, Inca Tower, was close to the station and a had a comfortable private room with hot en suite shower. That said, we did not have long to sleep as we had a pre 4am wake up call on Day 2 of our trip.
Buses depart from Aguas Calientes from 5.30am but tourists start queuing very early to get those first precious moments at the site uninterrupted by other tourists. We sat in the reasonable sized queue at 4.30m but it was not too painful because it was not a moving queue. Rather, we knew the buses only arrive from 5.30am so we could sit on the pavement, chat and eat our breakfast.
The process was efficient and at 5.30am the big Mercedes Benz coaches rocked up. I suspect we got the third one of the day. Whilst winding up the mountain roads, we saw some trekkers taking the steep steps and having to dodge the speedy coaches on the roads. I felt thankful that I was on the coach at this stage!
Ultimately, the early start was worth it. We beat the rush to get our first views of Machu Picchu at around 6am before the crowds arrived. Even 45 minutes later, the place was really starting to fill up. Not to be too cheesy but it did feel magical.
Once we all got the postcard-esque “money shot”, Pavel gave us a tour of the ruins ending at about 8am. We learnt a lot of things about the site that is believed to have been built around 1450 at the height of the Inca empire. The location was likely chosen due to the natural spring (near the sun gate), protection from the sounding mountains and plenty of daylight. The round indentations containing water on the stone floor were used as mirrors at night to see the stars. The trapeze shaped alcoves for storage were resistant to seismic activity.
The agricultural terraces are beautiful and add to the natural beauty of the mountains themselves. There are over 600 of them in Machu Picchu and they supported construction as well as agriculture. The grass is well maintained due to llamas feeding. I want a pet llama or alpaca!
We also saw the inbuilt drainage system and learnt the Incas used a dry toilet system of ash. For them the ri ver was a no-go given it was deemed sacred.
By 8am the sun was much stronger and the crowds had thickened on the main areas. There was no longer any chance of photos without several other tourists in them!
We embarked upon our hike of Machu Picchu mountain (which we had booked in advance – you need to do this.) This was about 1 and a half hours uphill via steep steps. During the last 10 or so flights of stairs, I was Certain each time that it had to be the last one! I was impressed by some of the elderly English couples we met along the route, who managed to get to the top albeit at a slower pace. I was also impressed by the young German girls who raced up in just over an hour… quite a feat given the altitiude. Nevertheless, we made it!
At the top we took cautious selfies as a German tourist died recently on this very hike by climbing over the rope to take a selfie.
The bus, train then minibus journey home gave us ample time to recover. On our final minibus back to Cuzco, we met an Amazonian Peruvian family that did the Machu Picchu mountain hike too. The lady was heavily pregnant, the man was carrying their 2 year old son in a kangaroo pouch and their 70-something year old father came along too! Wow.. these Peruvians are made of strong stuff.
We saw a beautiful sunset on the final leg of our journey… what a wonderful couple of days and an excellent precursor to another tasty meal in Cuzco… sushi and ceviche at Limo and plenty of good red wine!
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