Joe's World Backpacking Trip Stories and pics from my travels.

No, I didn't do the Inca Trail, I'm not paying five hundred bucks for a three day trek.  A friend I made in Arequipa in spanish school came and met me in Cusco and we went to Macchu Picchu the cheapest way possible.  We took a shared taxi into the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo then the cheap train to Aguas Calientes.  Aguas Calientes is the town right next to Macchu Picchu in the Sacred Ruins and can only be reached by train.  The Sacred Valley itself is absolutely stunning, the Incan ruins are just a bonus.  The setting of Macchu Picchu was what made these ruins so special.  On the side of a mountain surrounded by even higher mountains on all sides made the view here perfect.  It is the rainy season so there weren't all that many tourists and it was sunny all day anyway.  Macchu Picchu is everything that it has the reputation to be.  Even with a lot of tourists in the area it was still a very special place.  The Sacred Valley including Macchu Picchu are one of the most beautiful sites I've seen on any of my travels.