As we half-expected we could not get onto the Inca trail in Cusco. We investigated other trekking options available but decided instead to go on our own through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Callientes (where Machu Picchu is).
First stop Pisaq. One hour from Cusco on the bus. A nice little town with a huge market and some ruins. It apparently takes a couple of hours to walk to the top of the ruins. Dave of course wanted to walk to the top, I argued for a taxi to the top and a walk back down. I won! It turned out that the taxi couldn’t really go to the top so we spent the next hour climbing upwards and walking around the ruins at the top. Then a further 2 hours walking across and downwards to more ruins. It was pretty good and the views from the top were amazing but we were so knackered when we got back.
Second stop Ollantaytambo 1 ½ hours by bus. Ollantaytambo is a village which has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century. The village is really cool, some buildings still have Inca walls and there are water-ways going all the way through the village from the mountain. There are some ruins just above the town, we didn’t bother going up to them they cost S./ 40 each and we could see them from the village for free.
Third stop Aguas Callientes. This town can only be reached by train and it is also where Machu Picchu is, so of course the train is extortionate. It cost S./ 102 each just to go 1 ½ hours on a slow train. It only cost the locals S./10. Anyhow, the train journey was pretty and relaxed. It goes alongside the Urubamba river so either side there are mountains which are part of the Andes. Aguas Callientes obviously used to be a very small town but since so many people have started to visit Machu Picchu it has become flooded with restaurants, hostels and shops selling souvenirs. The town is ok but a complete rip-off. In lots of restaurants prices are nearly double those of Cusco. We managed to find a cheap, ok hostel and stayed there for three nights. On the second day we went to Machu Picchu.
