Day 66: Aguas Calientes – Macchu Piccu – Cusco (Peru)

Friday, March 2nd, 2018

Day 13 of G-Adventures Inca Heartland tour

Rise and shine – the best time to see the Macchu Piccu, the Lost City of the Incas, is in the early morning light. Follow the local guide to Machu Picchu to learn about its history at a leisurely pace. Gain local insight into the Inti Mach’ay cave, Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Water, the Temple of the Condor, and the Room of the Three Windows. Take time to sit and feel the energy of this 15th-century site, now both a UNESCO World Heritage site and voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World (in a worldwide Internet poll).”

We get up in Aguas Calientes very early at 04:30 am. The windows of our room are totally wet on the inside. There is no heating, the sliding windows are at least 2 cm open. Instead of breakfast we get a lunch package with some crackers, cheese sandwich, juice.

We leave the G-adventures duffle bags in the hotel and go with our daypacks to a bus station at the river dividing Aguas Calientes. It seems to be a secret place, there are already some 1.000 people waiting there. Christina gets us coffee. Christina is the best.

Finally we get a bus and drive up to Macchu Piccu. The way up is along the river first and then a windy road, which you can either walk 400 m up or drive with official bus. It is not completely paved, but has lots of busses driving the opposite direction. It is not sunny yet, more cloudy from the valley. The forecast was on our side – partly cloudy until noon, then rain.

They drive up like crazy, one bus after the other. Once there everybody gets a 4 hours ticket. As you go in, clock is ticking. For toilet, you must go out. But within the 4 Hours you can go in and stay in longer than 4 hours, but until you have to pee again. In doing so, they try to keep the people in limited.

On the top there is even more tourists in front of the entrance gate, waiting for it to be opened. We walk up, macchu piccu is in the clouds.

Gladys introduces us to our guide and he leads us in to the viewpoint for the sunrise. As we are in, the crowd is not so dense anymore.

I lift the fog …

… Instagrammers drop their clothes and fight for the best spot …

… and sun rises …

We stand and watch the sunrise. Lots of people posing around. Before …

… and after Photoshop:

We start a guided 1:30 hrs tour. The guide is a sleeping pill.

After the tour we go out to the toilet (2 soles) and in again and decide to go to the sundoor.

02.03.2018 10:18 S 13°10.1882′ W 72°32.0304′ Altidude 2.781 masl

We have lunch there …

We meet the boys from lares trek there

Then we go back down to the Inka bridge:

02.03.2018 11:24 S 13°10.2683′ W 72°32.7266′ Altidude 2.614 masl

The must see inka bridge:

I expected more. This should be the famous back door of macchu piccu. We go back to catch the bus at 13:00

As we come back to aguas calientes, we look for good food. Heavy rain makes it not easy. Somewhen we just go in a restaurant at main plaza, recognize that it has 1 tripadvisor point only and go to the best restaurant instead.

They have vegetarian grilled chicken!!!!

After lunch we go to the ATM meet gladys in another restaurant, pick up our bags and go to the train to Ollantaytambo. In the train we qwirkle again.

Then, back in Ollantaytambo, we change into a minivan to Cusco. There we arrive in our Hotel El Puma and get our full luggage back. We quickly repack nearly everything into a big bag of laundry which gladys takes care of and a daypack for Puerto Maldonado at the Rio Madre de Dios, a river which becomes Amazonas. And we pack the rest in the bags to be left at the hotel.

Then we go with Gianni, the boys and girls from the Lares Trek for dinner to the hot stones and party afterwards.