Cusco to Machu Picchu
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Stories by Kerrie-Anne Riles and photos by Kerrie-Anne and Alan Riles (unless otherwise indicated)
Our first experience of rail travel in Peru was heading to the destination on everybody’s bucket list – Machu Picchu. We flew from Lima to Cusco and stayed the night at the Novotel.
Awanakancha, a Living Museum in Peru
Traveling 23 kms from Cusco into the Sacred Valley you will find Awanakancha. Described as a “living museum”, it was first established as a farm with native camelids, South American alpaca and llamas, and later added the lesser known vicuñas and guanacos. Alpaca garments are well known for their softness; however, vicuña fleece is even finer and softer and therefore more expensive. Awanakancha grew to showcase and preserve the traditional Andean techniques of textile dying and weaving. Now the fleeces from the farmed animals are spun, dyed, and woven into traditional fabrics. Fleeces vary from pure white to dark brown. The fleeces are then dyed in traditional ways by boiling on open fires using natural dyes such as indigo, cochineal beetles, cactus and citrus fruits.
Weaving of rugs and blankets, using traditional looms and vibrant linear patterns, is done by local costumed ladies sitting on the floor outside in an open shed. The looms are attached to the ground and tied behind their back to create the tension required for even weaving. Intricate patterns are woven on a modern vertical loom, with paper designs placed beneath the warp threads, by men inside the large gallery and shop.
Pisac Town Markets
The Pisac markets are the best known of the markets in the Cusco area. During the week the goods on the stalls are mainly for the tourist souvenir market. For a more colorful experience the Sunday markets are filled with local color when the Quechua people, complete with vibrantly colored traditional dress, come from the surrounding mountains to sell fruits and vegetables, many totally unrecognizable by tourists.
Archaeological ruins of Ollantaytambo
The town of Ollantaytambo is in the Sacred Valley. Ollantaytambo is a Quechua word that means “a place to look down”. And look down it certainly does. 80 kms from Cusco, the fortress was built as a military, religious and agricultural center making use of the steep access afforded by the mountain it sits atop.
High terraces scale the mountain. The buildings were constructed with the same precision and detailed stonework as Machu Picchu. An admission fee is charged.
Located near the fortress at the foot of the mountain is the township. Known as the “Living Inca City”, Ollantaytambo is the only original Inca town that is still inhabited. Although geared to income from tourists the people still follow a lot of the inherited Inca traditions in their own lives.
I wandered the adjoining market while Alan scaled the steps to the fortress. During an unexpected downpour the friendly stallholders were quite happy for me to shelter in their tents as they scurried to get their goods undercover.
Train Station at Ollantaytambo
We drove from Cusco to Ollantaytambo to catch the train. Arriving there early, we spent a delightful half hour in Café Mayu on the station
We had been told the next train to arrive would be ours. When it arrived we lined up to board. But NO! This was not our train. Our train had already gone! We had seen another small train go racing by but did not realize it was going to stop further down the station! Mortified, we sought the assistance of the stationmaster (who did not seem at all surprised). He proceeded to re-schedule us on the next train. So, in the end we left about an hour late, which unfortunately meant we had an hour less at Machu Picchu.
Finally aboard the train, windows and skylights afforded us a breathtaking view of our journey to Aguas Calientes. There are several choices of trains you can choose. Our choice was the mid-priced Vistadome.
Train from Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes
We were enamored by distant glimpses of snow-capped mountains surrounding us as we traveled from the Sacred Valley along the banks of the Urubamba River.
A little less than two hours later we arrived at Aguas Calientes. We transferred to a bus for the trip up the mountain. This was not my favorite part of this trip! With countless hairpin bends taken at breakneck speed up the extremely narrow road, we maneuvered around descending buses.
Relieved to get off the bus, we met our pre-arranged guide amongst hundreds of people waiting to get into Machu Picchu. Numbers are controlled so entry is restricted with either morning or afternoon sessions. It is now compulsory to have an approved guide, either private or as part of a group tour.
Walkers are expected to stay on designated paths. Photo opportunities are everywhere.
"Discovery" of Machu Picchu in 1911
While indigenous people of Peru knew about Machu Picchu it had been largely neglected for centuries. Yale professor Hiram Bingham was the first western scholar credited with the “discovery” of the lost citadel of Machu Picchu in 1911. With no written Incan history of Machu Picchu it is difficult to be sure about its origins. It is believed to have been built as the estate for Incan emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). It was built with such precision stonework that there was no need for any mortar. It probably only housed about one thousand people.
View Machu Picchu from a Thatched Hut
During the subsequent excavation of the site, supervised by Bingham, he kept a photographic record of the dig, believing people would not believe the significance of his discovery. He was supplied with special experimental panoramic cameras as yet not offered to the public by George Eastman, creator of Kodak. Bingham later produced an extensive photographic record of the excavation for National Geographic editor Gilbert Grosvenor.
For those who do not want to walk the steep track, there is a small thatched hut to sit where you are still afforded panoramic views of Machu Picchu.
We had pre-booked (and paid for) lunch in the Belmond Machu Picchu restaurant. Arriving towards the end of service because of our train confusion, almost all the “Indigenous Delicacies” buffet was depleted and the “verdant view” we had been promised was actually a panoramic view of the bus turning area! So we left and went to the little café bar where we paid for a much simpler snack but sat perched on high stools and enjoyed a real verdant view.
Return to Aguas Calientes
After our visit to Machu Picchu we returned to Aguas Calientes. With some time to spare before the train, we wandered the markets outside the train station.
During the return journey on the train, we were treated to a fashion parade of locally produced alpaca garments. Without warning we were joined by a dazzling beaded “Saqra”–devil in Quechua – who is a naughty (not evil) devil who danced his way through the carriage, coming up behind un-expecting passengers and scaring them.
Peru's Amazing Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley
We were so happy to have achieved our bucket list goal of visiting Machu Picchu. However, if we had more time we would have spent longer in the Sacred Valley, and definitely more time in Cusco, as there was still so much more we would have loved to see.
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Kerrie-Anne Riles is an Australian freelance travel writer who lived in Peru for two and a half years. She has lived in seven different countries and travels extensively. Her travel writing includes traveling to unusual places and quirky travel experiences, luxury travel, especially cruising and train trips, and gluten free cooking and restaurants.
Member: International Travel Writers and Photographers Alliance, International Travel Writers Alliance, TravMedia