The Peruvian Andes - Cusco and the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

The Plan - Peruvian Andes and Machu Picchu

A trip to the Andes to hike amongst the high peaks and to see the ruins of the Inca empire and what the Spanish have done to advance civilization in Peru has long been on the proverbial bucket list. As the start of our 7th decade is bearing down hard it is time to go before the ravages of time ruin, or at last remove, any opportunity to enjoy a mountain walk in the Andes.

A drilling engineer once told me, careful application of money solves all problems.... we shall see....
We have chosen the Salkantay trail, guided and hosted by the Mountain Lodges of Peru, to take us to the fabled Machu Picchu, a less traveled hiking route apparently equipped with lodges/huts to provide unheard of comfort. Ground costs are about $3500US per each, pricy but similar to a Backroads bike trip. Both National Geographic and REI front this same trek to their clients, REI for a similar fee, Geographic about $2k more. For the fee we get the pleasure of experiencing some 115+ km Van rides, 6 days of trekking covering at least 64 kms, a 10 km train ride to Agua Calienties, a bus ride and tickets to Machu Picchu, 7 nights accommodation in high end lodges and hotels plus a return train and bus trip from Agua Calienties to Cusco. Let the games begin.

Flights and lodging are booked, guides ready for our arrival (no doubt with a dozen or so of our soon to be close friends)...
The same drilling engineer who generously provided life advice noted above, also loaned me the National Geographic consolidation books from 1913, 1915 and 1916. These books chronicle Hiram Bingham's early 20th century adventures in Peru including the re-discovery of Machu Picchu


Hiram in action on left

and other ancient ruins. The pictures from the era are fabulous and the accompanying prose extremely well written, it provides excellent historical context to what we are about to see. Highly recommended reading as a precursor to a Machu Picchu visit. Hiram Bingham is reputed to be the real life individual that was the inspiration for the Indiana Jones movie character, a Yale University professor that had a second life as an world traveling adventurer.

If interested you can read some of the 1913 Hiram Bingham adventure report online at this link:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/1913/04/machu-picchu/bingham-text/1



We will travel from Calgary to Cusco, Peru via Los Angeles and Lima. Cusco is located at 3400m elevation so we will spend 4 days in area acclimatizing and taking in the sites in and around Cusco.

Then we head out on a 4 day journey, which at our advanced age will take 6, leading us to the fabled Machu Picchu, often described by non locals as 'the lost city of the Incas'....

Calgary to Cusco

It is amazing that one day you can be watching drizzle fall in the form of snow in Calgary and next can be 1/2 a world away. Miserable as air travel has become, it still is an awesomely effective way of getting to far away places.

Our route from Calgary to Peru is through Los Angeles. We are able to enjoy playoff hockey at a YYC lounge prior to its 7:00PM closing and again onboard by the magic of satellite, that is before we lost reception in US airspace....How does the border affect the satellite?  Canadian folks have Shaw/Bell in their RVs at US campgrounds and in their Phoenix homes.... WestJet needs to get their secret.....

Lima Airport

The flights are mercifully uneventful. Even LAX is efficient! It's an 8.5 hour flight from LA to Lima, we are on the 1AM redeye. I manage to sleep through dinner served at 2 AM.... surprising anyone was up for it.... Arrive Lima in time for breakfast and a starbucks coffee... Tim's wasn't there but Dunkin' Donuts was (someone in their mascot costume even walked by), as well the rest of the important American food groups (McDonalds, Subway, Papa Johns etc.) were there for our dining displeasure.....
Lima is a modern airport, again efficient and no issues, onto the Cusco flight by 1 PM, at Mercado hotel in old town Cusco by 3:00. Scarcely 23 hours from leaving home we are over 8000 kms away.

Cusco Sunset from Mercado hotel

Cusco is at 3400m (11000+ ft) above sea level, immediately on arrival one feels the air has less O2 to run the machine. We are fortunate to have a view room on the 4th floor, one feels  less fortunate to walk up to it numerous times... However the many stairs are good for acclimatization I suppose. We have planned for 3+ days in Cusco to assist in acclimatization.

Cusco Plaza de Armas

We take a walk down to the main square to get bearings. The streets are filled with tourists from many lands. The street vendors are at the level of those on the Mexican beaches. Everyone is selling something. Various handicrafts, Coca leaves, weed,  a man calling himself Picasso offers his art collection; ladies in traditional garb with baby llamas (and baby humans) looking to sell photos with them, other ladies aggressively selling massages, I am numb from all the choices and hang onto my cash .We head back to the hotel for a decent dinner and it's an early night.

Around Cusco

 

Ancient quarried stones precisely fit together

Steep Climb to the ruins

Cusco calls itself the Archeological Capital of the Americas as well as claiming to be the longest continuously inhabited city in the western hemisphere. Prior to the Spanish arriving, Cusco was the centre of the Inca empire. It is most important now for its ancient Inca and pre-Inca ruins and as a hub for tourism in the Peruvian Andes.

Apparently (and unfortunately for them) the Incas didn't expect the Spanish to bring guns and cannons to a knuckle and knife fight. The Spanish also generously gifted the Inca with smallpox, the common cold and flu which saved on ammunition.... In short order millions expired and the Inca empire collapsed. The Spanish enslaved the locals to assist in mineral exploitation and dismantled the ancient structures to build numerous monuments to the Catholic Church, mostly on top of existing Inca religious sites. Today tourists come to see the ruins that the Spaniards created from the Inca structures. Who knew that by destroying a culture, they were creating the basis for a 21st century economy?

Tourists and archeologists marvel at how the Inca/Pre-Inca could build such precise structures without modern tools. They should also wonder how the Spanish could have destroyed this culture for the purpose of stealing gold and silver all under the banner of god and church.

Why is it that people marvel at the skills of the ancients? The basic principles of engineering have been around for many millennia, human labour can do almost anything if enough bodies and ingenuity are applied. There is little new under the sun....

Rare Cusco 3 breasted door header

Cusco is located at 13 degrees south latitude, not far from equator, days are pretty much 12 hours... (actually 11.5 at this time in May). Daylight saving time is unheard of. (as it should be everywhere) ....The sun  rises around 6:00AM and sets at 5:30PM.... lots of day time to explore the narrow streets and see what there is to see.

Sacsayhuaman (AKA Sexy Woman....)

There are several ancient archeological sites within easy walking distance of old town Cusco. A ticket (Boleta Turistico) is required to visit a number of the popular tourist sites in Cusco area. Costs 130 Soles ($40US) and provides single entry to each site, pick it up just off Plaza de Armas. Sacsayhuaman is most probably the largest of the Pre-Inca or possibly Inca structures. It is a short (2 km, 100+ vertical metres), steep walk from the Plaza de Armas. Its surface area will hold several football pitches. They say only 20% of the structures remain after the Spanish dismantled them to build structures in Cusco.

Post Inca engineering structural support

Regardless Sacsayhuaman is still an impressive collection of rocks piled on top of each other with great precision and fit. The largest rock is described in various places as between 70 and 350 tonnes not quite as precise as the way the rocks fit together....

One can also observe that the current engineering practices in the area are not quite up to the same standards as the ancient builders. We saw several creative examples of shoring up falling down structures and embankments that would otherwise have already reached a lower energy state. Temporary delay of collapse at best, most definitely does not meet any code, ancient or otherwise.

A signal by believers to an Alien craft ?

Some folks believe these Inca rock structures were built by Space Aliens and the site was possibly a travel terminal to the stars. More probable that this was the work of an ancient culture similar in skills to the Egyptians, Aztecs, Khmer, Mayan and no doubt a few other ancient peoples that had ample supplies of the basic needs of life and whose leaders felt the need to build monuments to themselves which kept the population occupied erecting the structures. This provided less time for the general population to think about why their leaders were better off than them and kept uprisings to a minimum.

Machete wielder in action

The upkeep of the ruins are a major source of local employment, numerous machete crews were observed beating back the vegetation as well as a gas powered weed wacker and a ride on John Deere mower tractor. 
Apparently the local photo-op herd of Llamas are not able to keep up with the growth.

Sacsayhuaman overlooking Cusco

A bit east of Sacsayhuaman, there is a popular tourist trap monument called Cristo Blanco. This enormous statue of the savior is prominently visible(illuminated at night) and presides majestically over Cusco. Merchants and minstrels gather at the feet to sell wares and sing songs to busloads of visitors.

Christo Blanco

 Another nearby ruin about 1 km east of Christo is called Q'inqu. A lot smaller but not without some cool features. It is just off the main highway, no real good trail to get there, just walk up shoulder of road from Christo Blanco or Sacsayhuaman, or can take any number of guided tours....

Q'inqu

Here there are also the obligatory merchants camped at the gate where the government ticket puncher awaits to inspect your Boleta.

Q'inqu Carved Comfort Station

Some unique rock features are located at Q'inqu with carved seating areas, tunnels and a feature that looked suspiciously like a urinal.

A grove of pleasant trees bounds the area on the west and below is a large platform area with numerous carved rock features (including the urinal) Few people go down there and it was an excellent spot to hang out, lay on the rocks and enjoy the view.

The walk back to town from the ruins takes us down a steep hill, across the highway and onto a trail of steeply descending steps leading to the old town.

Street mural

Lots of shops and hostels and street vendors line the way. One observes a kind of innocence (probably by necessity) in the population. This is a city/metro area of 1.1MM people, young children are out on their own, carefree running and playing without parents hovering over their every move.

Heading home from school alone

Silent "H" is common

Reminds me of Calgary in the early 1960's, kids then could go play with friends unsupervised and I don't recall any serious mishaps occurring. This does not happen in North America
now, parents (including myself when my kids were growing up) drive kids everywhere and spend most of their time taking kids to structured play.... Fear of low probability occurrences has resulted in lost innocence in the modern North America world it seems.

The people of Cusco are generally very friendly, even in the face of gridlock on the main streets. 

Road rage was not apparent (seems to be only a North American thing). Drivers give each other a warning horn beep on blind corners or to indicate to another they are proceeding, seems to work well, saw lots of crazy driving, but it seemed to be anticipated and was corrected for. The hard rules we drive with in North America maybe cause more problems as drivers are less willing to be flexible if they know they are "right". The pedestrian has absolutely no right of way anywhere, even in marked crossings, be prepared to move quickly. This is also maybe a good

Many older model VW's in Cusco

thing, pedestrians are always on guard and automobile traffic is not slowed unnecessarily... maybe we have things to learn from the 3rd world..... Or maybe our North American egos blind us to the fact that we really aren't more advanced than (and maybe are behind) a number of places on the planet that we consider inferior.

Food in Cusco is very plentiful and reasonably priced (except Cuy, the local guinea pig meal was typically twice any other entre on the menu ). Many pizza places, Irish pubs , even a KFC. We had a couple pizzas which were pretty average and a couple unremarkable hotel meals ... no doubt better could have been found in time....

One thing for sure the police presence in old town Cusco was at a high level. A number of different uniforms are seen. Even had a "Tourism Police" force, not sure if they were solely to keep tourists from exploiting the locals or the other way around, had nice vehicles though....seems the Toyota Hilux is vehicle of choice for most police forces and armies in the developing world.

Salkantay Trail Trek

Day 1

We meet at 7:00PM the night prior to the trip for a introductory meeting with the lead guide. Ian is of British descent, 1st generation borne in Peru, educated in England. A very likeable guy who can answer any question, sometimes even with an answer that has relevance to the query....
The group is made up of 12 people, 8 from US (3 couples, a mom/son and 

Ian

an English/Australian newlywed couple, and us Canadians)....What can go wrong? The meeting is mercifully short and we retire anxious to head out on the Andean adventure in the morning.

Ruben

We meet our second Mountain Lodges guide Ruben in the lobby, also a very pleasant gentleman, by 8:15 we have all 12 clients loaded into 2 Vans and are on our way to the trailhead. It's a close to 110 km drive to the trailhead, good paved highway to Mollepata (100 kms), decent dirt/gravel thereafter (10 kms). It will take half the day to get to the trail head.



Dogs are everywhere, wandering the streets, overflowing from dumpsters (along with trash, credit to Erica for pic), One dumpster on outskirts of Cusco had half a dozen dogs dining! A lot like Patagonia, the dogs seem to be communal pets AKA strays.....

Cholotaxi

Many small towns and settlements are passed through enroute, outside of the major centres there are numerous odd covered Trike style cabs or Cholotaxis. Seems a very cost effective mode of transport in this climate. These taxis are elegantly tarted up with fancy canvas depicting super hero's among many other themes. We pass by several well kept modern schools, the students are well groomed and typically dressed in neat uniforms. Peru is very conscious of educating their population....




Quinoa Field

The countryside has many small farms growing potatoes, quinoa among a number of other crops. The recent popularity of quinoa in North American and Europe has been an economic delight for Peruvian and Bolivian farmers, they grow it wherever they can, prices in Peru increased 86% in 2013.Some locals complain that the price is now too high for them to afford. As with most things everybody can't be happy, always winners and losers.



Quinoa Plant

Land reform was imposed in 1968 to breakup large ownerships by colonial families, apparently wasn't as economically successful as hoped, but did serve to eliminate a debt/serfdom that the large land holdings had created.

As recently as July 2013, the Peruvian Supreme Court ruled on what the government would have to pay for the land expropriated. Amazing that lawyers are still generating fees from the aftermath of land reform over 4 decades later. Possible still that appeals will go international and the lawyers will continue to be the big winners.

Tarawasi

 We stop at Tarawasi Inca ruins, opportunity to not be in van and to see more cool piles of rocks...The location is almost tropical with palm trees nearby. It is adjacent to the site of a former large colonial land holding, the adobe block structures that housed the land owners prior to land reform have not withstood the ravages of time as well as the Inca stones....

It's a nice sunny day to start the adventure.
 We stop again at Mollepata for tea/coffee and a visit to a craft shop. The local ladies nervously demonstrate the art of weaving Llama wool,,  giggling throughout.... we have noticed this delightful characteristic of many Peruvians, they giggle and laugh infectiously, pretty happy folks it seems. In a shed we get a glimpse of guinea pigs, the docile little creatures are enjoying a charmed life unaware that they are soon to meet the fate of the 65 million of their kind that are consumed annually in Peru....

Road to Salkantay

From Mollepata it's a short drive (but up steep switchbacks)to the trail head. The start of this version of the Salkantay Trail hike is just a random pull-off on a dusty backroad, presumably picked to provide appropriate amount of hiking/acclimatization  time to arrive at Lodge at desired time(other less fortunate folk start at Molleta and endure an additional 9kms of dusty road bashing and 500m of elevation gain). Our starting elevation is 3350m, so travel is at a slow methodical pace as we get used to the elevation. We are only carrying day packs which helps a lot. The rest of gear carries on by Van to the Lodge.

 We slog 2 kms down the road occasionally being dusted down by passing vehicles. For what it is worth an optimization to the trip would be to drive that 2 kms and keep the dirt out of the client's mouths. As in any of these randomly collected groups some are faster than others, it will take a few days for everyone to figure out that we will get to the destination at the pace of the slowest individual in the group. A number rush ahead only to wait as the rest catch up... makes for long waits by some and unreasonable pressure on the slower ones. The guides need to manage the pace better, it will happen....

Salkantay Valley(upstream)

We eventually turn off the motor vehicle road and climb a steep trail up to an aqueduct / irrigation canal. We then follow the aqueduct with its perfect low angle grade up valley to the lodge. This is a fine trail with great views, a delightful walk where we gain 500m elevation over 8kms in a spectacular mountain setting. Peaks soar to almost 6000m up valley, great to be here, great to be alive.

Salkantay Lodge

We arrive at the very wonderful Salkantay Lodge located at about 3850m with a spectacular view of Nevada Salcantay (6271m). We are greeted by folks with warm towels to wash the trail grit from ourselves. The building holds 24 (12 client rooms) we will spend 2 nights here. The outfitter houses two groups of 12 at once in this lodge, 1 group in the other 3 lodges.Apparently it is full 10 months of the year. Some brave investors are being rewarded.The  rooms are lovely, amazingly a slow speed wifi is available to check hockey scores and field rig calls/texts and otherwise provide opportunity to anti-socially look into our handhelds. A delicious dinner and it's an early evening,

Day 2 

Today is an acclimatization day.
We get the luxury of a late start (8:30), embarrassingly appointed Llamas wander the grounds of the lodge.  Its a short hike up a side valley to Humanay Lake.

A beautiful mountain lake said to be stocked with trout. A steep climb, gaining 350m over 3kms, the guides try to run us hard.

Salkantay Valley (downstream)

Humanay Lake

 We pass cows grazing the grassy slopes. At over 4200m the reduced oxygen is quite apparent. The reward at the lake is to hang around, explore the nearby ridges and enjoy the spectacular setting....

After an hour, and with rain threatening we head back, near the bottom a local dog expresses its displeasure at my presence, seems the dogs do have functionality other than dumpster diving.... I move on quickly back to the lodge for lunch, a total of 4 hours to lake and return. They feed us a big lunch and Ian advises that it will be unlikely that anyone losses weight on this trek.

Nevada Salcantay

We have the afternoon off, some ride horses, others wander around the valley or relax in the hot tub. Elaine and I stroll up to Salkantay Pampa, to have a look at the route forward and enjoy the views of the grande peak. We arrive back at lodge at sunset, the nearly clear view of the face and summit Nevada Salcantay is as good as we will see. Straggling backpackers are still slogging into the nearby tent camp, soon to be enjoying the assistance of the near full moon and headlamps to setup camp.

Shaking the Pisco Sour

Special Pisco pouring technique

The outfitters treated us to a traditional Pisco Sour making demonstration.They use a brandy like Pisco liqour with some 42+% alcohol, mixed with ice, egg white, syrup and lemon juice and finished with some bitters. Client labour was employed to shake vigorously and the professional bartender deftly poured it into a large glass from which most of us had a taste. I can't say that I am a big fan, but then again don't usually drink much other than beer. 
Again we are treated to a large non-weight watcher's dinner and we turn in early in anticipation of an early start on the crux day tomorrow.

Salkantay Pampa

Day 3 

Today dawns to cloudy skies, possibly threatening rain... (or will it be snow?) Breakfast starts at 6:00AM (watch out for the boiled eggs, the concept of cooking them hard was lost on these folks)
We are on the trail by 7:00AM.

Ian leading the march

This is billed as the crux day, we will reach an elevation of 4630m at Salkantay Pass and ascend/descend 750m to the next lodge. It's a slow methodical continuous 7 km ascent to the pass. Sandy from Evergreen, mentions the wise Swahili saying "Poli Poli", (slow/steady) we practice this and the metres fly by underfoot. We pass Salkantay Pampa and soon reach the plateau at Soyrococha, the pass is near.

Salkantay Pass

A short stop for a drink, a snack and a couple more layers and we tackle the final kilometer to the summit. Intermediate rain/sleet provides a distraction from the one foot in front of other march. Soon the trail lays back and we reach the summit of the trek. We do have a few snow flakes at the pass, but no snow on the ground. Small blessings. Big smiles are trotted out for summit pictures, coca leaves are scarified as an offering to the mountain gods and we head downward toward our lunch stop.

Welcome Lunch Shelter

The lunch stop is at a flat spot on the side of a mountain and the porters have erected a couple tents. The cooks have heated up soup and prepared other delicious items. The tents are very welcome as the rain is now falling hard. We rehydrate and fill our faces, hoping the rain will stop before we have to slog the last 3 kms down to the next lodge. As usual in the mountains, you wait a minute and the weather changes.

Wyra Lodge

The rain pretty much stops and we enjoy a relatively dry last hour down to camp at Wyra lodge. This lodge is smaller than the last

Wyra Spring Rock

 one, is located in a beautiful high meadow setting with a fascinating rock nearby from which water flows from a spring out of the side of the rock, well above ground level. Again the food was great, we tried the hot tub and thoroughly enjoyed the soak. A great spot to recover from a hard day.

 Day 4

Adolfo

By far the easiest day of the trek, 9 kms downhill to camp. Weather is good to start and continues to be for rest of day. Ruben moved from tailgunner/sweeper to front and centre to lead us down into the cloud forest. He regaled us with discussions of orchids ( I think we saw at least 8 different ones), tree spiders and other tales of Peruvian vegetation and folklore. He is an excellent guide. I should also mention Adolfo, he is our horse/mule wrangler that accompanies us each day, leading the animals carrying day supplies such as water, first aid and spare gear. Without these great support guys we would have to carry our own stuff.... or more probably not be here....




We  stop for a snack and bio break at a local farm where an NGO has built a Bano that is rented out by the owner for $1 Sole/ use.... Good value at $0.40 Cdn. There are chickens, dogs and pigs looking for handouts providing entertainment. We are soon off down valley, a few more orchids and we reach the Colpa lodge.

Colpa Lodge sitting area

For 3 days the guides have foreshadowed the possibility of a unique Peruvian feast for lunch at this venue. The now expected wet towels arrive and after dropping the gear the staff prepare vegetables and meat in a outdoor rock oven covered with soil.... mmmm.... delicious things to come.

It is a veritable feast, beef, chicken, fish, lamb.... oh and Cuy (aka guinea pig), local potatoes, corn, carrots, plantains, yams.... Its only about 1:00PM and we sit down for a 3000 calorie meal.

Hot Rocks Oven

The Cuy is the wild card here, will we all have a taste? (well, really didn't expect the vegetarians to sample) Not all partake, but a number of us do, I find it to be very delicious, certainly the best carne at this table.

Cuy ready to carve

It tastes like, well, like guinea pig I guess.... maybe a bit like duck? some
say rabbit. I have seconds and thirds.....
No wonder 65MM of the creatures are
consumed each year in this country!
The rest of the day is spent digesting the feast,
relaxing and dreaming of what other rodents may
taste like....


Day 5

Hot Spring Folly?

Again the day starts off good, sun shining as we head off into the cloud forest for another downhill day. We follow the Santa Teresa River for 16 km to a small town and catch a bus for 6 kms then a 1 km walk to the next lodge.
The trail is good, we soon reach the site of a partially constructed dreamed of hot springs pool. Not sure if this is a classic development that the British would call a folly or if someday it may actually be operational and folks will frolic in the healing waters.... who knows.... More orchids, to observe (apparently there are some 3000 species in Peru) unlikely we will see them all. There are rickety bridges and trail  wash outs to deal with that make some folks nervous.... fun times.....

We arrive at a our lunch spot, a local farm that rents us a covered area to enjoy another delicious lunch.They sell beer and other beverages, also have the $1 sole/use NGO constructed bano for your  biological pleasure/relief. Again, numerous animals roamed around, roosters, dogs, horses, even a cat. Not a lot of cats in Peru compared to dogs. I wonder if there is a connection?

There a several young children running around, they seem oblivious to the procession of hikers passing by. One of the local children however had injured a finger the previous day on a cable car crossing.It was a nasty wound and required stitches at clinic in town, still issues apparently.The Doctors in our group had a look, but none of us had suitable antibiotics, prognosis was to send child back to town for further treatment. The main road runs on other side of the valley accessible by a number of cable cars. We saw several groups crossing, dogs, kids, all kind of gear, you name it. A necessary link for these isolated settlements.
The rains started pouring down, we were very happy to dine under cover. Another fine lunch was served.... Today the rain chooses not to stop after lunch.
The rain jackets were necessary for the remainder of the day. Well for us anyway, the local kids splashed in the puddles not too concerned about getting a bit wet. Again the children seem largely care free, wandering around unsupervised, mischievous unsoiled innocence...... wonderful.



Well hung bunny, burned out carriage, symbolic?

We reach the small town, where the trail becomes a road, ducks, pigs, chickens, dogs and a few people wander the streets. A decent school is there and the main street was dug up for a sewer installation supported interestingly enough by CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency), our tax dollars hopefully providing value....

Main Street

We catch a van for a 6 km ride downstream where the trail to tonight's lodge begins, nobody is disappointed that we can avoid the road bashing. Given the rain we also decide to forgo the side trip to organic coffee plantation/roosting house, we will see coffee plants tomorrow and have a chance to purchase the beans at the lodge in morning. It's a short walk maybe 30 minutes uphill to Lucma Lodge, this will be the final Mountain Lodges of Peru accommodation. Another wonderful place to spend the night. Great food, good beds, excellent showers.... even cell service. There was no wifi at this lodge though, Zack and I were hanging around in the common area and came to the realization we had to socialize as we couldn't look into our phones and surf the web..... Later Elaine and I  learned a great version of travel scrabble from the Doctors from Ann Arbour and guys from Chicago.... amazing what can happen without the web....

Day 6

Our last day of trekking has arrived. Today starts with a 5 km, 600m uphill slog via a perfectly graded, recently restored, Inca trail. At the top we will get a first glimpse of Machu Picchu. Again we have a 7:00AM start, its a long day as combined with the uphill we have a nasty 7 km, 1000m descent in afternoon. Best to get an early start to avoid a hot day climbing. The weather has cleared and we enjoy sunny skies. We are excited to see Machu Picchu.





Machu Picchu with zoom

Machu Picchu from across valley

Brian & Elaine eclipse Machu Picchu

The climb goes well, we pass a bored looking guy selling water about half way, and are up to the ridge in a couple hours, we see Machu Piccu in distance. In relation to the surrounding peaks it is somewhat unremarkable.



At an elevation of 2400+m at Machu Picchu and 2700+m for Huayna Picchu they are almost lost in a range with 5000 - 6000m peaks. However the steep walls drop 500m on 3 sides to the river valley below. This provided protection from attack for Machu Piccu residents. Many pictures are taken, we descend to more Inca ruins at Llactapata for a short break and then onto lunch.

Did I mention the food has been good? Still is, we enjoy another fine meal prior to heading down a not so well graded not an Inca trail.


The descent is as billed, very steep (absolutely need hiking poles here). Loose rocks, slippery ground, much care is required. We pass by small plots of coffee plants that cling to the steep hillsides. A tough place to make a living....



In a couple hours, with no major injuries we arrive at the river and head into the Central Hidroeletrica town to meet our train. Fortunately, canny entrepreneurs have set up shops in the town and beer is available to quench our thirst while we wait on our train. We say goodbye to Ruben at this point, he has been an excellent guide and fun to spend time with.





The lucky ones could sleep

A pretty decent train takes us on a short ride for the last 10 kms to Agua Calientes. We are put up at the very fancy Inkaterra Pueblo hotel. We have a brief introductory meeting with our guide Wagnar who will regale with facts on our tour of Machu Picchu tomorrow. That done we have another awesome beef dinner; the quinoa with caramel sauce desert had to be ordered, but shouldn't have been. Can make a lot of stuff from quinoa but a caramel dessert is not one of them.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu 1911

The main reason any of us have travelled great distances to get to this remote location in the Peruvian Andes is Machu Picchu. We are now close to culmination of our journey. Fabled Machu Picchu, lost city of the Incas. We have heard that the crowds are big, and that the light at sunrise is best to get great photos. Four of us (Dave, Mark, Elaine and I) decide that if we travelled this far, getting up early one more day is not a big deal. The others elect to sleep late and get to bus by 6:00. We arrange for bag breakfasts and lunches and plan to get to the bus loading area prior to the 5:30 AM first bus. We are up at 4:00AM, nasty cold coffee at 5:00 in dining room and at bus loading platform before 5:15. Some 400 people have apparently gotten up earlier than us....Who knew? We find the end of line and enjoy the bag breakfast. At 5:30 sharp the first bus loads, it goes fast, we are onboard and heading up by 5:45. Its a crazy 8 km switchback road that takes the fresh tourist meat up the mountain side to the gates of Machu Picchu. It's apparently only 5 kms if you walk....

Bus travel to Machu Picchu is pretty much on a one lane road where the drivers somehow avoid accidents. There are reported to be over 20 buses traveling back and forth on the access road at any given time. Reversing is common when two buses meet in a tight spot. Given the speed that they changed into reverse, I expect the transmission maintenance guys are fairy busy. A gondola or a tram railway would be a very reasonable replacement to the buses.

Machu Picchu 2014

We get to the top bus terminal by 6:15. There is a gate where your passport is reviewed and tickets taken. No food is allowed past this point and there are no bano's either. All human feeding and waste disposal must be done outside the gate. We head to the Guardhouse as it is purported to be the best place for photos in the early morning light. We meet up with a German couple also heading there, none of us are sure where it is so we all miss the turn off and end up overshooting, eventually we locate the guardhouse, and take obligatory pictures. The sky is overcast, there is no sunrise per-se. The light is pretty good and we are treated to great views of Machu Picchu.



Guardhouse

In retrospect I think the view was actually better from a bit higher up on way to Inca Bridge, better scale as there is an intervening descending staircase and light at 8:00AM was softer than at 6:50. No doubt every day is different. The rest of the group is supposed to be at the gate by 6:30. Based on the bus queues observed in town, I add 30 minutes to that estimate and as we arrive back at the main gate the rest of our group is just entering the site. Timing is everything....

Sun Temple

Our tour of lower Machu Picchu with the city guide Wagnar is planned to be 1-1.5 hours. Wagnar trots us efficiently through the sites. He regales us with stories at the Sun temple, the Condor temple and what he called the Shirley McLaine temple.




Shirly McLaine Temple

Condor Temple

Apparently Shirley was there and was convinced space aliens had built or designed the city..... The locals were offended, forced the makers of a movie being filmed there about Shirley to revise the script. Wagnar entertained with stories of the Inca Astrological prowess including a calendar that apparently only needs adjustment every 11000 years. (Our calendar needs adjustment every 4 years).

The Inca seem to have been a very clever bunch. Who knows what these structures were constructed for, temples? root cellars? a remote prison? Or maybe just a clever trick on future archeologists by mischievous ancient folk with time on there hands . No doubt many PHDs have been earned and more are waiting to be awarded based on speculating what these piles of rocks were assembled for. Wagnar's presentation is thoughtful, witty, reasonably informative and is mercifully brief.
 

Inca Bridge and Newlywed PDA

We are on our own for a final walk with Ian by 8:00AM and off to see the Inca bridge. This bridge is cool in that it spanned a chasm and could be retracted if need be. Presumably to keep undesirables out of town. The trail over to it is along a somewhat sheer cliff, a fact that was on the minds of a number of vertigo challenged hikers. The visit to the bridge over, we say goodbye to Ian, a very competent walking guide and all around pleasant fellow, and the formal tour is also done.



Dave on Huayna Picchu

We have a few hours to wander aimlessly. Dave and I chose to tackle Huayna Picchu, Elaine and Mark the Sun Gate. The crux of Huayna Picchu is the ticket taker's window, it takes 20 minutes to get through the line. As time is short for Dave to return to catch a train we move quickly, passing numerous parties with more time than us, careful to not bowl them over, but probably not careful enough to avoid offending a few.




Gripped descent

Outside Magazine has this hike rated as one of 20 most dangerous hikes in the world, a gross overstatement, however their comment that descending was potentially paralyzing was borne out by some of the folks we passed on way down. Anyway, it is a very phenomenal view from the top, a great view of Machu Picchu and we are also treated to a birds-eye view of an engineering marvel, the bus access road.

3 Windows then

3 Windows now

We are up and down in less than 1:15. A moment is taken to look at the famous 3 windows, crowds of tourists are thick as flies on a turd, we struggle through the mass of humanity and meet Elaine Mark at the gate by noon.


We catch a bus back to Agua Calientes. Interesting that once again, at noon, the bus lines are long, this time to leave Machu Picchu. The train schedules force most to return just after noon, to be out of town on train between 2:00 and 4:00. One couple in our group went up after 3PM and said the place was largely empty, mostly local school children....and that the light for photographs was excellent..... could be that sleeping in and heading up afternoon is a better plan?

Machu Picchu is a phenomenal marketing success. Almost 1.2 MM people visited in 2013(3325/day average), double the number a decade ago. Over 5000/day is estimated for peak season, that in spite of the agreed maximum of 2500/day determined by Unesco and Peruvian government. Cash flow is always important. The crowds detract some, and apparently are thought to be causing some damage, although that is of some doubt as the site obviously has been repaired/rebuilt substantially since Hiram's time, more likely the wear and tear just create jobs.. Presumably Machu Picchu has maintenance staff similar to Mesa Verde in Colorado where the US parks department employs stone masons to ensure the proper 13th century experience is had. Recently, new restrictions have been proposed, but these proposed regulations don't seem to be considering limiting the number of visitors, more trying to keep in smaller groups and herd them though the most desirable areas faster. You can check out the proposed regulations at link below.This is a  big business, almost 9% of Peru GDP ($20B) was generated by tourism in 2013. No doubt Machu Picchu is responsible for a large portion of that value, directly or indirectly. Can't fault Peru for maximizing profit from eager customers have to strike while the commodity is hot. Who knows they may vote again on the Seven Wonders and it may all be mines, churches or airports next time. Hiram Bingham would be proud, and at a minimum, the Peru guides we travelled with do have much respect for him and his efforts in making this all happen.

http://www.peruviantimes.com/12/drastic-new-rules-coming-very-soon-for-visitors-to-machu-picchu/21727/

Chernobyl 1996

So why as humans do we love to see ruins or artifacts of past civilizations? Of the seven wonders of the new world, 5 are walls, buildings or pyramids from ancient times... And the only modern wonder is a statue of Christ? go figure.... Seems that as a species, many of us suffer ruinophilia (fascination with decaying structures). Why is that? what makes us long to see remnants of prior civilization in disuse, disrepair and collapse? Are the ruins of past civilization a window for us into the future, when our cities and buildings will have met a similar fate? I really have no idea what draws us to want to look at this stuff.... advertising, social pressure, ticking off boxes on a list?.... truly a mystery....




Kyiv 2014

Detroit 2010

It would seem that a good ruins based travel business might be created by providing guided tours of Chernobyl, recently destroyed Kyiv or even Detroit. Lots of very interesting stuff to see there as chronicled in the links below. A new business waiting to be started. I could be the first to sign up....

http://io9.com/5368466/the-ruins-of-chernobyl-over-20-years-later/

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2011/jan/02/photography-detroit#/?picture=370173054&index=0

Hotel grounds a delight

We stay an extra day in the area, but just hang around at the hotel in Agua Calientes. I acknowledge that it is unnecessary to stay 2 days here, yes Doug, I should have listened. Six hours is lots of time to take in Machu Picchu.



Che is still an Icon

The train ride to Ollantaytambo is uneventful, as is the van ride back to Cusco. We catch up with Dave and Mark for dinner at a funky Israeli place in Cusco (Allenby, not Applebees) inexpensive but decent food, in particular the smoothie. A pleasant end of day.



Guns are very real

Awesome, Stampede needs 'em

The next day is our last in Peru. We wander the streets of old town Cusco killing time prior to our flight, a bit of shopping and whoa, a parade breaks out. People in costume, military groups, university classes, labour, left wing political groups, line dancers.... its amazing....? and no apparent special occasion (its Sunday, and it seems they don't cancel parades on Sunday in Cusco, like most other cities do, I think I read that in Catch 22 some 4 decades ago...) nobody would say why this parade was happening, maybe it happens every Sunday morning for a couple hours?


Order of the Condor?

Solving world problems

Was fun to see the cool costumes and folks having fun... set the stage for sitting in the main square for an hour watching the passersby and being accosted by all kind of merchants to buy their wares. Hardened me up for another hideous 23 hour flight door to door Cusco, Lima, Dallas, Calgary. I find this harder every time... It will be awhile before it happens again.....

Salkantay Pass first class hiking

 


Final analysis, Cusco is a pleasant city for a short visit; hiking the Salkantay trail with Mountain Lodges of Peru is a first class walking adventure that we shared with excellent guides and 10 other fine travel companions, this trip is highly recommended. Machu Picchu itself is a beautiful mountain top location where ancients saw the same and made a home. Today it's a tourist trap where people aimlessly try to find some meaning to their existence where likely none exists. Worth seeing if you happen to be passing by, but really not worth a long journey. Air travel is less and less fun as I get older.