Machu Picchu
Travelling trio taking the obligatory scenic "I was there" shot
There's not much that can be said about Machu Picchu that hasn't been said before.
It is incredible and unlike anything else I have ever seen - an Incan outpost / temple / imperial hideaway teetered on a small bit of land, untouched by colonialists and perched hundreds of metres above the Urubamba river.
What makes it so special is that it seems so intact compared with other Inca ruins and benefits from the breath-taking natural backdrop behind and all around it - dense, lush cloud forests in every direction. Not even the huge number of tourists who descent on the site can spoil the atmosphere here, which once the tour groups have died down takes on the feeling of a sunny Sunday afternoon in the park. We even found a nice little bit of grass to sit and take in the atmosphere, with llamas munching grass around us. All we were missing were a copy of the Sunday papers!
Professional baby llama posing for the cameras
It is the polar opposite from the town of Aguas Calientes which sits in the valley below. This is a town that has nothing going for it apart from the train station, a string of over-priced tourist shops, bars and restaurants and its location to one of the most beautiful places on earth. I think I've said all that Aguas Calientes deserves. It's horrible. A concrete jumble of breeze blocks and cement thrown together haphazardly.
However, it proved a good place to stock up on a good breakfast, having taken the early morning train from a beautiful Incan town called Ollantaytambo, further along the valley towards Cusco.
We were lucky with the weather - it was sunny but with enough fluffy clouds to make a dramatic photograph (or ten). By about 4pm the storm clouds were beginning to advance over the site. It began to rain literally as we were walking out of the entrance gates, but not before having a good hour, just us and the few others who didn't mind the thought of getting wet.
It was difficult to leave - every minute you want to take another photo to try and capture it - in good weather and bad, from different angles, etc. I managed to rattle out over 200 pictures in just a couple of hours. It's a budding photographer's paradise. The problem will be choosing which one to use!
The walk to the ancient Inca drawbridge was quite an experience. It's only a 15 minute walk but it takes you along a mountain path that is the walking equivalent of the death road near La Paz. At one point there are ropes to hold on to as you hug the side of the mountain, drawing up the courage to peer over the precarious edge - in some places 600 metres straight down. The drawbridge itself is so narrow and isolated, that it's a wonder that any attacker would have ever have dared to venture across it in the first place.
There's no doubt that Machu Picchu is one of the jewels in South America's crown, if not the world's.
Pisac
Inca agricultural terraces surrounding the citadel at Pisac
Pisac was not on the same scale as Machu Picchu. It can't compete with Machu Picchu, which is unfair, because for any other country it could well be the main attraction. Although it covers a fairly large area, it's a mini-Machu Picchu.
We came here two days before and were pleased that we set aside a whole day (rather than pile onto a package tour taking in Pisac, Ollantaytambo and a few other sites in just a day). We took our time. We got up late, and made our own way there by taxi, driving through deep lush valleys before getting to the colonial town of Pisac.
The town is a smaller version of Cusco - a mini Plaza de Armas in the centre surrounded by mini colonial houses with mini colourful balconies and the Inca citadel perched up on the hill. There were also the usual "Alpaca" scarves and jumpers along with Andean rugs, hats, etc. on sale from the stalls in the centre.
Getting to the ruins up the hill above the town meant a short taxi ride, more death-defying mountain trails hugging the side of the slope, walking through a small cave, descending ancient steps and all with the distant soundtrack of panpipes in the background (there was a Peruvian guy playing pretty much the whole way round).
So we had beautiful views, ruins and precarious mountain paths. But there was one thing that Pisac lacked...tourists! There was no one there. Apparently Fridays are good days to go because the big tour groups don't go that day. So we had the place pretty much to ourself, apart from the panpiper, some American students and a lady carrying her two-year old daughter round.
Ollantaytambo
A good choice to stay before visiting Machu Picchu, especially having seen Aguas Calientes. We had a great hostel, cheap and clean, overlooked by towering mountains, Inca terraces and yet more stunning ruins of houses and temples. It's surprising that more people don't stay here and then get the train early the next morning rather than heading all the way to Aguas Calientes and facing the high prices and concrete.
Around Cusco
Cusco wasn't all colonial architecture and churches. We had decided, since we had stayed in Cusco for so long and seen relatively little, that a tourist bus to the nearby Inca sites of Sacsayhuaman (otherwise known as "sexy woman" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacsayhuam%C3%A1n) and a few others would be a good way of cramming in a few sights. However, most of them been destroyed and pillaged by the colonialists and used to build the colonial houses in the town. So there wasn't a great deal to see. It's also frustrating being herded on and off a bus.
However, it was a good introduction to the Incas and their civilisation before seeing the piece de resistance - Machu Picchu.
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