Inca-redible!

We spent half a day on a bus to get to the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca and the following day journeyed on to Cusco, which meant another full day on a bus. The views were lovely along the way, which helped somewhat with the long journey. We then spent a night in Cusco before getting up bright, early and excited to make our way to Machu Picchu.

As we visited in the rainy season, we weren't able to book the hike along the Inca trail, but the train journey alone was an experience in itself. We started with a 2 hour bus journey to the train station, and then boarded the unique train that had massive windows stretching up to the roof to give us a good view of our surroundings. We were given a snack and drinks on the train and announcements were made throughout the 1.5hr journey informing us of what we were passing along the way.

We decided to spend one night in Aguas Calientes so that we could get up to Machu Picchu early in the morning before the day visitor crowds arrived. Aguas Calientes (also known as Machu Picchu pueblo) is a very tourist focused town and has an abundance of souvenir shops, restaurants and bars amongst the many hotels and hostels.

We woke up the next morning to rain, but we braved the weather and caught an early bus up to Machu Picchu. Luckily the rain stopped for the 5 hours we were there, so we had an enjoyable experience. We had read reviews advising us to get a guide from outside the entrance, and we managed to negotiate a private tour for 2 hours with an official Machu Picchu guide that spoke good English. We walked through the gates, up a number of steps and then we saw it, the amazing ruins that are Machu Picchu. It was more breathtaking in real life than what we have seen in pictures.

We then walked up and down the ruins for 2.5hrs as our guide explained to us the history of the ruins and the meanings of the Incan structures and beliefs. We also got a chance to see the resident llamas hard at work cutting the grass around the ruins. Once our tour ended, there was still a large part of the ruins we could explore on our own and we covered as much as we could in the 5 hours we were there.

We then headed back to Aguas Calientes to pick up our bag and catch the train back to Ollantaytambo, where we boarded the bus for the 2 hour trip back to Cusco. The train ride was even more special on the return journey as we were treated to stories of Incan folklore and a fashion show of alpaca clothing that the train company was trying to sell.

We got back to Cusco just in time to have dinner at a nice little restaurant called Jack's Cafe. The next morning we explored Cusco for a bit and then made our way to the airport to catch a flight to Lima.