ranger60

I am due to leave in 9 days [10/24] for Peru. I am traveling with OAT and will be visiting Machu Picchu via train, maybe. I am waiting to hear back from OAT as to whether or not the train will be operating by then. I have read that the mud slides are common. Does anyone know if it is feasable to have the train running again in 10 - 14 days.
It's hard to believe that so little information is available about this.
Fortunately, according to CNN, nobody was injured. I can't see any reason to go to Peru If we will not be able to visit Machu Picchu.

Frances

I was in Macchu Picchu last Sunday the 9th October. We travelled both directions from Cusco by train. When was this landslip.? I didn't leave Cusco until 11th october and heard nothing about it?

Jeff_Costa_Rica

This happened Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Here's the CNN report:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americ....ap/index.html

I know it would be a huge disappointment to go to Peru and not get to see it, but Peru is so much more than MP. I'd think OAT would provide alternatives if, worse comes to worse, they'd have to cancel that segment of the trip.

Jed

Indeed, Peru has a lot to see besides MP.

But if the train to MP was blocked, I personally would go another time.

When we were coming back from MP to Cusco, the lines were blocked by a rockslide. Fortunately, the site was a short distance from Cusco, and a bus picked us up.

jwox

Hello

We just got back from Peru this evening and I can tell you what I know about the mudslides. A lady on our rafting tour this past Tuesday told us that the day prior she had returned from MP and she was affected by the mudslides the day prior. She said that they trained as far as they could and then they were bussed the rest of the way. She say it cut the day short, but they arrived in plenty of time to have the tour and explore on her own. We visited Machu Picchu this past Wednesday, stayed over until Thursday and caught the 8:35am train to Ollaytaytambo and took a taxi back to Cusco. We heard that there were more mudslides on Thursday and the train leaving Aguas Calliented at 3:30pm was quite delayed, but they did make it back to Cusco eventually. It seems as though the authorities know how to clear the tracks quickly and have back up options if they cannot. I would not miss Machu Picchu. We loved everything about Peru, but Machu Picchu was the highlight of the trip. Let me know if you have any more questions.

secotine

I was on the MP train on Tuesday 10/18 no problem getting to MP and back Cusco. However, I heard there was another rock slide on Wednesday and folks had to get off to catch the bus. The traffic was horrific and most did not get back to Cusco until late night or had to stay in AC overnite. There was another one earlier over the weekend of 10/15-16.

jman_75_99

Hi,

You probably have left already. We were on a 2 week trip to Peru when the mudslide happened. We only had like 4 days in Cusco and Macchu Picchu and we were desperate to see it, so when we heard about the mudslide we were devastated.

Eager to go, we arranged with a travel agency to go the 'back way' since the train wasn't running. The only problem was they completely lied to us about what we in store for.

It required an 8 hour van trip around to Santa Teresa, then we were told another van would pick us up - take us to the hydro electric power station, where we could catch the train. It was a scam - the van took us to Sta. Teresa- crazy dirt paths through the valley. The worst part was the van broke down 2 times. There was no taxi to meet us in Sta. Teresa and we realized we had been had. Because of the van problem and no place to stay in Sta. Teresa we decided to hike to Aguas Calientes. This took 6 hours in the dark. We did make it only to find out we had been duped again - our travel agency only paid for 1 night in the hotel - not 2 like they promised. The ruins are very impressive and I guess in the end it was worth it. What an adventure. Going back to Cusco was a major problem with all of the tourists stranded there. We did make it out and were able to catch our connecting flight - but the place was chaos. The trains are running now, but there were problems because many tourists had tickets and there weren't enough seats. I would think that the tickets will be honored when you travel.

Frances

jman I'm so sorry to hear of your experience but absolutely top marks for determination!
I think others would find it helpful if you post the name of the dishonourable travel company.

lbt

My husband, my sister and brother in law, and I arrived in Cuzco from NJ on 10/14 only to find that the snow/mudslide from Mt. Veronica had ocurred earlier that morning. Trains to Aguas Caliente (the train station for Machu Picchu) were cancelled for that day. Fortunately our tickets were for the next day, 10/14. After much perseverance, we made it on the 7:00 a.m. train to AC on 10/14 as planned. Our tickets were on the Vistadome II - a nice train. The plan, as explained to us, was that we would go 3/4 of the way to Aguas Caliente, to the village of Chilca. There, we were to be taken by bus to the train staiton on the other side of the mudslide, where we would board another train to Aguas Caliente. (this other train happened to be an old train, no Vistadome, but the only train in Aguas Caliente at the time of the mudslide. It brought people from Aguas Caliente to Chilca and from Chilca to Aguas Caliente. As I learned, one round trip for this train took 3 hours) However, what actually happened was that once we arrived at Chilca there was total madness, chaos and mayhem! There was no one in charge and no one to direct the hundreds and hundreds of people there: Hundreds arriving to Chilca from AC to take the bus back to the train to Cuzco and hundreds more, like us, trying to get on that same train to AC. Needless to say, it was a mad rush to get on the train at Chilca. It had started to rain. We ran in the rain with suitcases in hand and finally made it on the train. People were packed like sardines, much worse than a subway during rush hour. We stood just outside the wagon for over an hour with no place to even move our legs. But we made it! Finally we arrived at Aguas Caliente at about 3:00 p.m. instead of the usual 11:00 a.m. The El Publo Hotel was wonderful and we visited the ruins twice, once that afternoon and again the next day. Machu Picchu was absoutely beautiful!! We had two days of glorious sunshine and perfect visibility. It was well worth the trouble getting there. However, our return was truly a nightmare. We arrived at the Aguas Caliente train station at 2:30 p.m. We had tickets for the 5:30 p.m. train. There were hundreds and hundreds of people at the train station waiting for the old train. Many of these were people who had not been able to get on the train the day before and, by now, were desperate. Many had connections for other tours or tickets to return home. So it was really 2 days worth of travellers competing for one old train. No one was not allowed to enter the train station. We were kept outside the gate like animals. No explanations were given by the station authorities. Everything was in chaos. There was no procedure. There was no adequate crowd control measures. The mob got so angry that suddenly there was a stampede towards the main gate. I was pushed and squeezed by the mob and I really thought that I'd be trampled. Fortunately, the station manager came to my rescue and let me inside. Then they allowed my husband in. We still had to figure out a way to get my sister and brother in law to the "inside". After much begging, they finally let them in, we then got our tickets validated with an actual seat number and by 7:45 p.m., after more than 5 hours at the station, were on the train to Chilca, to then get a bus to the other train to Cuzco. Again, the old train was packed with people standing over us. We had paid over $400 for the four tickets and certainly did not get the service we paid for. We finally got back to Cuzco at about midnight. But all in all, we would do it again, MP was well worth it!