We had only two hours to explore the Archeological Park as it was closing at 5pm. With the guide, we managed to cover a lot more even though we were not allowed to cross circuit 2 path to other paths.
We were coming back for the Circuit 1 with Inka Bridge hike the next day. The guide gave us some pointers and told us that no guide was needed for the expedition.
We took the tourist shuttle bus back to the town and had dinner before going back to the hotel.
We were coming back for the Circuit 1 with Inka Bridge hike the next day. The guide gave us some pointers and told us that no guide was needed for the expedition.
We took the tourist shuttle bus back to the town and had dinner before going back to the hotel.
Wow! Those photos of Machu Picchu are STUNNING!!! I see what you mean by the location adding so much more to the sight, surrounded by the mountains and all the greenery. Just spectacular!
Nelson and Cherthor, I appreciate your cautionary advice about altitude sickness. I might have mentioned that I experienced some slight altitude sickness while in Lijiang, China in 2017, and we really weren't that high up. That's why I'm uncertain about going to MP. It sounds like travelers should make sure they have lots of time to acclimatize properly. As Nelson says, the risk is greater for people who are short on time. I have a sister-in-law who experienced very bad altitude sickness when at MP. She is an MD, so she certainly knows what to do. She was with her 2 sisters; maybe they didn't acclimatize long enough, although she was the only one who suffered so much. In fact, she wanted to stay behind in the hotel while her sisters went to MP, but they were afraid to leave her alone. So I think she did go with her sisters to MP. I don't remember all the details.
I do have some heart issues, too. I've had open heart surgery. I will have to discuss this with my cardiologist if we ever decide to visit MP. I think first on our agenda for South America is Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.
Nelson and Cherthor, I appreciate your cautionary advice about altitude sickness. I might have mentioned that I experienced some slight altitude sickness while in Lijiang, China in 2017, and we really weren't that high up. That's why I'm uncertain about going to MP. It sounds like travelers should make sure they have lots of time to acclimatize properly. As Nelson says, the risk is greater for people who are short on time. I have a sister-in-law who experienced very bad altitude sickness when at MP. She is an MD, so she certainly knows what to do. She was with her 2 sisters; maybe they didn't acclimatize long enough, although she was the only one who suffered so much. In fact, she wanted to stay behind in the hotel while her sisters went to MP, but they were afraid to leave her alone. So I think she did go with her sisters to MP. I don't remember all the details.
I do have some heart issues, too. I've had open heart surgery. I will have to discuss this with my cardiologist if we ever decide to visit MP. I think first on our agenda for South America is Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.
Day 17– Circuit 1 with Inka Bridge at Machu Picchu, known as the "Panoramic Route" or Classic Route, focuses on high-altitude, iconic views of the citadel.
We woke up early again for our final day visit to Machu Picchu. We had a beautiful day and the sun was out. With the experience from yesterday, we easily found our path to the Inka Bridge Trail. We were even at a higher level platform than yesterday, our views of the Machu Picchu Archaeological Park was amazing.
There were clear markers to direct us to the trail head. We had a beautiful day and we were the only people on the trail. We enjoyed the peaceful walk to the narrow path leading to the hidden, ancient defensive bridge carved into the cliff face. We returned the same path down to the citadel. As we were going down, people started walking up.
Inka Bridge
Inka Bridge carved on a sheer cliff wall
Beautiful and magnificent!
We were seeing and enjoying the different mood of Machu Picchu, and taking more time to rest and appreciate this beautiful Archaeological Park. Our Train back to Ollantaytambo was at 1:37pm. We had a lot of time to enjoy the park before taking the 11am bus back to town for our lunch before heading off to the train station.
Model shuttle bus display
Shuttle buses to MP
Aguas Calientes
Crossed the Bridge and said goodbye to MP
One final look at the town
Through the tourist market
Arrived at the train station
We had booked a night at El Albergue Ollantaytambo by the train station before heading back to Cusco the next day. We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, and it was excellent. I also like the colonial style buildings in the hotel. It has beautiful courtyards and gardens in its premises. Beware that it is by the train station, so it might be noisy with the trains. Our room was in the inner courtyard and was not disturbed by the train traffics.
We woke up early again for our final day visit to Machu Picchu. We had a beautiful day and the sun was out. With the experience from yesterday, we easily found our path to the Inka Bridge Trail. We were even at a higher level platform than yesterday, our views of the Machu Picchu Archaeological Park was amazing.
There were clear markers to direct us to the trail head. We had a beautiful day and we were the only people on the trail. We enjoyed the peaceful walk to the narrow path leading to the hidden, ancient defensive bridge carved into the cliff face. We returned the same path down to the citadel. As we were going down, people started walking up.
Inka Bridge
Inka Bridge carved on a sheer cliff wall
Beautiful and magnificent!
We were seeing and enjoying the different mood of Machu Picchu, and taking more time to rest and appreciate this beautiful Archaeological Park. Our Train back to Ollantaytambo was at 1:37pm. We had a lot of time to enjoy the park before taking the 11am bus back to town for our lunch before heading off to the train station.
Model shuttle bus display
Shuttle buses to MP
Aguas Calientes
Crossed the Bridge and said goodbye to MP
One final look at the town
Through the tourist market
Arrived at the train station
We had booked a night at El Albergue Ollantaytambo by the train station before heading back to Cusco the next day. We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, and it was excellent. I also like the colonial style buildings in the hotel. It has beautiful courtyards and gardens in its premises. Beware that it is by the train station, so it might be noisy with the trains. Our room was in the inner courtyard and was not disturbed by the train traffics.
Cherthor, I admire you for walking on the Inca Bridge Trail. There is no way I could do that. Your photos are amazing, but that trail on the cliffside with no walls or railings is terrifying to me. Kudos to you for being so brave. Both my husband and I do not have good balance; both of us have been known to trip, stumble, fall and break bones. I have visions of one of us falling off that trail.
I do have a fear of heights if I don't have a lot of protection around me. How long did it take you to hike that trail?
I do have a fear of heights if I don't have a lot of protection around me. How long did it take you to hike that trail?I second what KarenWoo said about that impressive and scary looking trail. Great photos that really capture it!
When I posted my earlier comment I had not seen any of your Machu Picchu, shots, looks like you posted a few minutes later above me. They are simply fabulous.
I looked at some maps to understand the circuits, in case we ever return. Circuit 1 seemed the right choice since you had seen the heart of the city the day before. It looks like you hiked up towards the Sun Gate (Inti Punku), but then took a turn to the right before arriving at the gate. Is that correct?
On our trip we came down through the Sun Gate after spending a memorable night at Winay Wayna. The trail at that point also hugged the cliff, like your photos show, and one spot was just some wet logs suspended across a gap. Crazy memories!
Thanks again for posting, really enjoyed your report.
When I posted my earlier comment I had not seen any of your Machu Picchu, shots, looks like you posted a few minutes later above me. They are simply fabulous.
I looked at some maps to understand the circuits, in case we ever return. Circuit 1 seemed the right choice since you had seen the heart of the city the day before. It looks like you hiked up towards the Sun Gate (Inti Punku), but then took a turn to the right before arriving at the gate. Is that correct?
On our trip we came down through the Sun Gate after spending a memorable night at Winay Wayna. The trail at that point also hugged the cliff, like your photos show, and one spot was just some wet logs suspended across a gap. Crazy memories!
Thanks again for posting, really enjoyed your report.
Karen,
The trail took us less than an hour to complete. It was narrow but not as narrow that one will fall off the cliff easily. The trail also ends at the gate when it gets really exposed and dangerous as the photo shows.
The last part of the trail has a chain along the wall to assist one to get near the gate.
If traffic is high, it would be quite dangerous as the path is for both directions.
Nelson,
You were right about the path we took to Inka Bridge.
We did not walk up to Sun Gate, as the tickets we have only can access the path to the upper terraces and Inka Bridge.
There is one thing that I am not very happy about the park’s circuits system. They said the circuits are for the control of the over crowded situation, but it also set the limitations that you can move around when visiting the park, unless you re-enter the park with a different circuits tickets. For a first timer to the park, a guide is necessary in order to understand the park history, or else you would be just looking at piles of rocks.
I really enjoyed the freedom of walking the Ollantaytambo Archaeological Park.
The trail took us less than an hour to complete. It was narrow but not as narrow that one will fall off the cliff easily. The trail also ends at the gate when it gets really exposed and dangerous as the photo shows.
The last part of the trail has a chain along the wall to assist one to get near the gate.
If traffic is high, it would be quite dangerous as the path is for both directions.
Nelson,
You were right about the path we took to Inka Bridge.
We did not walk up to Sun Gate, as the tickets we have only can access the path to the upper terraces and Inka Bridge.
There is one thing that I am not very happy about the park’s circuits system. They said the circuits are for the control of the over crowded situation, but it also set the limitations that you can move around when visiting the park, unless you re-enter the park with a different circuits tickets. For a first timer to the park, a guide is necessary in order to understand the park history, or else you would be just looking at piles of rocks.
I really enjoyed the freedom of walking the Ollantaytambo Archaeological Park.
Day 18–Taxidatum tour to Maras and Moray, then back to Cusco
We were picked up by the driver from the hotel at 11am punctually, walking through the bustling market to where he parked his car, and we were on the way to our first tour stop, Maras salt mines.
At Las Salineras de Maras, where we can see the expansive ancient salt mines of the colonial era. The vast area covered with the white pools of salt with the mountains surrounding it is stunning and beautiful.
We enjoyed the short walk to the view point. We had the whole place to ourselves again as it was just opened, peddler stalls were not opened and the tour bus was not seen in the early hours. We saw a man panning the salt out in the field. It sure looked like a back wrecking job.
After Moras, the driver drove us to Moray, where large colossal circular terraces resemble a large amphitheater. These circular terraces were built by the Incas to grow an abundance of crops on mountain terrain.
After visiting the Moray terraces, we chose to skip the historic town of Chincero. We wanted to get back to Cusco in the early afternoon so that we could make some changes to our returning flights home. We received our airline's warning about hurricane Milton.
We decided to leave a day earlier to avoid the landfall of the hurricane. We needed to get back to Cusco to make the necessary changes for our outgoing flights.
When we were back to Hotel Amaru, we successfully changed our departure date one day earlier, flying out to Florida and with a connecting flight back home. It was indeed a wise decision for us to change our flights earlier.
It was a cold, wet and chilly day in Cusco. After dinner, we used tourist tickets for the Cultural show included in the Cusco tourist ticket that we bought. It was an evening well suited for the weather. No photography was allowed for the performance, but we did have a good time watching the show.Day 19–A leisure day at Cusco
Originally I had my mind set on visiting the Rainbow Mountain if we did well with the altitude test. In the end, I forgo this itinerary as we were pretty worn out with all the walking. It was just what it meant to be, even though I regretted not being able to see the Rainbow Mountain. It is not very likely that I will make another trip back to visit the Rainbow Mountains. 🥲
We took it easy on our last day in Cusco, went to the square to see a military parade, checking out one or two museums, then went back to our beautiful colonial style hotel Amaru.
After a nap, we went up the stairs to explore San Blas neighborhood. We were told the sunset at San Blas viewpoint was very beautiful. It definitely was a very memorable evening spent atop San Blas.
Cheers! Peru
Night scene atop of San Blas
This finally concluded our journey in Peru. Thanks for following my journey and wish everyone happy travels!
We were picked up by the driver from the hotel at 11am punctually, walking through the bustling market to where he parked his car, and we were on the way to our first tour stop, Maras salt mines.
At Las Salineras de Maras, where we can see the expansive ancient salt mines of the colonial era. The vast area covered with the white pools of salt with the mountains surrounding it is stunning and beautiful.
We enjoyed the short walk to the view point. We had the whole place to ourselves again as it was just opened, peddler stalls were not opened and the tour bus was not seen in the early hours. We saw a man panning the salt out in the field. It sure looked like a back wrecking job.
After Moras, the driver drove us to Moray, where large colossal circular terraces resemble a large amphitheater. These circular terraces were built by the Incas to grow an abundance of crops on mountain terrain.
After visiting the Moray terraces, we chose to skip the historic town of Chincero. We wanted to get back to Cusco in the early afternoon so that we could make some changes to our returning flights home. We received our airline's warning about hurricane Milton.
We decided to leave a day earlier to avoid the landfall of the hurricane. We needed to get back to Cusco to make the necessary changes for our outgoing flights.
When we were back to Hotel Amaru, we successfully changed our departure date one day earlier, flying out to Florida and with a connecting flight back home. It was indeed a wise decision for us to change our flights earlier.
It was a cold, wet and chilly day in Cusco. After dinner, we used tourist tickets for the Cultural show included in the Cusco tourist ticket that we bought. It was an evening well suited for the weather. No photography was allowed for the performance, but we did have a good time watching the show.Day 19–A leisure day at Cusco
Originally I had my mind set on visiting the Rainbow Mountain if we did well with the altitude test. In the end, I forgo this itinerary as we were pretty worn out with all the walking. It was just what it meant to be, even though I regretted not being able to see the Rainbow Mountain. It is not very likely that I will make another trip back to visit the Rainbow Mountains. 🥲
We took it easy on our last day in Cusco, went to the square to see a military parade, checking out one or two museums, then went back to our beautiful colonial style hotel Amaru.
After a nap, we went up the stairs to explore San Blas neighborhood. We were told the sunset at San Blas viewpoint was very beautiful. It definitely was a very memorable evening spent atop San Blas.
Cheers! Peru
Night scene atop of San Blas
This finally concluded our journey in Peru. Thanks for following my journey and wish everyone happy travels!
Cherthor, thank you so much for taking the time to write such an interesting trip report about Peru. Your wonderful photos are beautiful and interesting and allowed me to visit Peru vicariously through you.
Now that we appear to have reached the end, I'll point out once more how much I enjoyed reading through your report. One of the very best Peru trip reports I've seen on any on-line forum. If this doesn't persuade forum readers to consider Peru, I suppose nothing will!
I'll admit that I was a little horrified by the photo, farther above, of that enormous long queue of people in Aguas Calientes, waiting for the Machu Picchu shuttle. But then, it seems that I undertook my own visit to Machu Picchu in better times (April, 2012). No timed tickets, and no "circuits" then. And on the very morning of my visit, I walked to the ticket office in Aguas Calientes, bought my entry ticket, then strolled down to the shuttle -- no queue at all -- and stepped right in. Of course, I would strongly advise anyone considering Machu Picchu these days not to undertake the trip as casually and impulsively as I did way back then!
I'll admit that I was a little horrified by the photo, farther above, of that enormous long queue of people in Aguas Calientes, waiting for the Machu Picchu shuttle. But then, it seems that I undertook my own visit to Machu Picchu in better times (April, 2012). No timed tickets, and no "circuits" then. And on the very morning of my visit, I walked to the ticket office in Aguas Calientes, bought my entry ticket, then strolled down to the shuttle -- no queue at all -- and stepped right in. Of course, I would strongly advise anyone considering Machu Picchu these days not to undertake the trip as casually and impulsively as I did way back then!
Quote:
Karen,Originally Posted by KarenWoo
Cherthor, thank you so much for taking the time to write such an interesting trip report about Peru. Your wonderful photos are beautiful and interesting and allowed me to visit Peru vicariously through you.
Thanks for following along. I always admire your tenacity in writing all those details reports. I am looking forward to read your new adventures in the near future. All the best to your future travels.
Quote:
I'll admit that I was a little horrified by the photo, farther above, of that enormous long queue of people in Aguas Calientes, waiting for the Machu Picchu shuttle. But then, it seems that I undertook my own visit to Machu Picchu in better times (April, 2012). No timed tickets, and no "circuits" then. And on the very morning of my visit, I walked to the ticket office in Aguas Calientes, bought my entry ticket, then strolled down to the shuttle -- no queue at all -- and stepped right in. Of course, I would strongly advise anyone considering Machu Picchu these days not to undertake the trip as casually and impulsively as I did way back then!
Faedus,Originally Posted by Faedus
Now that we appear to have reached the end, I'll point out once more how much I enjoyed reading through your report. One of the very best Peru trip reports I've seen on any on-line forum. If this doesn't persuade forum readers to consider Peru, I suppose nothing will!I'll admit that I was a little horrified by the photo, farther above, of that enormous long queue of people in Aguas Calientes, waiting for the Machu Picchu shuttle. But then, it seems that I undertook my own visit to Machu Picchu in better times (April, 2012). No timed tickets, and no "circuits" then. And on the very morning of my visit, I walked to the ticket office in Aguas Calientes, bought my entry ticket, then strolled down to the shuttle -- no queue at all -- and stepped right in. Of course, I would strongly advise anyone considering Machu Picchu these days not to undertake the trip as casually and impulsively as I did way back then!
Thanks for all the support and compliments.
You sure had a better time visiting MP in 2012. The long line and timed tickets were not that bad, but even with two different time visits, we were not able to cover a lot of the grounds that we wanted to see, even though they are just next to your path. You can only stay on your circuit as marked. You can’t even turn around to walk the way you came from, it is a one way traffic only.
We like the Ollantaytambo Archaeological Park, we were free to walk anywhere we want.
CherThor,
Bravo, just Bravo. You two showed so much stamina in covering soooo much ground. You are a plucky couple and your persistence paid off.
As for Mapi line-ups, we were once kept waiting so very long (with no seating at all) that I resorted to wait for it...posing as a NYTimes travel reporter. I showed the worn Lonely Planet ID card that had once been gifted me as a gesture of thanks. Tacky, I know.
It worked.
I am done. The purple chicha juice
Bravo, just Bravo. You two showed so much stamina in covering soooo much ground. You are a plucky couple and your persistence paid off.
As for Mapi line-ups, we were once kept waiting so very long (with no seating at all) that I resorted to wait for it...posing as a NYTimes travel reporter. I showed the worn Lonely Planet ID card that had once been gifted me as a gesture of thanks. Tacky, I know.
It worked.
I am done. The purple chicha juice
Quote:
Bravo, just Bravo. You two showed so much stamina in covering soooo much ground. You are a plucky couple and your persistence paid off.
As for Mapi line-ups, we were once kept waiting so very long (with no seating at all) that I resorted to wait for it...posing as a NYTimes travel reporter. I showed the worn Lonely Planet ID card that had once been gifted me as a gesture of thanks. Tacky, I know.
It worked.
I am done. The purple chicha juice
zebec,Originally Posted by zebec
CherThor,Bravo, just Bravo. You two showed so much stamina in covering soooo much ground. You are a plucky couple and your persistence paid off.
As for Mapi line-ups, we were once kept waiting so very long (with no seating at all) that I resorted to wait for it...posing as a NYTimes travel reporter. I showed the worn Lonely Planet ID card that had once been gifted me as a gesture of thanks. Tacky, I know.
It worked.
I am done. The purple chicha juice
Thanks for checking out my Peru journey. It was quite a journey that I say so myself. In the end, what matters most is the journey was rewarding even with some hiccups here and there.
Hehehe 😂 you sure were cheeky and tacky. Cheers to the purple chicha juice! A lot to remember.
