Packing for Adventure

As a reminder, the previous day was spent flying from SLC to Lima and then Lima to Cusco and then a car ride to the Sacred Valley. After our day in the Sacred Valley, a driver from Condor Travel picked us up and drove us to Ollantaytambo.

Ollantaytambo is a pretty cool place that I hope to explore more one day. It was both a fortress and a ceremonial site, and one of the last strongholds where the Incas resisted Spanish conquest. The irrigation canals used by Incans still channel glacial water today. The street layout follows the original Inca design, and there are even many houses built on original Inca foundations that peoples still live in. It’s one of the best-preserved Inca urban centers. It also serves as the main train departure point to Machu Picchu. So it was at this point that we got on a train which took us to…

AGUAS CALIENTES

…also known as the Machu Picchu Pueblo. It is the primary access point to the Machu Picchu ruins. The town is car-free – you can only reach it by train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo, or by foot following the 26-mile Inca Trail.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the Tierra Viva Cusco Machu Picchu.

Let’s be honest, you aren’t coming to Peru for the lodging, you are coming to see Machu Picchu and other Incan sites. That being said, I don’t think any hotel we stayed in was especially comfortable. This hotel was great because the staff was friendly and helpful, and it was really close to the bus stop that takes you to Machu Picchu. The room was nice enough, and breakfast was provided. The biggest advantage to this hotel was its close proximity to everything. I wouldn’t mind staying here again!

After we checked into our hotel and got our bearings, we hopped onto the bus that takes you to the Machu Picchu ruins. It was a 25-minute bus ride.

The Bus to Machu Picchu

The bus ride is pretty crazy. You go up a very steep and very windy mountain in a bus that is flying past all the other buses that are just constantly going up and down the mountain. The bus was PACKED. We were not able to sit next to each other, you just kinda have to find a place to fit. Luckily it was so packed that we couldn’t even see out the windows – which meant I couldn’t see what was happening enough to be terrified.

We decided there must be some sort of way these bus drivers communicate with each other, because we were flying around corners and never crashed into another bus, and supposedly there had been no history of crashes at least to the date in which we were there.

The day so far spent in varying methods of transportation felt like it was leading to something monumental – and it was! Next came the moment we’d been anticipating: stepping foot into Machu Picchu itself!

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