Cusco and Machu Picchu

We turned back to Peru after Quito. We planned to visit Machu Picchu, which we'd skipped on our first route through. It was my only 'must visit' on this trip.

It's about 50 hours by bus from Quito to Cusco. We flew. The flight had three legs, rather like a three-legged dog, but not as hairy. The first leg was a 6.00am domestic flight within Ecuador to meet the international flight. We assumed we'd just have to check in an hour before, but checked with the airline just in case. They said it's an international flight, regardless of the first leg being domestic. The 'rule' is that check-in is three hours before the flight, but that two hours would be sufficient. It certainly proved to be sufficient as the terminal didn't open until an hour before the flight. The shoe-shine guy was there before any airline staff. Other than that, the flight was good, and definitely a significant improvement on a 50 hour bus ride.

We were (are) running out of time, so we opted for the much-frowned-upon one-day return trip to Machu Picchu from Cusco. We took the train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, which is a cute tourist town in a deep gorge at the bottom of Machu Picchu. The train ride was spectacular.

From there, you have to get a bus up the mountain (or walk up if time and fitness aren't an issue). There is a monopoly on the bus trip, so the 20 minute trip cost almost a dollar a minute. The price-gorging continues at the entrance to Machu Picchu where hungry people have the option of not eating, or paying $35pp for a friggin buffet (no other options). And you aren't permitted to take your own food into the reserve. The buffet is so precious that entrance to the restaurant is controlled by an armed security guard.

Machu Picchu itself was amazing.  The site is huge, with several walks to parts of the site which overlook the city. But what I found most impressive and inconceivable is the location. It is at 2500m altitude, miles from anywhere in the middle of the mountains. How the hell they found, and presumably transported enough rock to build the temples, buildings and terraces, let alone source water and grow sufficient crops at such a location is quite beyond me. Cunning old Incas.

Next time we go to Machu Picchu we'll give ourselves more time so we can do some of the longer walks around the site, but we found that the 4 hours we had there was plenty to have a good look around.

We spent the rest of our short time back in Cusco just pottering about, going to markets, visiting fancy churches and eating good food. In comparison to the $35 buffet, we had some delicious vegan set lunches at San Blas market for less than $2pp. We also had the most delicious Japanese udon; the noodles were freshly made to order and were perfect. Food quality will be all downhill from here as we head back into Bolivia.