Cusco and Machu Picchu 8/30/12 - 9/6/12

Our first three days in Cusco weren't that eventful and were used to plan our trip to Machu Pichhu.  We met a couple of travelers, J.P. (Australia) and Katie (Portland, Oregon), while in Arequipa and we both ended up going to Cusco on the same bus and staying at the same hostel.  We decided we wanted to do Machu Picchu together.

To get to Machu Picchu there are more than a few options: hike the classic Inca Trail, hike the Salkantay trail, do a Jungle Trek, take the train, go by van, etc.  Of course, each one of these varies in price, duration, and availability.  All are great options but just depends what kind of experience you want.  After talking to various tour companies and weighing the different options, the four of us decided we wanted to do a trip of our own.  We combined van transportation, hiking, and camping.

We started in a tourist van full of about 15 people and went for a 7 hour ride along some VERY narrow, windy roads to the town, Hydroelectrica.  From here, there's the option to train or hike 2 1/2 hours into the town of Aguas Calientes.  We loaded our packs with tents and sleeping bags that we rented from town, food, and clothes and made the hike to our campground, 20 minutes before town.

The path was along the railroad tracks and went through some beautiful scenery.  Our campsite was right at the entrance to Machu Picchu (the entrance to start the 1 hour hike or 20 minute bus ride to get you up to the gates).

The next day we were up by 4 A.M. in order to start the hour hike up to the Machu Picchu entrance gates and be some of the first people in.  Kristin woke up at 3:30 that morning to the sound of pouring down rain.  We hoped it would stop before we hit the road, but unfortunately we were not that lucky.  We weren't that worried though because we had our rain jackets so we thought we would be okay.  We began the journey at little after 4:30 am and it was dark, rainy, and kind of cold.

We found out the hard way that the rain jackets were only water resistant and not water proof!  Our stuff was soaked and we were freezing. We made it into Machu Pichu a little after 6 am, still raining, and walked around for a little while soaking it all in (no pun intended) and taking pictures. Even in the rain, Machu Picchu was incredible.  Everyone has seen pictures of this wonder, and it's even more amazing in person!

After about 45 minutes the rain subdued and Matt, Kristin, and Katie were so cold that we went back out to get something warm to drink.  After drinking some hot chocolate, the sun came out and we were able to dry out our clothes.

This made us very happy :), and we re-entered to hike Waynapicchu (the big mountain in the background of pictures).  It was steep and hard, but well worth it for the views.

After we reached the top and took some pictures, we continued on another trail to go see the Grand Caverna (Grand Cave); however, we aren't so sure that it was "Grand".  This hike added another 2 hours of down the mountain, up the mountain, around the mountain, and up the mountain AGAIN and we never saw anything close to "grand".  

Eventually, we made it back to the entrance, only after Matt wanted to die a few times.  The altitude makes it harder to breathe and this mountain was steep going up and coming back down!!  Definitely not a hike for people scared of heights.

We enjoyed more of Machu Picchu and decided to hike back down to our camp around 3.  By the end of the day we ended up hiking roughly 8 hours.  Very tiresome, especially on the knees.

The next day we went to some hot springs in Aguas Calientes (hence the name of the town), a good way to relax the muscles.  Afterwards we broke down camp, packed up, and hiked the 2 hours back to be picked up by the van.  The ride back was EVEN scarier than the ride there because we were in the front seats this time and could look out the window and see down the mountain since we were that close to the edge.  2 hours of the journey was on a one lane road and the drivers just honk as they're going around the turns, praying no one is coming from the other direction.  On top of that, once it was dark there was a thick fog that lasted for a while where we couldn't see anything in front of us.  And someone forgot to tell the driver that it's not the best idea to use the brights in the fog.  Kristin was grabbing Matt's arm the entire journey and was so happy when we made it back to Cusco.  

Once back in Cusco, it was low key again and we used the time to relax and plan our next move to get across the border into Bolivia.

In Cusco we stayed at the Eco Packers Hostel.  Breakfast was provided, bathrooms had hot water and were very clean, the beds were super comfortable, there was a TV lounge room with fireplace, and the staff was friendly.  We spent a lot of evenings in the lounge area on bean bags next to the fire relaxing with a cold beer.  We stayed in a 6-8 person dorm that cost about $14 each per night.  We enjoyed this place!