Lima To Machu Picchu

Our journey from Lima to Machu Picchu began with an early morning flight aboard a British built, BAe146 flying high over the impressive Andes Mountains and depositing us in the rare air of the ancient capitol of Cusco.

The Andes are up there! 15 degrees south of the equator and there is plenty of snow on the peaks

Cusco and the airport. We wound ourselves between the mountains to land

From there, we had a van drive us 2 hours to Ollantaytambo where the road ends.

Herding sheep along the ancient Inca Trail

After a nice lunch on the square it was off on a most beautiful train trip for yet another 1.5 hours where we finally arrived in Agues Caliente at the base of Machu Picchu.

We decend into the city of Urubamba

Lunch in Ollantaytambo....

...where there are more Inca ruins

The train cars were comfortable and spacious

The trip to Agues Caliente decends a steep, narrow valley alongside a roaring river. The mountains tower above seeming to be rooftop as well as walls. They are impossible to photograph as that would require one to step back, as if one could. Indeed, our glass roofed train car didn't allow us to view mountain tops. A sore neck is a likely outcome of this journey!

Aques Caliente

The train runs right through town

Only buses are permitted in this town. Everything is carried in and carried out

On the road to our hotel with Machu Picchu straight ahead

Machu Picchu is a world heritage site for a reason; it is as spectacular a setting as exists in our world and it attracts travelers from all over the globe. It's impossibly difficult to get here, but arrival is rewarded. While astonishment is ones reaction to the natural beauty of the site, it is the archaeological story of the village that amazes.

More abut Machu Picchu to come...