Next morning the alarm goes off at 5.45 but a quick look out of our balcony at the enormous queue for the bus already snaking way up the hill confirms what Edy told us - it’s pointless trying to be the first into Machu Picchu. Far better to have a proper breakfast and let the queues subside as they’ll not catch the fabled sunrise anyway. And sure enough, after a leisurely repast we leave the hotel at 7.30 and walk straight on to a waiting bus.
There’s already stacks of people wandering around the site, but after we’ve explored a few more terraces, taken some photos of the main site from different angles and grabbed some selfies with grazing llamas, we head off on our own trek along the Inca Trail. High above the site along a steep path, sits the Sun Gate, Intipunku, the entrance to the site for travellers, both Inca and modern, walking from Cusco.
Making new friends
It’s here that hikers, completing the four-day trek, approach the site at dawn for their first glimpse of Machu Picchu as day breaks. Anyone attempting to get here in time for the sun rise from the first bus is on a hiding to nothing however, the golden moment coming long before they’ve managed the hour long speed-hike from the main entrance to the Sun Gate… yet still they all queue each day at the bus stop hoping for a magical experience that never comes.
Our more leisurely trek - taking it easy to mitigate the altitude - is not without challenges though, especially for Coman whose vertigo makes the final part of the ascent, and a lot more of the descent, pretty terrifying. Sharp drops, slippery steps and twisting climbs are all hurdles that leave him, and at times me, with our hearts in our throats. He conquers his fears though and there’s no doubt the experience was worth it. He warns me, ashen-faced, he’s never doing anything like it again however…
We decide not to spend another couple of hours doing the even more perilous trek to the Inca bridge, opting for the bus back down to our hotel at 11.30 for a coffee and to chill before wandering back through the streets of Aguas Caliente and settling at Govinda, a vegetarian restaurant we spotted yesterday for lunch. A delicious spinach curry and bottle of Cusqueña beer wraps up our Machu Picchu visit nicely and, having been escorted by Edy once more to a somewhat chaotic train station, we say farewell to Aguas Calientes.
Govinda goodness
Our return journey on the Vistadome isn’t quite as tranquil as yesterday. Far fuller and a lot noisier than our previous journey we are sat opposite a retired couple from Sheffield who are avid walkers although, they stress, “not ramblers!”. They completed a six day trek across a High Andes pass at 4200 metres to reach Machu Picchu, walked to both the Sun Gate and Inka Bridge earlier today, and are now on their way to the Galapagos for a series of expeditions. It makes our two-hour hike this morning look very under achieving.
The train staff, instead of mixing a select band of passengers pisco sours as they did yesterday, give the crowded train an entertainment display instead, pumping out music and dressing up as an Andean devil before parading a fashion show up and down the carriage in a series of alpaca wool scarves and sweaters. It’s all somewhat surreal and we’re relieved and exhausted when we disembark at Ollantaytambo as dusk falls.
Trusty Ciro is there to meet us and we pick up our new guide Jamie in the town’s picturesque little square, having a fascinating conversation with him about Peruvian society and politics as we travel. Our drive to Cusco takes us a different route up over the mountains, rising to over 3800 metres, and gives us a glimpse of why the Andes are so famed for astronomy – the stars are out in force.
Walking through the Cusco night
At the highest point we travel through the old Inca town of Chinchiro, descending another 500 metres to come into Cusco; the exteriors of the city proving to be not much more than a shanty town sprawling across the hillside, home to a large proportion of its inhabitants. Our hotel however, in the heart of the old city and aptly named as the Hotel Palacio del Inka, is very swish indeed.
It’s 7.45 when we pull up outside the grand building and we are reunited with our main luggage bags in our rather lovely room. After a quick change of clothes we head out to get our bearings and find somewhere for dinner, but we hadn’t anticipated the chill in the air – it’s pretty darn cold outside. Wishing we had wrapped up a little warmer we venture up to Plaza de Armes, which is absolutely beautiful, the main square flanked by two stunning churches and two beautiful colonnades of shops and restaurants. At its centre sits a park and striking fountain.
Plaza des Armes in Cusco
It’s too cold to be super fussy about where to eat so we allow two competing waiters to tout for food, perusing both menus simultaneously and telling them we’ll choose the one with best vegetarian options. Mistura Grill’s offering of margarita pizza and - another! - quinoa risotto wins, and we are seated under an indoor patio heater and rewarded with a complimentary pisco sour. After all the early starts so far, we have a lie-in planned for tomorrow and can’t wait to get to bed!
