We got a minibus to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, so the train to Machu Picchu was slightly cheaper than from Cusco. While waiting for our train, we had some lunch and were joined by a couple of very cute local kids who first played with our salt shaker and napkin holder, then started stroking Paul's beard and finally picked Paul's phone up off the table and argued over who got to play Angry Birds!
The station at Ollantaytambo is pretty cool in that the tracks are level with the platform, so all the tourists can have their pictures taken right next to the train!
The train itself had windows in the roof so you could see more of the awesome scenery.
The final destination is Aguas Calientes from where you can either hike or get the bus to Machu Picchu. We were up early the next morning to get the bus (obv).
It really is incredible. We spent a lot of time just staring at the ruins and marvelling about how and why the settlement was built there. And cos we were on our own and not with a tour group, we got to spend as much time as we wanted wandering around, exploring every little bit.
When we first got there, a group had just arrived at the end of their trek and were celebrating - at that moment I did feel a bit of a pang that we hadn't trekked, but after we embarked upon our climb of the mountain, that all faded away!
The peak in the fifth picture above is Huayna Picchu; only 400 people are allowed up it each day and we missed out, so we climbed Cerro Machu Picchu, which is opposite....and higher! The ascent is stepped but steep, so it was straightforward but exhausting.
As we climbed, the view kept getting better and better, which was good motivation to keep going.
Unfortunately, Paul chose that day to show me his new trick:
So by the time we got to the top, we couldn't see a thing for clouds!
Fortunately, by the time we'd eaten our lunch, the clouds had dispersed and we were finally rewarded with this view of Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes on the right (Huayna Picchu looks tiny!):
After hiking back down, we went to see an Inca bridge, a walk which involved trying not to fall off the edge of a sheer cliff (the bridge is over the gap in the wall in the centre of the picture).
We made up for getting the train (even more!) by walking down to Aguas Calientes instead of getting the bus - a 45-minute descent down very steep steps that really punished our knees! So much so, we treated ourselves to massages the next day before getting the train back to Cusco.
Our return train carriage was more spectacular than the inward train (even though they were both supposed to be the same i.e. spectacular), with bigger windows and a posh snack (pizza) served on proper crockery with real cutlery.
There was also entertainment in the form of this traditional character who danced around with passengers (haven't worked out what he was meant to be yet).
And then there was a rather bizarre fashion show, whereby the staff who'd just served us our snacks, and some randomly selected passengers, strutted up and down the carriage modelling clothing which they then tried to sell us! It was highly entertaining and what Virgin Pendolino trains are missing.