Peru: Ollantaytambo, Machu Pichu, Aguas Caliente & Cusco

(Post by Colin)

Hi Folks,

So continuing on  - we took an early morning flight from Lima to Cuzco.  Cuzco is 3300 Metres  - so pretty high especially when you are coming from sea level. Cuzco is another city, albeit a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we were interested in spending some time here -   but  especially because I was increasingly the worse for wear - we decided that a slightly lower altitude and a quieter pace of  life was  what called for.  On that note, we decided on a small village in the Sacred Valley called Ollantaytambo and a hostal called Casa de Wow. We knew we would come back via Cuzco in any case.

On leaving the airport in Cuzco we were immediately besieged by taxi drivers.  It was a 2-3 hour journey to Ollantaytambo and we had decided to splash on a taxi instead of the local bus. We were offered rates of over $200 !  After some strong negotiation I managed to get the journey for a god price- but the driver was not very happy at all.  As we were heading towards his car - one of his colleagues said to him  -so what did you get ? what did you get ?  ( in Spanish of course) and when he told him the colleague started laughing ..  So we drive into Cusco and the driver stops and says "wait here".  I say " Where are you going"  He says,  "I just need to get a bottle of water"  15 minutes later he comes back without any water and says, " Oh I need to pick up my daughter from school  so I organized a different cab for you"  He points out this cab in front of us which looks like it is on its last legs and may just fall apart completely at any moment.  Of course I refuse .  After some to and fro - suddenly he does not need to pick up his daughter anymore and we finally continue on our way !

The landscape on the way to Ollantaytambo is beautiful and our cab driver turns out to be ok once Ana engaged him in conversation in Spanish.   Throughout South America Kizzys ability to speak very good Spanish has ironed out most troubles :-)

On route to Ollantay

On route to Ollantay

Once we got to Ollantaytambo we had to walk to find Casa Wow.  This town has no roads   past the main square. It is a town in more or less in the same condition as when the Incas built it. It is surrounded by Inca ruins on all sides that protected the village. 

The main square, Ollantay

Inca Ruins Ollantay

Inca Ruins Ollantay

Village St, Ollantay

 Casa de Wow is a hostal run by an American lady called Win and her local Quetchuan man called Wow.  The Quechua are  indigenous peoples of South America who are directly descended to the Incas. They can be found mainly in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Wow had actually built the house and almost all of the furniture in it.  In addition he was a clothes and textile designer and maker.  A very talented man indeed.   You can check out his Facebook page  here

Hostal sign

Light shade made by WOW

 We were given a warm welcome by Win and invited to a party going on that night . I am afraid my cold/flu finally fully kicked in and I had to go straight to bed and sweat it out for the next 2 days !!   I was so annoyed that I missed the party ! .  Kizzy went along and there was a shaman called Elder there , some Quechua poetry and dancing, many Pisco Sours and some smoking of a peace pipe..  I believe Kizzy was trying to teach the Quechuans some new dance moves !

So as soon as I started to feel a bit better we began to explore  Ollantatytambo.  A gorgeous and relaxing place with several treks that we took advantage of.

Some colourful locals ( pictures for cash !)

First  to the Temple  - the Inca religious center in the village. Built into the hill with a Sun Temple at the top.  I have to admit I have never been one for ruins but the Inca ruins are wonderful - in part because I like trekking and hiking and  I love the views of nature from hill and mountain top locations.  The Incas liked to build in the mountains as they saw the mountains as sacred places.  I think I agree with them.

Sun Temple ruins

Temple ruins

Inca Running water system

The Temple, Ollantay

The Temple, Ollantay

And After we hiked up the other side to look at the soldier garrisons and some amazing views..

Inca Soldier Garrisons, Ollantay

Kizzy and me :-)

 

Inca ruins, Ollantay

Col @ Inca Garrison

Kizzy in action !

Whilst here we also met some Quechua travellers who had been all over the world.  They were incredibly drunk on the local brew

And so now for the main course.... !!  Everybody has heard of this magical place  -  Machu Picchu!  Macchu Pichu means 'Old Mountain' in Quechua.  No one actually knows the name of the Inca city that is found there but in the last 100 years the Cities name has become interchangeable with the name of the mountain that it was found on.  Machu Picchu is reached from a town called Aguas Calientes  which was still 2 hours away by train from Ollantay  The tickets for the train for tourists and for Machu Picchu itself are  now very expensive. We picked up the cheapest possible ticket which meant us leaving Ollay at 6am and returning at 9pm on the same day.  We thought about staying the night in Aquas Calientes but that was also an expensive option.

We arrived in Aquas Caliente and unlike many we had decided to climb up  to Machu Pichu and not to take a bus as  most seemed to do.  This involved a 2-3k walk to the base of the mountain and then 

Looking back to Aquas Caliente

and then steps...

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and more steps..... and more steps...  Honestly it was a killer.    We finally reached Machu Picchu at around 10am  and took a few moments to catch  our  breath..

Placard for Hiram Bingham discoverer of MP

To begin with  the place was completely covered in clouds and mist and we could not really see anything..

That is Machu Picchu  !

Gradually during the day the clouds dissipated and the sun came out and so we got to see Machu Picchu in many different lights.  There really is something magical about this place.  It is just incredible that  people lived here so high up in the mountains and so removed from everywhere..  There is debate around the purpose of this place, a religious , sacred area, a holiday home for the Inca Rulers??   I think we should build more cities at the top of mountains !

There is really more to do up here than it is possible to do in one day.  Other than looking around the ruins, we took a walk to the Inca bridge and we climbed Cerro Machu Picchu to get even higher and for some amazing views. 


The Incas build trails through the mountains  and through almost impassable ares - when they could not pass  they built bridges.  How they did this without any modern machines I have no idea..   Below this bridge in the pic - there is a 2500 metre drop !  Apparently the trail leads  to the last inca stronghold called Vilcabamba ( same name as a place we visited in Ecuador) and that this is a 4 to 5 day walk along the trail..

Inca Bridge

Machu Picchu

Waynu Pichu

Cerro Machu Picchu

We made it  - Cerro Machu Pichu

Llamas at Machu Picchu

So  at around 5pm we took the bus back  to Aquas Calients and ejoyed a nice meal and some More Pisco Sours before getting the train back to Olleytantambo.

What an amazing day !!  There is loads more photos in the album - see the link at the end of this post.

We had one day of rest in Olleytantambo where we chilled out.  One funny story for the day was us going to the local indoor market and deciding to eat dinner for the equivalent of about £0.50.  It looked ok but we regretted it immediately in this case..  All the locals seemed to be loving it .What is hilarious is that even though we thought is was really gross,  we both sat and ate almost all of our food as we did not have the heart to be the ungrateful tourists who complain at a £050 meal..  arghh... 

Next day we got the bus to Cuzco. When we got there  we had to walk a fair bit with our backpacks and the altitude took our breathe away !! Very hard going.. We stayed in a very cheap place which was a homestay where you stay with a local family.  The place was fine but very cold at night and with security a bit too lax for my liking.  The family were lovely and very friendly and helpful.

Our balcony, Cuzco

View from our balcony Cuzco

Cuzco is the historical capital of the Inca Empire and a world heritage site.  Hence it is very touristic. It was actually really pleasant.  We spent two days here wandering around.

We went to the Inca ruins called Sacsayhuaman ( according to our host - pronounced something like sexy Woman!)   She found this incredibly funny..

Sacsayhuaman oh yeah !

Sacsayhuaman

Local Woman

Cross overlooking Cuzco

Close up of Cross

We went to the  Coricancha and the Convent of Santo Domingo. In the Inca time it was a temple to the sun and was covered in gold leaf. After the Spanish conquered the  Domincans built a monastery using the Temple as a  base.

The Inca wall with the Monastery in top

Local Women

Inca rooms and windows

Inca stone work

Inca Gold leaf art

Strangely upstairs in the Dominican Monastery was a modern art exhibition.  It was pretty cool  - here are a few examples of the work.. You can check the Picasa album for more.. Link at the bottom of this post.. Not sure the name of the artist...

Peruvian modern art

Peruvian Modern art

And finally  the only street art stencil I saw in Cuzco ! Pacha Mama is a goddess revered by the peoples of the Andes going back to the Incas. Goddess of the earth and nature.

The only graffiti/street art stencil  I saw in Cuzco

And so next stop on our Peru tour is Arequipa and the Colca Canyon.... Until then..

For the Picasa Photo Album please click here

Lots of love

Col & Kizzy