After flying into Cusco from Lima I spent two days exploring the ancient city before making the trip to Machu Picchu. A couple of days to acclimatise is recommended in case of altitude sickness (the city is over 3000m above sea level), though luckily I felt fine. The main happenings in Cusco are centered around the Plaza de Armas with its grandiose cathedral, as well as several other plazas lying in the surrounding streets. The artisan quarter of San Blas is a quick hike up cobbled hills, lined with art and souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants. Bordering these are thick stone walls, built in the 13th century from massive granite blocks which fit together perfectly there is no need for any kind of mortar. In addition to the many sights of the city, my nosey and inquisitive nature also meant I derived great interest from watching the sights of tourists and tour groups, who converge in the Sacred Valley from across the world. And nowhere was this more noticeable than at the UNESCO world heritage site of Machu Picchu.
My journey from Cusco to Machu Picchu involved a local bus from the city to nearby Urubamba and on to Ollantaytambo. From here I took a train to Aguas Calientes and the following morning, a tourist minibus up to Machu Picchu itself. Many backpackers do the journey as a three or four day trek which would admittedly have been fun, but also difficult to fit in with all the other activities I wanted to do. On the other end of the scale are the package-deal tourists who get whisked from hotel to hotel via spacious, comfortable buses. Although this is not my style of travelling, there were times when these said buses passed my local van and I would gaze out of the grubby window longingly, before turning back on my uncushioned seat to confront a crowded aisle of dribbling toddlers and the face-level crotches of standing passengers. The train journey was far more civilised and as this was PeruRail’s special Machu Picchu service, I was travelling only with other tourists. My neighbours were a Peruvian woman who spoke no English and a Japanese guy on a one week break from work whose packed itinerary was admirable: Lima, the Nazca lines, two days of Machu Picchu, Puno…
The hour and a half journey on the cheapest train cost around $100, though I had high hopes when waiting on the platform at Ollanta as the first train pulled in. As it slowed majestically to a halt I peered in at the groups and couples sitting at dining tables, the carriages softly lit with wall lamps. Then the train moved off and the more basic service arrived. However, the ticket price did include a ‘snack’ and again, my hopes were raised when staff came around and lay paper placemats on the table in front of passengers and offered coffee and mate. The paper bag with dried beans and a single biscuit was subsequently quite the letdown.
I awoke early in Aguas, took the bus up to Machu Picchu and although it was busy, the crowds were not too bad first thing. As well as entrance to the site I had decided to pay extra to climb Huayna Picchu, the mountain which overlooks the site. After a strenuous and steep ascent followed by a knee-workout of a descent I arrived back at the main site to find it packed with people: after their warm nights sleep and buffet breakfasts, the larger groups had been coached up for their visit.
Renowned sites across the world obviously all attract a global assembly of visitors, but I found this particularly noticeable at Machu Picchu. I didn’t bother paying for a guide myself, so instead played ‘guess the nationality’ as I wandered the site, keeping eyes and ears open for English voices so I could subtly tag onto various guided tours. This was pretty successful and I’d sidle up to one group and pretend to admire the view or feign interest in a pile of rocks whilst listening to the guide.
The appearance of both the English and American groups was similar: wraparound sunglasses, caps with neck-protector, Cotton Trader style poloshirts, and multi-pocketed waistcoats, all in shades of beige. The Americans were usually far easier to find than the English though, as their booming voices and hyperbolic exclamations carried clearly over the crowds. Despite clinging to their archipelago out in the East China sea, the Japanese are always great travellers and, in their tour groups, took in the sights of Machu Picchu through the lenses of the newest video cameras and digital SLRs. I also bumped into my adventurous friend from the train as I was climbing Huayna Picchu, who I stopped to have a chat with whilst he was on his descent. There seemed to be a high number of French tourists too, many of whom wore flashy sports gear and covered the site at an energetic pace. At the other end of the scale were the messy-haired and dreadlocked visitors who wore sandals and baggy trousers, long string necklaces and bracelets up their arms. These groups are a regular sight in Peru, and on a return bus journey I got talking to one such tourist. He was from Chile and explained that there were a huge number of South Americans who travelled their neighbouring countries very cheaply, selling bracelets to tourists. He was doing the same, though interestingly also an architecture student attending an annual conference in Cusco!
Finally, as with any outdoorsy attraction, there were also the groups striding purposefully around with walking poles and, in contrast, Peruvian women in diamante sunglasses, tight jeans and high heels.
I wanted to get the most out of my visit, so stayed at Machu Picchu until early afternoon, when I decided to walk back down the mountain and into Aguas. After the masses at the site, I encountered few other people on the descent and arrived back at the town with aching muscles and tired feet. The thermal spas a short walk from the centre of Aguas Calientes (literally, ‘hot waters’) were therefore very welcome. Here I was able to people-watch further and, luckily for me, the Saga brigades had been replaced by the tanned and toned torsos of a group of young Australian guys.