Inca trail

EXPLORING MACHU PICCHU ON MAY 2006

2006-11-27T17:55:44Z

It is the 7th time we visit Machu Picchu and this time I visited this amazing ruins and I felt really exited, each time we visit it is quite different so on this opportunity I went to Machu Picchu with my fiancé, it was his first time.
We visited on May and I will let you know from May to October the mornings are warm with brilliant sunshine, though it can get quite cool in the shade. At night temperatures can drop to 10 °C.
Dear travelers I would like to let you know some ideas and data in case you are interested on coming and visiting Machu picchu, first of all it is suggestable plan at least a two-day visit to Machu Picchu, staying either at the hotel near the entrance to the ruins the town of Aguas Calientes, 1 km (½ mi) from the ruins. If you have only time for a day trip you'll have just a few hours at Machu Picchu, so bring a lunch with you ; if you line up in the crowded cafeteria you'll have even less time, as you must leave to catch the bus back down to Aguas Calientes and the train back to Cusco. On the other hand, if you stay overnight you'll be able to wander the ruins after most tourists have gone. You'll also have time for a soak in the thermal baths in Aguas Calientes.
If you're a day-tripper, follow the crowd out of the rail station about a block away to the Consettur Machupicchu shuttle buses, which ferry you uphill to the ruins, a journey of about 20 minutes. Buy your S/32 round-trip ticket at a booth next to the line of buses before boarding. If you have the time and luxury of staying overnight, you'll first check in to your lodging and can come back later to buy a bus ticket. Buses leave Aguas Calientes for the ruins beginning at 6:30 AM and continue more or less hourly, with a big push in mid-morning as the trains begin to arrive from Cusco. The last bus up leaves about 1 PM. Buses start coming back down about 11:30 AM, with a last departure at 5:30. If you stay in Aguas Calientes overnight, you'll also have time to buy your admission ticket to Machu Picchu itself at the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (Av. Pachacutec s/n, open daily 6-12 and 1-5) in town just off the Plaza de Armas, thus avoiding the long high-season lines at the ticket booth at the ruins' entrance.
The illusion of being high above the valley floor makes you forget that Machu Picchu sits 2,490 meters (8,170 feet) above sea level, a much lower altitude than Cusco. This is semitropical highland forest. It gets warm here, and the ruins have little shade. Sunscreen, a hat, and water are musts. Officially, no food or drink are permitted within the ruins, but you can be unobtrusive with a bottle of water. Large packs must be left at the entrance. There are few signs inside to explain what you're seeing; booklets and maps are for sale at the entrance.
If you take the 2 Days tour in Machu Picchu I suggest you to do The Huayna Picchu trail, which follows an ancient Inca path, leads up the sugarloaf hill in front of Machu Picchu for an exhilarating, if challenging, trek. Climbers must register at the entrance to the path behind La Roca Sagrada (the Sacred Rock), where locals often pray.
At the top and scattered along the way are Inca ruins and the Temple of the Moon. The walk up and back takes at least two hours -- more if you stay on the summit to enjoy the sun and drink in the marvelous view of Machu Picchu -- and is only for the sure-footed. Bring insect repellent; the gnats can be ferocious.
Far below the ruins sits the slightly ramshackle, but thoroughly pleasant town of Aguas Calientes, sometimes called Machu Picchu Pueblo. But for the grace of Hiram Bingham, Aguas Calientes would be just another remote, forgotten crossroads. But 1911, and the tourist boom decades later forever changed the community. There are but two major streets -- Avenida Pachacutec leads uphill from the Plaza de Armas, and Avenida Imperio de Los Incas isn't a street at all, but the railroad tracks; there's no vehicular traffic on the former except the buses that ferry tourists to the ruins. You'll have little sense of Aguas Calientes if you do the standard day trip from Cusco: train station, bus, ruins, bus, and train station. But the town pulses to a very lively tourist beat with hotels, restaurants, Internet cafés, hot springs, and a surprising amount of activity even after the last afternoon train has returned to Cusco.
Aguas Calientes takes its name from the thermal springs, the Aguas Termales, that sit above town. Don't expect facilities and conditions to rival those at Baden Baden, but if you aren't too fussy, this can be a refreshing dip at the end of a hot day.
In Aguas Calientes, the small town situated near down Machu Picchu, there are several restaurants and hotels which offer you a varied carte du jour with the most delicious dishes of Cusco and the best of the international food.

I took some pictures I can share with you. I hope you have been informed a little bit about Machu Picchu.

Best regards

Carla Barrientos
www.andex-adventure.com

EXPLORING MACHU PICCHU ON MAY 2006 remains copyright of the author perutour, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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inca trail experience

2006-11-27T17:55:32Z

The Inca Trail is deservedly the most famous footpath in South America. It has everything: gorgeous mountain scenery, cloudforest and lush sub-tropical vegetation with numerous species of flowers, a stunning destination (Machu Picchu) and, above all, the Inca remains that give the trail its name. There are Inca paving stones, Inca stairways, an Inca tunnel, and of course the ruins: Runkuracay, Sayacmarca, Phuyupatamarca, Huiñay Huayna (Wiñay Wayna) and Machu Picchu itself.

The Vilcabamba range, approximately 85km long, is a really spectacular part of the Andes, located northwest of Cusco, between the Apurímac and Urubamba rivers. Several giant snow covered peaks rise out of the Vilcabamba massif, often clearly visible from the Lima to Cusco flight (sit on the left side of the plane) and also from the drive between Cusco and the start of the Inca Trail. Salcantay (6,271m / 20,575ft) is the highest peak in the area, towering above all others. This mountain was highly revered by the Incas and is still very important to the people living in the Cusco area. Its name in Quechua means wild mountain. The other big snow covered mountain you see is Pumasillo (6075m), west of Machu Picchu and highest peak in the mini Sacsarayoc Range, seen from the second pass on the Inca Trail.

Typical of the region is the verdant cloud forest of the rugged eastern side of the Vilcabamba mountains and the deep gorges of the Apurímac and Urubamba. They’ve been gouged out of granite by centuries of torrents of glacier melt water forcing their way north and eastwards on the way to the rainforest. The area is rich in Inca history: for nearly 50 years this remote region served as a hideout for their resistance movement as it tried to regain control from the Spanish invaders in the 16th century. The Incas left behind many ceremonial platforms, gate houses (tambos) and a network of beautifully constructed pathways linking their strongholds, the well known Machu Picchu, and lesser known but equally important sites such as Choquequirau and Espiritu Pampa. Please ask if you would like details of these or other treks.

Suggested itinerary – starting in Cusco. Please ask for information on flights and accommodation in Cusco and Lima.
Day 1: Drive to start of the Inca Trail. Begin the trek.
Day 2: Day 2 of the trek
Day 3: Day 3 of the trek
Day 4: Arrive Machu Picchu – return to Cusco or overnight in Aguas Calientes. Hotel.
Day 5: If staying at Aguas Calientes free morning, afternoon train to Cusco.

More information www.andex-adventure.com
info@andex-adventure.com

inca trail experience remains copyright of the author perutour, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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INCA TRAIL

2006-11-27T17:53:54Z

ITINERARY

AA CUS11 THE IMPRESSIVE INKA TRAIL

4 DAYS – 3NIGHTS

Cuzco is Peru’s main tourist destination and one of the most important destinations in the Americas. Known by the Incas as the “Home of the Gods”, Cuzco became the capital of one of the largest pre-Columbian empires: the Tawantinsuyo. Its name in Quechua means “Navel of the World.”

DAY 01-CUSCO-PISCACUCHO-WAYLLABAMBA
Pick up from your hotel (7.00 am) in a private bus. We will pass the sacred valley (Chinchero, Urubamba y Ollantaytambo) and arrive to Pisacucho km. 82, where we will have breakfast. From there, we will start our trekking, stop in misccay town in 1 hour 30 minutes approximately. Along the way we will visit the archaeological site called Llactapata. After that we will arrive to Waillabamba, the first campsite. We will have dinner and rest.

DAY 2 WAYLLABAMBA-WARMIWAÑUSCA-PACAYMAYO
We will have breakfast early and start trekking to the highest point of the Inka Trail, where we can see different ecological zones and enjoy changing climates. We will cross the Warmiwañusca pass at 4200 meters above sea level. After lunch we will continue on to the campsite at Pacaymayo and enjoy dinner and a well deserved rest.

DAY 3 PACAYMAYO-CHAQUICOCHA-WIÑAYWAYNA
We will continue our trek and visit some archaeological places on the way (Runcurakay, Sayacmarca, Phuyupatamarca). Finally we will camp at Wiñaywaina.

DAY 4 WIÑAYWAYNA-MACHUPICCHU-CUSCO
The following day very early in the morning about 04.30 am, after breakfast, we leave Winñaywayna for the Untipunku or "Gate of the Sun" where will have a breathtaking panoramic view of the Machu Picchu citadel at sunrise. From this point, the astonished traveler can contemplate the majesty and grandeur of Machu Picchu. After a short hike down to Machu Picchu, we register and start on 3 hour guided visit. After enjoying the remains, we will take the bus to Aguas Calientes where you will have free time to enjoy the town before we return to Cusco.

Machu Picchu: is the Inca City; and many claim it to be the most beautiful, best preserved and most famous fortress in the world. The city was considered lost for many centuries, covered as it was by lush vegetation typical of the Southern Peruvian Andes cloud forest.

INCLUDED

INKA TRAIL
· Transfer: hotel –Inka Trail head and Cusco Train station –hotel.

· Transportation: private bus from Cusco to KM 82.

· Entrances tickets: The Inka Trail

· Professional Guide: English speaking, 2 guides for groups over 9 people.

· Cook: in charge of meal preparation.

· Porters to carry heavy equipment. Gear: Double occupancy tents and sleeping pad, dinner tent, toilet tent, kitchen tent, tables, seats and first aids kit.

· Meals: 3 breakfast / 3 lunches / 3 dinners / snacks.

· Bus from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes (train station).

· Train to Cusco: backpackers Express ( tourist train )

· Group size: 6 to 15 (average 12 persons).

NOT INCLUDED

· Domestic flight tickets

· Lunch in a restaurant in Aguas Calientes (last day).

· Tips.

· Sleeping bag . Rented from our office for the whole days trek. Price per the sleeping back for the whole trek US$15.00

· Additional personal porter.

· Hotels nights in Cusco city

· We provide an optional service of personal porters.

· Personal porter: They carry backpacks, sleeping bags and mattresses 15 Kilos per person: (UGM Regulations), additional porter US$75.00 per the whole trek

We can also provide vegetarian meals or cater for special diets at no extra cost but we need to know when you make the trek reservation.

More information
www.andex-adventure.com
info@andex-adventure.com

INCA TRAIL remains copyright of the author perutour, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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