Travelling from Urubamba by road we headed to Ollantaytambo where we would catch our Vista Dome train to Machu Picchu Pueblo.
Our driver took us with our overnight bags to catch the train to Machu Picchu. The rest of our luggage would be taken by road to Cusco, ready for our arrival in a couple of days time.
The station staff operate a seemingly unique and chaotic system only known to them, but we eventually boarded the train.
The seats were comfy and we given snacks and a drink.
Peru is a curious country, fore instance the majority of roads are single file, there are many pot holes, roaming dogs that allegedly have owners and a lack of street lighting on the main artery roads.
The train we boarded pulled by huge blue diesel engines were comfortable armchairs, a table and part glass roof.
In 1911 Hiram Bingham was guided by locals to the site of Machu Picchu whilst looking for the ancient Inca capital. He brought attention to the world of this lost civilisation on top of the Andes.
When he came across it, the site was covered in thick vegetation, hiding the collapsed structures and terraces lost in the passage of time.
Tourists now come from all over the world and many follow the Inca Trail to hike for five days with guides to eventually arrive at the pièce de résistance.
The site was home to perhaps 500-1000 people until 1530-1532, having been built around 1420-1450 for the then Inca emperor Pachacutec.
The day we arrived, the sky was clear and sunny. The following day the clouds sat on the top of Machu Picchu reducing the visibility.
Machu Picchu Pueblo is full of small market stalls, shops and eatery’s. The train station being the centre of this small town. From here you take the buses up the mountain to the archaeological site.
We met people who had walked there and a couple who walked down the1580 steps to the bottom.
On arrival in this small Andean location we were taken for lunch to a restaurant built between the railway lines. Whilst it was part of the Inkaterra group that I rated so highly, the fumes from the diesel engines left me offering nothing in the way of recommendation for food or service.
We boarded a bus to take us up to this busy archaeological site with our guide Percy. The road leading to the site is steep and windy, but the efficient drivers know exactly what they are doing.
This well oiled site offers three routes thru the site which reduces congestion, erosion and offers views from different locations.
Our route took us to higher viewing points where iconic photo opportunities were in abundance.
A couple of months previously we had experienced a virtual tour of Machu Picchu in Manchester, but nothing can prepare you for the views and shear scale and achievement of the Inca people that built this community on the top of a mountain with breath taking views.
Hundreds of years before, the community would have grown corn and quinoa on the terraces. The priests would have looked after the areas used for worshiping the sun and royalty would have resided here.
The llamas roamed freely across the site, although by the time we reached a group of four it was obviously mating season and the lonely female llama was literally being sat on and pestered by three male admirers!
