Aguacaliente, Peru

The Town of Aguas calientes:

The city sitting below Machu Picchu from which you can hike or take a bus to visit the infamous archeological wonder

This town is only accessible by train or hiking in, there is no road.

How I got to Machu Picchu: a tWO DAY dEAL

Travel Agency - Machu Picchu Reservations

Price for all inclusive package - $100

Transportation there and back - 5 hour van journey from Cusco to Hydroelectrico + 2.5 hr hike to Acuacaliente along the railroad tracks

Accommodations - one night stay in Aguacaliente, lunch & dinner

Entrance ticket - $45 I woke up at 4:30am and lined up at the beginning of the trail that leads up some 3000 steps up to the main entrance. *Must show ticket & passport to start hike*

What I packed - I brought only a day pack with me & left the rest in a locker at my hostel

THE STORY

A van from cusco to Hydroeletrico & Walking along train tracks

Getting to Machu Picchu by any means other than the Peru Rail is a trek. Literally, you might join a multi day trek like the Inca Trail or one of its variations.

Unfortunately I was feeling a bit down & sick at this point, so I decided not to hike. I would have loved to take the train. Peru rail looked charming and is the most direct way to get to Aguas Calientes, the “base camp” of Machu Picchu. The train was out of my budget at around

Instead a friend of mine recommended a two day package deal with a company called Machu Picchu Reservations. Like many other South American adventures, my journey began by climbing into a van with several other gringos. tHE STORY: gETTING TO Aguas Calientes

As many of my stories start, I loaded into a van with several other gringos heading to Machu Picchu. The seven hour drive was long, but made more bearable by the drivers choice of radio station: Toto’s Africa, Rod Stewart, and Tina Turner, and Men At Work.

There is no road into the town of Aguacaliente. One must either be on a train or hike in. I opted to hike in because train tickets from Cusco are pretty pricy. Instead was riding in a van that would deliver us all to a neighboring town called Hidroeléctrica (named for the hydro electrical plant there). The van pulled up to a little outdoor café where we stopped for lunch. It was not a great lunch, but it was also in the middle of no where.

From this café we would start a 2.5 hour walk to Aguas Calientes, along with many other vans of tourists. The walk is along the railroad tracks

Not quite sure what to do with myself, I walked around this funky little town. Ten minutes into my walk there was a city wide black out. Everything went dark. I walked by people eating dinner in restaurants where waiters brought out candles for every table. Children screamed and played in the dark streets.

I went to bed early.