Day 354, 14240 miles (February 1, 2009)

We arrived in Puno on Lake Titikaka on the day of the celebration for the Virgin of Candelaria.  There were loads of indigenous people walking in the streets in their colorful local outfits.  There was to be a parade later in the day, so we bought tickets for a tour of the lake in the morning.  Our tour guide helped us find a parking spot in someone’s very small fenced in driveway very near to the docks.  We jump aboard a mid-size tour boat and we were off to visit the floating islands of the Uros people, more commonly referred to as the Uros Islands.  The floating islands are made out of the roots of a floating reed called totora.  The roots are cut in blocks of approximately one cubic meter and tied together using ropes.  On top of the blocks the top section of the reeds are laid in perpendicular layers for approximately another meter of height.  These islands last about 30 years before the entire island needs to be rebuilt.  On top of these floating islands, people live in small communities, building houses out of reeds, beds out of reeds, and much more.  Each island usually houses 5 to 6 families although there are a few very large islands where more people live.  Only members of the Uros community may live on these islands and their community consists of approximately 1500 people.  They have schools and a hospital on the floating islands.  It was very interesting.  We visited one of the smaller islands and walked around on the reeds.  Some of the houses have solar panels and satellite dishes which enable the residents of that island to have a television and maybe internet.  The Uros people seemed very friendly and interested in sharing their way of life with the tourists.

After our boat tour we headed towards the Puno town square where the parade was to take place.  We hit it just right because the groups were just starting to dance down the streets.  It seemed that each community had a different colorful outfit and danced a slightly different dance to similar music.  They marched and danced for hours.  When they weren’t dancing, they were hanging out drinking beer on the streets having a good time, especially the men.

To see more pictures from our time on the Uros Islands click here Uros Islands Pictures.

To see more pictures of the festival dancers click here Festival Candelaria Dancers.

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Day 353,  14219 miles (January 31, 2009)

Today was a very good day.  We were fortunate to interact with some very interesting people, including several groups of local people.  We talked with them a bit about their lives and practiced our Spanish.  Today’s adventure actually began last night when we checked into the Hotel Lumonsa in Ayaviri. The hotel is right off the main plaza. It was a great value, with nice people, in a very convenient location.  Our room cost 20 soles total for 3 people ($6.50).  Additionally, the hotel has secure parking adjacent for 3 soles, and there were warm electric showers in the morning.  After we checked in, TB and I went up to the roof of the Hotel Lumonsa to check out the gorgeous sunset over the town. The colors were really spectacular and they made the town church next to us appear even more impressive. Below are two of the pictures.

The next morning while having coffee in the hotel common area, we met an American named Dan and a Peruvian named Heidi.  Dan is in his 50s and has been bicycling from Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego over the last 18 months.  He has a 13 year old dog that rides behind his bicycle in a touring cart.  He’s put over 15,000 miles on his bike the last 18 months, and has seen and experienced just about everything.  He says that overall his experience has been extremely positive.  Dan was a good inspiration for us.  He showed that if you set your mind to anything - you can probably make it happen.

Heidi is the Manager at the Hotel Lumonsa. She worked in a hotel in Virginia in the US for 2 years before her work VISA expired and she returned to Peru.  She is using her experience in the hotel industry as manager at the newly renovated and opened Hotel Lumonsa  in Ayaviri.  Heidi spoke English perfectly, and she asked for our suggestions since the hotel is newly opened after it took over a previous hotel building that had been vacant for several years.  We had a few suggestions such as advertising that the hotel had Wi-fi and an English speaking staff member on the front door.  We also thought they could advertise their secure parking lot (a bonus over many hostels), and that they can organize guided tours to nearby Tinajani Canyon.  We also suggested the hotel come up with an initially simple webpage for anyone searching online for lodging in Ayaviri.  After telling her about our website, Heidi later asked how much we would charge to build a website for the hotel.   Ana and I previously thought about website building as a way to generate revenue on our trip, or at least exchange work for free lodging.  However, our website skills aren’t quite where we would feel comfortable getting paid to produce a site for someone - yet.  We’re hoping maybe we’ll be able to explore this option in the future.  Right now we also have the time constraints of winter approaching in Tierra Del Fuego, as well as TB traveling with us so we really need to keep moving southward.   Anyway, it is interesting how work opportunities keep popping up if you’re willing to keep your eyes open.

After breakfast, we retrieved Mango from the parking garage next to the hotel which also doubles as a beer-bottle depository.  Here in Peru, a lot of the glass beer bottles are reused.  Each glass bottle is subsequently cheaper than a plastic or aluminum throw-away bottle at the store.  Mango was surrounded by about 1000 crates of beer bottles waiting to return to the bottling plant.  Heidi had some free time so she rode with us outside of town to nearby Tinajani Canyon.  This canyon wasn’t in any of our guidebooks, so we’re really thankful Heidi told us about it.  The canyon sits at over 3920 meters elevation (roughly 12,850 feet), and reminded TB of Bryce Canyon in Utah.  Tinajani was really beautiful, and we drove around for about an hour stopping to take pictures.  At one point, TB and I waded across a small river when we decided Mango probably wasn’t up for the crossing.  If we’d known the day before how beautiful this canyon was, we probably would have camped here.  We thanked Heidi for coming along with us, dropped her back off in town, and then headed down the highway towards Puno.  If anyone is looking for a good value hotel in Ayaviri that’s right on the plaza, we highly recommend the Hotel Lumonsa.  Not only will you have a nice place to stay, you may get some good free advice on visiting the canyon as well!

For our photo gallery containing more pictures of Tinajani Canyon, click here: Photo Gallery of Tinajani Canyon

About 20 minutes after dropping Heidi off in Ayaviri, we picked up a hitchhiking man and woman who were tending to their cows on the side of the road.  They were looking for a ride into Juliaca which was on our way.  They had some big bags full of cheese and looked like they needed a lift - we were happy to help out.  For the next hour TB and Ana practiced their Spanish while I mainly listened while driving and dodging potholes.  The woman was dressed in traditional clothing: all wool skirt, hat, and sweater to protect her from the outside elements and cold.  Her husband sat next to TB and talked most of the way.  He was very proud to tell us about the towns we passed through.  There is a small town on the way called something like Kalnufia which everyone here jokes about being the “California of Peru.”  People here are never shy to talk about money, and the man and women told us that it costs them 50 soles per month to rent the piece of land from the government that their 5 cows graze on.  We also learned that someone in his family also just had a baby yesterday like Dan – TB’s son and Ana’s brother.  The man and his wife were really nice.  We all had a good time talking and exchanging some information about each others’ lives.  I contemplated asking them if we could take their picture, but since many indigenous people here do not like to be photographed, I decided against it.  Everyone was enjoying themselves and I didn’t want to spoil the moment.  When we arrived in Juliaca, the couple told us we could take a left at the first traffic circle to bypass the town.  We thanked them since some fellow travelers from Cusco told us they’d gotten lost traversing the city a few days ago.  Those two travelers were also pulled over by the notoriously corrupt police of Juliaca.  We were glad to know of the bypass around town.

We almost made it through town unscathed.  However, after rejoining the main highway from the bypass, we were stopped at a police checkpoint on the south outskirts of town.  As we were previously warned, this policeman didn’t even bother to chit-chat, he just asked for all of our documents and then proceeded to point out what was wrong with them.  Ana and I were ready for this however, so we just assertively told him that our documents were correct.  We’d been let into Peru at the border, had been traveling through Peru for 2 months, other policeman had accepted our documents, and we knew they were all in order.  He smiled and told us we could proceed on our way.

The last stop for the day was the Funery Towers at Sillustani.  The towers are located on a hill overlooking Lake Umayo which is well worth the 14 km detour off the main highway.  The paved road leads to a parking lot, where for 6 soles per person we climbed a small hill to view several towers overlooking the lake in a very tranquil, peaceful setting.  The tallest funery tower, or ”chullpa” is over 12 meters high.  They were built hundreds of years ago to bury the pre-inca nobility that ruled in this area.  Many of the towers are falling apart, but enough still remains that you get an accurate perspective on these unique structures.  The high altiplano setting and lakes look like they could just as easily existed in Ireland or in a Moorish-type setting.  We met a guard there who showed us around and pointed out a serpent and lizard in two of the funery towers.  Of course he asked for a small donation in exchange for his help and services.

We camped for free in the parking lot of the Sillustani Funerary Towers.  After the buses left and we were the only vehicle left, several of the souvenir vendors and their kids came over to talk and look at our VW.  We all had a good time talking. Everyone was friendly but they still kept trying to sell us their handicrafts.   TB really liked to joke around with them.  He’s been studying Spanish and can say and understand quite a bit.  TB evens knows a little Quechua which he learned 9 years ago when he was here in Peru with his wife, Marilena. TB told the ladies that he didn’t need their blanket to keep him warm at night, just a good woman.   They all had a good laugh.  After the laughter stopped though, the ladies kept pressing and told TB he should still buy a blanket to take home to his wife.  The salesmanship never stopped.  Speaking of wives and families, one of the vendors was a 23 year old girl with an 8 year old daughter.  This seemed pretty typical - life and responsibility happen at a very early age here.

The very small village of Sillustani is located right outside the parking lot gate.  It can’t be bigger than about 100 people.  The souvenir vendors invited us to play volleyball with them later that evening.  After cooking some food in Mango, we went to watch.  The players had stretched a volleyball net across the only road in town, from one light pole to another, and were playing on asphalt.  They were having what appeared to be a tournament so we primarily hung out on the sidelines and talked with the other 5 spectators.  The spectators were all very nice, but they kept asking us for gifts for their babies or to buy a coca-cola for their other children.  After about half an hour of this, we politely excused ourselves and headed back to Mango.  In Mango that night, the temperature on our thermometer dropped to a crisp 44°.  We slept great - the isolated silence was only occasionally punctuated by the town dogs barking back and forth at each other.

For our photo gallery containing more pictures of Sillustani, click here: Sillustani Funerary Towers

Directions to Tinajani Canyon

GPS waypoint off the Cusco-Puno road where you turn for Tinajani Canyon:  S 14° 54.184’ W 070° 35.138 elevation 12,864 ft.  There is a sign there directing you to turn right and go 10 km to the canyon.   The turnoff is about 0.5 miles past the traffic circle on the south side of the town of Ayaviri.  If you’re traveling south, you’ll turn right at the traffic circle for Puno and Tinajani Canyon.  You would turn left and cross the orange bridge if you want to enter the town of Ayaviri from the south side.

GPS waypoint for a good camping spot in Tinajani Canyon: S 15° 00.231’ W 070° 34.646 elevation 12,900 ft.  It is about 12 km on a good dirt road from the above turnoff at the Cusco-Puno road, and just across the first small bridge you come to.  After the bridge, turn right and drive about 100 feet to the camping spot at the rivers’ edge.  If you have a vehicle that can drive through the river (about 6 inches of water depth when we were there), there are even better and more secluded camping spots on the other side.   We were told that if you cross the river at this point and follow the road, the road leads into the actual Tinajani canyon.  It was nice here at the water’s edge so we stayed put and enjoyed the canyon scenery from this point.

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After 351 days of traveling, eating, sleeping, and living in a Volkswagen bus outside the US, we finally made it to Machu Picchu.  With all that’s said about the disproportionate costs of getting into Machu Picchu (see previous post), once you’re there, it truly is a spectacular place.  The Inca’s built an incredible stone city high above the valley floor.  We were lucky enough to be there on a day when the clouds wistfully blew in and out over the ancient ruins.  The effect was truly mesmerizing.  The experience of being there and seeing this astounding complex really makes you appreciate just how advanced the Inca civilization was.  Even though Machu Picchu was created over 500 years ago, you really have to appreciate the engineering, city planning, and just good taste in picking such a beautiful location to build a city.  The 6 hours we spent there were truly magical.   We walked around, took many pictures, and explored all the cracks and crevices of Machu Picchu and the overlooking temple complex of Wayna Picchu.  Below are some photos from this great day.

For an interesting article outlining the discovery and probable history of Machu Picchu, click here: History of Machu  Picchu

For our photo gallery containing more pictures of Machu Picchu, click here: Photo Gallery of Machu Picchu

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Machu Picchu is probably one of the finest Inca archaeological sites in all of South America.  The problem is that because it’s in such high demand, many people (myself included) are willing to pay exorbitantly disproportional prices (for Peru) to visit the site.  Someone is charging and making a lot of money here.  To put things in perspective, when we visited the almost-as-spectacular archaeological sight of Kuelap in less-visited northern Peru, the entry fee was 12 soles, or $4 per person ($1 = 3.10 Peruvian Soles).  Machu Picchu currently costs 124 soles for a three day pass, which is about $40.  For Peruvians and students with an International student ID card, the cost is half (62 soles).  A typical salary in Peru (restaurant waiter, security guard) is 45 soles per day ($14.50).  That means that for a Peruvian with a steady job, you need to pay a day and half’s salary to visit the sight.  If you work but your income is a bit less regular (taxi driver, bus driver), you make about 30 soles per day.  If you’re an indigenous person making a lot less per day, forget about ever visiting the premier archaeological sight of your ancestors.  For the foreigner price, I wouldn’t mind paying so much money if I knew the funds went back to the Peruvian people or to other archaeological conservation efforts, but I really doubt this is the case.  Someone is making a lot of money off Machu Picchu and it isn’t the Peruvian people or the indigenous descendants of the Inca site.

With that being said, here’s how we found to get to Machu Picchu as cheaply as possible, avoiding the equally expensive tourist train.  Take the 0530 or 0730 bus from Cusco to the town of Santa Maria.  The bus is a comfortable coach-style bus and takes about 5-6 hours and costs 20 soles per person.  The morning we went, anyone who showed up before the bus departed could buy a ticket.  If you’re concerned about the bus being full, you may want to buy the ticket the day before.  The bus station is located in Cusco about 2 km southwest of the Plaza de Armas, across the railroad tracks in the Santiago neighborhood.  It’s the bus station with buses headed to Quillabamba as it’s final destination.  The station is in a slightly sketchy part of town so you’ll probably want to take a taxi there in the morning.  A taxi from the Plaza de Armas at 0430 in the morning should cost about 6 soles total (not per person, 4 soles during the daytime), more if you’re located further away.  The day before you leave on the bus, stock up on snacks and maybe a meal you can bring to Aguas Calientes.  Food prices in Aguas Calientes and at Machu Picchu are “disproportionately high.”

The bus has lots of storage underneath and initially follows the same railroad tracks that the tourist train takes from Cusco to Aguas Calientes.  The considerably more expensive tourist train is half-owned by an international company and costs $48 or $71 each-way, depending on the time, for the 4 hour journey between Cusco and Aguas Calientes.  After 1 ½ hours the bus stops in Urubamba, and at 2 hours it stops in Ollantaytambo.  Both of these towns looked really cute, with lots of surrounding archaeological sites, attractions and tourist accommodations.  You might consider staying for a night or two here and continuing later on the bus towards Santa Maria.  Continuing on though, from Ollantaytambo, the road splits off from the railroad tracks and starts a steady climb northwest into the mountains to get you nearer to Aguas Calientes from the west side.  The bus ride has some pretty spectacular scenery, and although it will take you a full day to get to Aguas Calientes this way, it’s a lot cheaper and was a good experience.

5-6 hours after departing Cusco, you’ll get off the bus at the small town of Santa Maria.  Don’t worry about missing your stop - the conductor announced the stop for us and probably half the bus passengers got off there.  In Santa Maria, you’ll be met by a group of collectivo van drivers who are waiting to take Machu-Picchu seekers to the Hydroelectrico plant on the road beyond another town named Santa Teresa.  The collective van trip takes about 2 ½ hours and costs 10 soles.  If a smaller car is going that way for the same price – take it.  We took the 0530 bus out of Cusco, but then had to wait until the 0730 bus from Cusco arrived so that our collectivo driver could fill his 15 seats and depart.

The collectivo trip to the Hydroelectrico winds its way up a narrow, dirt, single-lane mountain road.  If you have motion sickness or a fear of heights, you might want to take the train from Cusco instead.  The scenery was great however.  Remember that the driver has a vested interest in not driving over the edge also, and he drives this road all the time, so even though the road is a lot sketchier than what you may be used to, it’s probably “relatively safe”.  In the collectivo, you’ll pass through the small town of Santa Teresa, where there are a few small hostals to stay at if you’d like.  Most people stay with the collectivo, and then another 15 minutes up the road you’ll arrive at the Hydroelectrico plant.  You now have two options.   You can either walk up the railroad tracks for 2 ½ hours (it’s free), or take a $7 each way train from the hydroelectrico plant to Aguas Calientes.  We walked up the railroad tracks and it seemed pretty safe as there were a lot of other backpackers walking down from Aguas Calientes.  It’s not a hard or steep walk, but it will take about 2 ½ hours.   If you walk up the tracks make sure you have an umbrella or some rain gear handy.  It rained the last hour we were hiking up the tracks.

If you took the 0730 bus from Cusco, you’ll probably walk into Aguas Calientes right about the time it gets dark.  You’ll walk through 2 short railroad tunnels before the tracks lead you right into town.  If you want to go back by train, I suggest getting your return ticket right now, or even better, before you left Cusco (most tickets were sold-out when we went to buy our return ticket for the next afternoon at the train station in Aguas Calientes).  The train station closes its ticket office at 7 PM.  We purchased the still quite expensive “backpackers train” from Aguas Calientes back to Ollantaytambo.  It cost $34 per person which is the most expensive 2 hour “backpackers train” I’ve ever been on.  The train ticket office doesn’t even list prices in soles which is somewhat telling.

I researched the Cusco-Aguas Calientes train after returning from Machu Picchu and here is what I found.  The train is operated by Peru Rail, which is owned approximately 50/50 by the Peru government, and Orient Express Hotels - a self-proclaimed high-end luxury hotel and travel experience company.  According to Orient Express Hotels’ website, they “own or part-own and manage, 51 businesses operating in 25 countries.” (source: http://www.orient-express.com/web/luxury/investors/investors_corporate_overview.jsp).  Furthermore, they operate 41 deluxe hotels, two restaurants, six tourist trains and two river cruise businesses.  Orient Express Hotels trades under the stock ticker OEH on the New York Stock Exchange and last year they had total revenues of $550.7 million USD.  Their corporate headquarters is conveniently located in Bermuda.  At least Orient Express is a publicly-traded company adhering to rules of transparency.  You can at least see where your money is going.  The other train half-owner is the Peruvian Government, which doesn’t have quite the same set of fiscal reporting requirements.

I think it’s great that the rail line employs mostly Peruvians.  However, the problem is that almost all of them earn a normal Peruvian salary.  There is a large gap between what the ticket probably should cost and what the standard tourist must pay.  Once again, someone is making an awful lot of money here, and it’s probably not your train conductor, ticket seller, or track worker.  There are several ATMs in Aguas Calientes if you need more money for the “backpackers train”.

The other thing you’ll want to do right away in Aguas Calientes is buy your entry ticket to Machu Picchu for the next day.  There were no lines at the ticket office the night before - I’ve heard the line can be long the next morning however.  The ticket office is located just uphill from the town plaza on the pedestrian street.  Prices are 124 soles for foreigners, 62 soles for Peruvian citizens with ID, and 62 soles for students with the official International Student ID card.  The office only takes cash (no credit cards).  Note: the cost of your ticket doesn’t include the bathroom located at the park entrance.  You’ll have to pay an additional 1 sole each time you use the bathroom.  Paying to use the bathroom is pretty common in Peru.  However, if the Machu Picchu businessmen are going to charge me “Gringo” prices for entry, then they better give me “Gringo service” (aka: a free bathroom).  Anyway, having to pay even a small amount for the bathroom was pretty insulting considering every-last dime was already being extracted from my rapidly thinning wallet.  The bathroom attendant almost sounded apologetic explaning that it was because the bathroom is owned by a different company.  Maybe the Machu Picchu mafia could subsidize the use of the bathroom?

Next up you’ll want to buy one of the $7 (each way) bus tickets to take you from Aguas Calientes in the morning up to Machu Picchu.  We walked the free 1 ½ hours trail the next morning so I’m not sure where you buy the bus tickets.  The 1 ½ hour climb up is somewhat strenuous, so don’t attempt it unless your physical state allows.  It had nice scenery, was well marked/maintained, and lots of people where on it in the morning.  The trail starts at the bottom of the switchbacks that the bus takes on its way up to Machu Picchu.  To get to the trail, just walk down the road that heads towards the river directly below the Aguas Calientes town plaza.  After about 10 minutes, the road crosses the river via a bridge.  Walk across the bridge and you’ll see a trailhead sign pointing to the right.  It’s all uphill from there.  If you choose to take the bus, keep in mind that the 6 hour bus ride from Cusco to Santa Maria costs less than the 20 minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu.   Once again, someone is making a big stash of money.   I guarantee it’s not your Peruvian bus driver.  Ask him how much he makes per day and you’ll probably be shocked.

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For budget lodging in Aguas Calientes, I recommend the “El Tumi Hostal.”  The El Tumi is located about 5 blocks up the pedestrian walkway from the main square, on the right side.  Our friends John and Lesley gave us a heads up on the El Tumi.  They stayed 2 people, private room with private bath and hot shower for 40 soles total (20 soles each).  We told the desk clerk at the El Tumi that our friends recommended we stay there and that they were charged 40 soles.  We asked if we could get the same price and the clerk immediately said no problem.  The El Tumi is located towards the top of the pedestrian street where a lot of hostals are located, so I think they’re just happy to get your business at a price that still works for them.  Our room was basic but actually really clean and orderly.  There weren’t too many other people at the El Tumi when we stayed but the hot water worked great and it was quiet in our room that night.  You can also leave your luggage in a room near the front desk the next morning if you don’t need it while you’re at Machu Picchu.   We heard stories of people making reservations for $60 for a hostal in Aguas Calientes.  Don’t do that, even in the high season I’m pretty sure there are more rooms in Aguas Calientes than bodies to fill them. You can always show up and bargain.

The next morning we left our hostal by 4:20 AM in the dark to make sure we could hike up the mountain in time to be in line for a 0600 Machu Picchu opening.  We made it to the Machu Picchu entrance around 5:45 AM, and there were probably 20-30 people ahead of us.  At 5:50 the first two buses showed up and added their passengers to the opening queue.   At 5:58 the gates opened and we all got our ticket stamped as we entered the park.  Most of the early crowd is there to get one of 400 tickets given out for the day to climb Wayna Picchu.  Wayna Picchu is the mountain on the far side of the Machu Picchu park grounds.  It has some temples on top but most people do the 1 hour climb to see the view back towards the main part of Machu Picchu.  The tickets don’t cost anything, but you probably need to be at the Machu Picchu entrance right when the park opens if you want to have a chance of getting one of the 400 tickets.

Once the park opens, you need to walk directly through the park to the far side where the gate to Wayna Picchu is located.  There you’ll wait about 20 minutes until a park guide comes by and attaches one of the 400 tickets to your main Machu Picchu ticket.  The number of people on Wayna Picchu is limited to 400 each day because the trail is steep and narrow.  I think they are trying to limit wear and tear on the trail, and avoid congestion or people getting hurt maneuvering around each other. There are 200 tickets for a 7:00 AM climb, and 200 for a 10:00 AM climb.  Regardless, you have to wait in line right after the park opens to get one of the 400 tickets.  Once you get your ticket you can walk around the grounds at your leisure until it’s time to climb at 7:00 or 10:00.  Ana and I walked across the park for a Wayna Picchu ticket along with everyone else as soon as the park opened.  We then waited for about 20 minutes at the Wayna Picchu entrance until a worker came by and stapled a little numbered ticket onto our big Machu Picchu ticket.  We then walked around the park until 10:00 AM when we climbed Wayna Picchu.  If you don’t get a ticket or don’t feel up for the climb, don’t sweat it.  Wayna Picchu was nice, but I think the classic views you get inside the normal Machu Picchu park are actually better than what you see when you get to the top of Wayna Picchu.  Do it if you have the time, but don’t feel bad if you don’t get to.

At 1230 we started walking down the trail to get back to Aguas Calientes for a 1400 train departure.  It took about 1 hour and was considerably easier going down the trail.  We boarded the train at 1400 and off we went.  2 hours later the train stopped at Ollantaytambo where we got off and joined the throng in the parking lot looking for a bus or taxi back to Cusco.  Here are the prices:

Big bus back to Cusco: 5 soles per person
Collectivo van back to Cusco: 10 soles per person
Taxi back to Cusco: 12-15 soles per person

If you can, strive to be in the front of the throng getting off the train in Ollantaytambo.  You’ll be able to get one of the cheaper 5 soles tickets back to Cusco on the big bus.  If you miss one of these cheap seats however, the other options are only a little more expensive.  When we got off the train, there were more taxis than passengers, so you should always have an available ride back to Cusco.  The 12-15 soles per person cost for a taxi was based on 4 people in the taxi.  Maybe make some friends on the train and pair up if you want to take the taxi ride option.  Regardless of your method of travel back to Cusco, plan on about 2 to 2 ½ hours travel time.

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I hope this post was helpful for anyone planning a trip to Machu Picchu who wants to save a little money.  My goal isn’t to cheat the people of Peru out of any revenue they might earn from tourists visiting Machu Picchu.  I do however want to provide information on other forms of transportation so that travelers on a reduced budget can also get to Machu Picchu.  By skipping some of the high-priced transportation options where the main profiteers are non-local companies and individuals, my hope is that you might have a few more soles left to buy a lunch, some handicrafts, or a souvenir from a local person who can directly pocket that money.  Hopefully you’ll get to interact a bit more with the local population, and they can see that tourists also care about saving some money, just like them.

Our total costs for getting to Machu Picchu from Cusco for 2 people were:
Taxi to the Quillabamba bus station at 0430 in the morning: 9 soles
Bus Cusco to Santa Maria: 40 soles
Food at bus stops: 14 soles
Collectivo Santa Maria to Santa Teresa Hydroelectrico: 20 soles
Walking from the Hydroelectrico to Aguas Calientes: free
Food in Aguas Calientes: 54 soles
Private room with bathroom in Aguas Calientes at the El Tumi Hostal: 40 soles
Walking from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu: free
Entry tickets into Machu Picchu: 248 soles
Bathroom 2x at Machu Picchu: 2 soles!
Train ride Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo: $68 (the station didn’t even post prices in soles, all prices were listed in dollars.  $68 is about 210 soles)
Taxi from Ollantaytambo back to Cusco: 26 soles
Total cost for 2 people was 663 soles or $214

For a photo gallery containing more pictures of the trip to Machu Picchu, click here: Trip to Machu Picchu

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The knowledge of this campsite is passed on word of mouth from camper to camper because it is not an official site.  The directions were excellent and we pulled in just before dark.  Actually, I had to run inside the yard to make sure it was the right place and as I did so, I woke up the house dog, a huge german shepherd.  He started at me barking and I froze momentarily until I regained my wits and realized that he was probably not ferocious if this was the campground.  I greeted him in a friendly voice and by the time he reached me, he seemed much more friendly.  I petted him on the head as I headed back down to open the gates to the yard.  He trotted along my side happily.  What a difference from before when I thought I might be his dinner.

Here in Cusco, dad spent a couple days by himself as Chad and I headed to visit Machu Picchu.  Dad had already visited Machu Picchu nine years ago with my mom on a tour, so he didn’t need to spend a small fortune to see it again.  The campsite was very comfortable but a little bit expensive.  We had chickens, cats and a dog keeping us company all the time.  The chickens were so friendly that you could actually walk over and pick them up and the cats were good friends with the dog coming up to rub against his large head.  It was a good place to spend a couple days.  Here we ran into our friends from England, John and Lesley, after having gone our separate ways in Caraz, Peru.  They had just returned from Machu Picchu and we were heading there the next day.  It was nice to chat with them and enjoy a celebratory bottle of wine.

To see more pictures from our time at the Quinta Lala Campsite click here Cusco Campground Pictures.

To see more pictures of the city of Cusco click here: Cusco City Pictures

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I remember the last time we drove over a pass at 13,450 feet (4100 meters).  It was from the town of Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca mountains of Peru down to the coast and town of Barranca.  We were nervous that Mango wouldn’t make it over the pass, but she did fine.  This drive to Cusco was a first for several things: my dad’s first climb into the mountains of Peru by car, first time driving over a pass at about 15,000 feet (4600 meters), driving above 14,000 feet (4300 meters) for more than 3 hours, and seeing wild vicunas grazing in the 14,000 feet altiplano.  We adopted a new way of driving Mango very slowly keeping the engine as close to idle as possible in order to keep the engine cool.  Dad’s suggestion for driving a 31 year old car.  Prior to leaving Nazca, Chad also adjusted the gas/air mixture and idle and seemed to get it just right.  It seemed to work brilliantly and Mango chugged along without a hiccup all the way up the mountain.  The only down side was that it was painfully slow with everyone passing us, busses, trucks and even people (actually, just kidding about the people).  Either way it worked and now we are still driving Mango the same way.  She seems to like it and we have not had engine problems ever since.

The scenery of the drive was brilliantly beautiful, above tree level just some shrubs and small rocks spread across the landscape.  We enjoyed the cooler air in the mountains having just left the hot desert climate down below.  The first group of vicunas we came across were so cute that we stopped to get out and take photos.  Vicunas are a smaller version of the llama.  They are wild and do not survive in captivity.  Therefore, their fur is more expensive and supposedly softer than llama fur.  The indigenous people in the mountains have a 3 day holiday every couple of years where they capture and sheer the vicunas to collect their fur, then they release them again.  Vicunas are light brown with a whitish belly and legs.  They all appear to have the same coloration unlike llamas which have many different colors and lines.  After the first sighting of vicunas, there were many more sightings.  We saw many vicunas spread out everywhere but if we weren’t looking for them, we probably wouldn’t see them because they blend in so well with the background.

It took us three days to reach Cusco with our new Mango driving technique.  But we didn’t care because we made it.  First night, we spent in the town of Puquio, a quiet, small town with friendly people.  We camped in the gated parking lot of a Hotel just off the main square.  It was a nice place to camp except that it was Saturday night and we had a disco playing next door until the early hours of the morning.  Just outside our car were several cages housing rabbits and guinea pigs.  They smelled a little bit, but were very cute and we had a place in our hearts for them since we knew that they were there for the purpose of being someone’s meal at anytime.  A couple of the rabbits roamed free in the yard and seemed to really enjoy hopping around and basking in the sun.  Also in the yard was some kind of bird of prey which I can only assume was at one time hurt and rehabilitated.  It had its wings clipped.

The next day we camped in the town of Abancay at a very large and nice hotel, Hotel Hoturs.  They had a large parking lot in the back with a garden and WiFi in the lobby.  We stretched our legs by walking around town looking for a place to eat and have a beer.  Finding a place to eat was no problem, but the restaurants in this town seemed to either serve food or beer but not both.  Finally we found a Chinese restaurant where we could have both food and beer.  It was perfect.  After eating we headed back to the car looking for a panaderia along the way to satisfy my dad’s need for his daily bread.  It was cute.  Everywhere we went and he saw bread, he would buy more.  It came in handy for a quick snack when we were on the road, which we were doing a lot of lately.

Finally on the third day we pulled into Cusco.  Dad was driving and wouldn’t you know it, he got pulled over by the police right in the main town square.  The policeman made up something about not signaling left and asked for all kinds of documents.  As I was digging things out in the back, dad was working his magic, sweet-talking the policeman until he let us off with a warning.  Lucky day.

To see all photos from our high-elevation drive to Cusco, click here: 3-day drive between Nazca and Cusco, Peru

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