Mission Machu Picchu

I did Machu Picchu SOLO!! Why? Because I was being cheap and I couldn't find anyone in my hostel who hadn't already been or wasn't booked in on a trek. On a shoe string. It was actually really fun going alone and gave me the opportunity to for once feel like a proper traveller, explorer - at least in my own head. Walking along the train tracks to get to Aguas Calientes in the valley. Dappled light, a river, butterflies and beautiful scenery.

It was an adventure.

It's expensive to get to see Machu Picchu and rightly so. A World Heritage sight, breathtakingly perched on the side of an already breathtaking mountain top. It begs the question, how on earth did they build it, how on EARTH? How on earth did they 'forget' about it or manage to keep it a secret from the Spanish for so long? Shrouded in mystery, high in the clouds in the Andes, it's the stuff of dreams.

The sacred valley treks and tours are expensive. If I had the money I'd definitely do one. Thing is, making your way through South America with a backpack there are tours and trips on offer in almost every town. Backpacking can be bankrupting. Fortunately, for me and my sorry finances, there is a way round paying hundreds of soles to get to see the famous precolombian sight. It's pretty local and economical until you pay for the entry into the sight, just a case of getting some buses and walking the end of the Salkantay trek to get to Aguas Calientes.

I ballsed up as usual and got to the bus terminal at completely the wrong time. The bus terminal was a bit of a dive, the area around it was interesting, housing some cantina style eateries. Knowingly, the ticket sales woman was said to me - you're going to Machu Picchu? Like a secret society of thieves. I wonder how long people have been getting to the site this way? As far as I knew before the only way to get there was by train or trek. I smiled back at her thinking - yes, I'm doing it like all of you! The sneaky way round the back.

She suggested I catch a bus late at night, leaving me with the impression it would be possible to get to Hidro - where the walk starts, at sunrise and all would be perfect. This was totally not the case. I arrived at Santa Teresa at about 2 or 3 in the morning, impossible to get a taxi to Hidro, I pitched up for the night in a no frills hostel. Not even sure they had a bathroom. What made the late night bus journey worth it was the night driving in the taxi between Santa Maria and Santa Teresa. I think it was more impressive than it would have been at day. Lose gravel mountain roads at speed in the dark, not seeing anything removed the fear leaving the sensation of taking on the turns at speed fun. I was looking out of the window at the stars, with he twists and turns in the roads huge bodies of the mountains would suddenly etch out the sky. This somehow made them seem bigger, solid, huge bodies of land that were reaching up to the heavens. In my sleepy, warm state I was found this sensation really impressive.

To get to Aguas Calientes I got up to walk from the following day.

These are some of the photos of the surprisingly exhausting 2-3 hour walk. Crossing a rusty bridge I was certain I was going to die. I was also mildly convinced that I was going to get told off at some point for cheating the system and going the cheap local way.

Somehow a highlight, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, I find a little alter, muddy, dusty ground, taken over by chickens. 


Totally bizarrely there were signs of life along the entire route even though we were miles away from anything. Seemed crazy. Beautiful as the landscape was I would never want to live so cut off.

Death bridge - ok, I have in issue with crossing rivers apparently, but the iron sheets on the foot bridge were rusty, eroded and I was convinced that I was going to fall through one of them and get swept away to oblivion when I was all by myself.

Not a good way to go