Marek It’s hard to plan everything down to the day if you’re traveling on your own. You risk not making it on time, or you have to set a frantic pace. That’s why we bought a train ticket to Machu Picchu the day before the planned departure. Of course, there were no cheaper tickets and we had to go first class. It’s hard, it’s going to be rich, we’ll save elsewhere.
We leave early in the morning. This is necessary if you don’t plan to stay upstairs overnight. Traveling 110 km takes over 3 hours. Almost like in PKP? In this case, however, the slow pace is justified. We climb uphill for most of the way. The train moves in a pendulum motion for some time. However, the journey cannot be considered boring. Views, from the majesty of the snow-capped peaks of the Andes, to the everyday life of the inhabitants. It’s all worth those few hours at the top of Machu Picchu.
If you think that train travel is everything, you are deeply mistaken. The railway takes you to the town of Aguas Calientes (Hot Waters). Continue to fend for yourself. There are still 2 km to the ruins. So maybe we can walk on foot? Such a walk in the morning. Ha, good luck. On foot it is 2 hours by road (tight switchbacks), or an hour of climbing the path. The choice is simple, and that means racing for tickets to the bus, and then pushing through the crowd to the bus. They depart only during the arrival hours of the train.
We are on top of the mountain. It’s just beautiful here. A view of the ruins is one thing, a view of the surrounding peaks and valleys is worth as much, or maybe more, than visiting a pre-Columbian city. How did they build it in such an inaccessible area? This is a question that no one has yet found an answer to. Where did the Incas get the material for stone buildings? I bet it was already here, and the builders simply used the stone that was available before the city was built. And what? Did I win a bet?
And the question is why here? This place provides security against possible attacks. And for people accustomed to living at an altitude of 4000 m. The functioning of one and a half kilometers lower does not pose any problems.
Am I still out of breath, just like on Lake Titicaca? I. Have I jumped up steep slopes like a chamois? I jumped. Maybe even like a strong and athletic goat. And finally, I’ll tell you. In life, you can spend money on various things. However, no investment will yield the return that travels, without a compass, on your own.
