As we journeyed through Peru we arrived at Ollantaytambo, Peru some 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of 2,792 meters (9,160 feet) above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru it served as a stronghold for Manco Inca Yupanqui, leader of the Inca resistance. Nowadays it is an important tourist attraction on account of its Inca buildings and as one of the most common starting points for the three-day, four-night hike known as the Inca Trail. Tourists from all over thw world gather to not only trek into Machu Picchu but also to take a vistadome train car to Aguas Calientes via PeruRail.
i will write an entire article about Ollantaytambo in the weeks ahead.
Here is my ticket from PeruRail.
A small town called Aguas Calientes or Machupicchu Town is the tourist jumping off point for Machu Picchu. According to Wikipedia: Aguas Calientes (Spanish for “hot water” or “hot springs”), sometimes referred to as Machupicchu Town, is a town in Peru on the Urubamba (Vilcanota) River. It is the closest access point to the historical site of Machu Picchu, which is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away or about a 1.5 hours walk. There are many hotels and restaurants for tourists, as well as natural hot baths, which give the town its name. The baths were destroyed by floods several years ago, but have been rebuilt.
Machupicchu is built almost entirely on the side of a mountain. This street full of shops and restaurants rises from the valley floor and climbs high into the mountains evenually arriving at the famous hot springs the town is known for.
If you missed Part Ii click here: https://www.ufodigest.com/article/trekking-through-machu-pichu-part-iii
Local Incs’s walk the very steep paths and live is small homes along the mountain side.
As mentioned previously Aguas Calientes is known for its hot springs. Many of our group including Carolyn and myself walked the several miles uphill to experience the delights of the mountain water.
See the river below. It runs the entire way from the top of this mountain to the town below.
Here I am struggling to climb continuously uphill to visit the hot springs my partner insisted that we visit.
After spending a day relaxing we took a bus up the side of this mountain to Machu Picchu. The bus hugged the mountain and the curves as buses passed buses, inches from drops that could literally shallow up tourist buses. As I mentioned in a previous article buses came to a stop to let others safely proceed.
These photos were taken at Machu Picchu.
Here I am taking a break, relaxing out of the sun next to a water fountain.
Walking along this trail one can see the terraces hugging the sides of the mountain descending to the valley below as well as the trail hugging the mountain and leading to other towns along this the famous Inca Road which stretches between 25,000 – 30,000 miles.
Most groups of visitors arrange to have a government regulated Tour Guide accompany them and explain the historical signifiance of the many sacred buildings and sites throughout. This was the case for our group at Machu Picchu. These tour guides are university trained and licensed by the Peru Tourism Bureau. From what I learned the remunertion was very good.
My partner Carolyn taking a photo break with the Inca ruins in the background.
This is a close-up of the famous Condor head which uses the sides of the walls to depict the Condor’s wings.
This ends my series on Peru although other photos and videos could occur diuring the weeks and months ahead. Hope you enjoyed it. Dirk