Machu Picchu on a BudgetWhen you think of Perú you instantly think of Machu Picchu, and rightly so! This 15th century Incan citadel sits proudly some 2,500m above sea level and looks down in all it's glory over the nearby town of Aguas Calientes. Justifiably voted as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO world heritage site, this is a hot spot not to miss!!
As with locations of this nature around the world, Peruvians are all too aware of the incomparable gloriousness that abounds this site and they have gone all out to cash in on it! When visiting Perú and planning a visit to Machu Picchu you will quickly learn there is no cheap way of doing it, but there are a number of options and some are significantly cheaper (although often significantly harder) than others! Riv and I did extensive (and it sometimes felt like endless) research surrounding the various possibilities before finally settling on a plan. I am simply going to detail the option we finally settled on but we have kept all of the notes on pricing and timing which we made at the time so if anyone out there would like more information on ANY of the options (planes, train, automobiles all covered) please feel free to send us and email! After hours of consideration, consultation and discussion we agreed we would take the longest, slowest and cheapest route to get ourselves to and from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, after all, we weren't in any kind of hurry and travel is about the journey not about the destination...right?! Hmm!! Our chosen option required us to start by taking a shared minivan from Cusco town centre to the Hidroelectrica, approximately 13km outside of Aguas Calientes via the windy back roads. This journey was reputed to take approximately 6 - 6 1/2hrs. This was merely stage one, as the next part of the journey involved getting from the Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes via the train line which connects the two locations...however in order to keep this excursion to an economic minimum this is not done with the use of a train as one might expect, but rather on foot, alongside the train line, a venture I coined a term for en route...'The Pilgrimage of the Cheap'! It was a long and hard day, but probably would have been shorter and easier had it not been for the typical travellers inconveniences that befell us along the way...I will start at the top... We had been told by the company with which we were travelling that our bus would leave promptly at 7am. Considering we were staying about a 30 minute bus ride outside of Cusco centre this seemed like an unappealingly early start but our decision had been made and we had to go with it. So, at 5.30am on day one of the Machu Picchu experience we rose, took the local bus into town, grabbed a very quick street snack for breakfast and then walked to our meeting point, arriving a comfortable 10 minutes early...and we waited...and waited...and waited some more! By 7.40am a reasonably sizeable group of frustrated travellers had collected, all of whom were exhibiting varying degrees of exasperation and frustration. Eventually someone showed up and informed us that the van would be along soon. Finally at 8.05 it arrived. We all piled on, only to discover there wasn't enough space for all of us, at which point Riv and I as two who were only using the van for transportation and not a full package excursion were instructed to vacate. Vacate we did and we returned to the street to stand and wait some more while the 'gentleman' who had insisted we get off offered no further explanation or resolution. Suddenly, without warning a car pulled up and we were pushed into the back with two other rather confused and flustered looking travellers. We were driven to one point where the two others were dropped off and we were then left sitting alone in the car while the driver and his friend consulted with each other and over the phone...still without explaining to either of us what the hell was going on! I am not going to give too much more detail about the comedy of errors that followed but suffice it to say we were unquantifiably relieved whilst also having dangerously high blood pressure when we finally got into another minivan and set off on our way...at 9.30!! The drive to Hidroelectrica was also not without it's dramas! We had been told in advance that the road was pretty windy and narrow and points but both of these adjectives appeared on closer inspection to be mildly understated! Parts of the journey could easily have been compared to some of the most extreme roller coasters either of us had ever been on and the addition of impatient and aggressive South American drivers did not help (although comparatively, ours was sensational...COMPARATIVELY!). Having made it to Hidroelectrica in one piece (just) we hoped that the business end of the drama for the day was over. In some ways this was true, in others, not so much! We were dropped off just before 3pm, giving us about 2 1/2hrs to do the 13km pilgrimage along the train lines to Aguas Calientes before nightfall. This seems doable but obviously to add to the joy of the experience it was at this time the heavens decided to open and pour down on us for the duration. Really not what we needed after what had already been a far too long and stressful day! However, by this stage, we had no choice and so we walked...and walked...and walked. It seemed never ending! 13km really didn't sound too bad to us when we planned this, we had walked far longer than this is a day on numerous occasions throughout our travels, but this time it seemed hateful and endless and relentless! Just as we had all but reached the end of our tethers we saw the lights of the town... we were nearly there! Seriously and honestly nearly there! As soon as we arrived we accosted by seemingly every guesthouse proprietor in town and after very brief and unenthusiastic negotiation on my part we settled on a place. Final little rub of salt into the wound...it was up another bloody hill!! It was at this point I really had to question just how wonderous this wonder of the world really could be in order to justify the effort we had gone to just to get to it!! After a good night's sleep but waking seriously feeling the effects of the day before we chose to give ourselves a days grace before embarking on the actual visit to Machu Picchu. On this day we armed ourselves with the unbelievably expensive entrance ticket to site at a ticket office in town, as well as a bus ticket to take us up the hill. After the mentally and physically exhausting joys of the day before we agreed that we would happily walk down the hill after visiting Machu Picchu but would not subject ourselves to a fairly significant and strenuous hike before we had even started...this would probably not have led to a true appreciation of what was at the end. I'm not going to give too much detail about our experience at Machu Picchu itself as this has been well documented by travellers and travel writers far more eloquent than myself innumerable times before. However, I will say, it was well worth the effort. When we reached the Sun Gate and gazed out over the enormity of this extraordinarily well preserved ancient citadel, all the pain, stress and mental trauma we had put ourselves through seem absolutely and totally worth it. And for once, clearly someone somewhere was on our side because after 3 days of fairly crappy weather in the region the skies cleared and we had the most beautiful blue skies with a just a powdery scattering of light fluffy clouds as our backdrop! There was no doubt in either of our minds that this site truly justifies it's status as one of the Seven Wonders of the World! After a difficult, but certainly not impossible trek down the hill and back to Aguas Calientes we both agreed the end certainly justified the means and we were more than happy that we had come! The next morning it was time for us to return to Cusco via embarkation on the 'Pilgrimage of the Cheap' but this time in reverse (13km walk to Hidroelectrica followed by 'windy and narrow' drive back to Cusco...yay). Obviously, the universe, having thrown us a fairly significant bone the day before decided it was time that we return back to reality and we awoke to an absolutely torrential downpour...this was not going to make the walk a pleasant one! We decided that all we could do was to start our day with a hearty feed and hope for the best. The best was not coming, the rain was not letting up and the closer it got to time for us to leave the more we were dreading it. I was trying to be positive as I repeatedly chanted our travel mantra of "it's either a good time or a good story". This journey was certainly going to fall into the latter but I knew deep deep DEEP down that it would reach that stage eventually! And then, suddenly, without provocation or expectation our travel guardian angel shone her light on us and offered us a way out. Having spoken to my Mum earlier that morning about our intentions to undergo this expedition in what could only be described at this stage as a monsoon she blind refused to let us do it and insisted without the possibility for debate that she would treat us to the the train back to Cusco directly from Aguas Calientes and entirely remove any need to rain trekking! We had previously completely negated this as an option and put it into the 'far too indulgent for our type of travelling' pile, but we weren't going to say no twice! After a very excited (and rather wet) run to the train station we booked or seats and we were off! Our Machu Picchu experience was rounded off with a beautiful train journey through the Peruvian countryside and surrounding mountains (whilst looking out on the torrential rain)! Overall our Machu Picchu experience was wonderful. Memorable in both good and bad ways but one which neither of us would have changed a single minute of (ok, maybe the final hill walk in Aguas Calientes could have been left out)! We did the round trip from Cusco in a total of three days and three nights. Most do it in two and some complete nutters do it in one. Obviously there is also the Inca Trail, but this wasn't something either of considered in any of our options...it's just not our idea of a good time! Personally, if I were to do it again I would still do it in three days as our choice of the cheapo's route is pretty physically demanding in itself but obviously your time constraint and own physical abilities and preferences could determine a different choice. However you choose to get there and what you choose to do once you are there I can absolutely guarantee you will not retreat a trip to Machu Picchu. And, I can personally vouch for the sense of satisfaction and intense level of humour felt after completion of the Pilgrimage of the Cheap!
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Arriving into Puno was pretty easy due to the fact that we'd already established where we were going stay courtesy of Julio. Upon arriving at the bus station, Julio delivered us to a couple with a baby who traipsed us through the streets to their guesthouse. In all fairness the guesthouse was lovely but due to the fact that Julio later turned nasty we would not recommend staying here or booking with the 2 associated tour companies. We stayed at Sol Andina Inn for S/35 ($14 AUD/10.70 USD) for a double room. We had wanted to enquire in town about tours on Lake Titicaca but had asked Julio from Lago Tours first how much his day trip to the floating islands and Taquile Island cost to get an idea. Unfortunately this is when he decided he was entitled to our business. We returned from town having booked with a lovely lady at a reputable looking agency for S/34 pp ($13.60 AUD/10.45 USD) instead of with Lago Tours for S/45 ($18 AUD/13.85 USD) and we were having lunch included with our tour, which Lago weren't offering. On informing Julio that we had gone with another company he got very angry and really intimidated Dani. The next morning he showed up at the guesthouse while we were waiting for our tour guide to show up. When she did he spoke to her angrily in Spanish and she told us that she couldn't take us after all. He demanded to see our tickets and then laughed and told us our company was unreliable and not official. When the second person showed up to get us (I waited outside this time so Julio couldn't interfer) Julio again tried to intimidate this guide and started yelling at him as we were trying to leave. We eventually got going but I would definitely avoid interacting with both Julio and Lago Tours. It was actually due to his association with the guesthouse that we decided to leave the next day instead of staying in Puno. The day trip to the islands was great. We headed out with our travel kids (yes still with us since the start of Bolivia) to the first stop, which are the floating islands. Honestly, Dani and I felt the same about these islands. Although it is very cool that they have developed this technique to live on the lake by creating islands out of reeds and floating moss beds, they have become an exploitative tourist trap. From the moment you arrive on the island you are pressured into spending more and more money. We had decided not to get on the reed boat for a trip round the island but the pressure to go was really unpleasant. There is also a huge push to buy handicrafts while you are on the island. We are quite used to this in lots of tourist hotspots but what saddened me was the way the youngest child on the island, who was maybe 3, had already been trained to use her cuteness to get tourists to buy things and give her things. I was pleased though, that after she realised she wasn't able to get me to give her things (I'm not horrible I promise but I know how damaging it can be to children to continue this pattern) we were able to engage in a game which meant that for at least 15 minutes that day she was able to just be a kid. The next stop was Taquile Island, which was actually what makes this trip amazing. Be warned though that the hike at 4000m above sea level is extremely challenging if you haven't adjusted yet or are finding the altitude a general struggle. Make sure you've brought along some coca leaves or candy and take the climb slowly. This felt horrible on the way up and I thought my lungs were going to explode but boy am I glad we made it. The village at the top of the hill was beautiful and those who live there are still living real traditional lifestyles. They are the last of the true Incas. The men knit and the women tend to the flocks and cook. It's quite a surreal place to visit. We wandered around for a while and then walked to the lunch spot, which was equally as beautiful. We were treated to a delicious traditional lunch and shown how to use native plants to wash wool and how the perform courtship dances. I would highly recommend an overnight stay on Taquile. You can get a ferry to the island independently and I think this is by far the better option. It’s about 2 hours to get to the island by ferry and is a very pretty trip. Once on the island I believe the sleeping options are homestays with local families and I’m certain these can be prearranged on the mainland if you are concerned about sorting this on the island. We unfortunately had not arranged to stay and so returned to the mainland via ferry after the return trip down the hill and to the other side of the island. Up early the next morning we headed to the market for breakfast before the kids woke up. We managed to grab a great breakfast for S/5 ($2AUD/1.5 USD) each and then went back to the hostel to grab our bags and kids before heading for the bus station. This was to be another goodbye with the girls as we were heading off to Arequipa and they were going straight to Cusco. Both groups were able to get buses leaving within the next hour and our bus to Arequipa cost us S/20 ($8 AUD/6.15 USD) plus a S/1.5 ($0.60 AUD/0.45 USD) departure tax. A word of advice for a route around Peru is head to Cusco and then down to Arequipa rather than the way we did it…hindsight is a beautiful thing! This will make travelling onto Lima much easier, shorter and less stressful. Our bus to Arequipa took 6 hours and was relatively entertaining as 3 high/drunk young Colombians spent the whole time in and out of the toilet getting more and more out of touch with reality. The process to get out of Puno also took forever as we were stopping every 20m or so to pick people up or let on snack vendors. Luckily for us they were selling some great and cheap snacks which we were more than happy to sample. We got in to Arequipa late in the afternoon and caught a cab from the bus station to the center of town. The taxi rank outside of the bus station has regulated prices so it’s nice and easy and will cost you S/8 ($3.20 AUD/2.45 USD). After doing our usual rounds of hostels Dani found us a room in MGZ Hostal for S/35 ($14 AUD/10.70 USD), which had a small but functional room and Perú’s fastest WiFi. It also happened to be 3 blocks down from the main square and 3 blocks from the central markets…perfect! We quickly settled into our room and then headed to the market for some food. As we had arrived late and on a Sunday we had limited options but we managed to get one of our favorite dinners in South America which is an avocado, a bag of tomatoes (tomato salad in a bag is actually one of our travel staple meals all around the world), some fresh queso and a couple of salteñas all of which came to S/15 ($6 AUD/4.60 USD). We headed back to the guesthouse and had a picnic in our room while planning the next few days. We had booked to do the Arequipa free walking tour the next morning, which leaves from just outside the main square and is well worth taking the time to do. We learnt all about the history of Arequipa, one of Perú’s revolutionary cities, all while ambling around some of the prettiest architecture in South America. Needless to say by the end of the tour we had fallen in love with Arequipa and where quite content wandering through the cobbled streets looking a gorgeous buildings and eating amazing food (Perú has an excellent culinary reputation for a reason) for the next few days. Part of this wandering was also finding a good tour company to take to go to the Colca Canyon for an overnight trip. For a lot of people the best way to see the Colca Canyon is by hiking on a 2 or 3 day trip or independently but for those of you (like us) who either can’t or don’t want to (absolutely no judgment from us) this overnight trip is great. As the Colca Canyon is a good 5 hours away I wouldn’t recommend the day trip which starts painfully early in the morning, gets you back in the late evening and rushes you through everything all day! (If you need any more information about this feel free to drop us an email and we’ll happily answer any questions, Dani got all of the information from most of the companies in Arequipa about the different options) We ended up going with a company that cost S/180 ($71.85 AUD/55.30 USD) each for an English-speaking guide, transport, entrance fees, accommodation, lunch on the first day and breakfast and lunch on the second day. This was a great deal and the trip was excellent. Our only complaint is that our minivan broke down about 30 minutes outside of Arequipa on the way there and we had to spend over an hour on the side of the road waiting for a replacement minivan after being promised it would take 20 minutes. This on its own wouldn’t be worth mentioning (we are in South America after all) however on the way home the next day the replacement minivan broke down at the highest point of the journey (around 4,900m above sea level) and the driver was refusing to return to Chivay (the nearest town) to fix it. It took just over 2 hours (again we were promised 20 minutes) to remedy the situation and this high point at almost 5000m can be quite difficult if you suffer any effects from altitude. All this being said the actual trip was great. On the way to Chivay (the town at the start of the canyon) you drive through the National Park where you are given the opportunity to photograph vincuñas (wild llama cousins) and alpacas, which roam freely throughout. Chivay itself is a cute little town and has good amenities for tourists. It has plenty of tour companies that can arrange day trips and treks into the canyon should you decide to travel independently and book from there yourself. Tip: Should you decide to do this trip independently you will have to head back to Arequipa to continue on to Cusco afterwards. The reason being the only bus available from Chivay direct to Cusco is a tourist only bus going three times a week and costing an astronomical $60 USD ($78 AUD)! We were booked into a nice little hotel as part of the tour and were up early for breakfast and pickup the next morning. It’s worth noting that the included breakfast is just a bread roll, jam and coffee. This wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem, but the morning is fairly long and involves a decent amount of activity and this isn’t much to be going on. Day 2 of the trip is definitely the better day starting off with driving along side the stunning canyon. You are taken to a few villages along the way which seem a bit pointless by village 3 as they all contain the same array of overcrowded tourist stalls with more llama socks and trinkets than you can shake a stick at, but they are quaint. Then you are taken to Cruz del Condor where you can see these slightly intimidating huge birds catching thermals and rising above the canyon. On arrival here having seen some condors along the way we were pleasantly surprised by the fact that the thick mist covering the canyon and obstructing our view actually added to the charm. The canyon would peak though the mist and then be covered again in an instant. It was actually a beautiful sight to see. After and hour of wandering around we were shuffled back in to the minivan and back to Chivay for our wonderful lunch. This, similar to the day before, is a buffet consisting of many of Perú’s most delectable dishes including a selection of soups and deserts. This is a great way to sample what Peruvian cuisine has to offer and find out what you want to have more of on your travels. After lunch it was back in the minivan to head back to Arequipa we were due to arrive at around 5pm and had planned to head straight to the bus station to catch a bus to Cusco but due to the aforementioned breakdown we actually arrived closer to 8pm and decided that we would keep our fingers crossed that MGZ had a room for us. Luckily enough for us it did and we sunk exhausted into our bed for the night. We now had an extra day to kill in Arequipa but as we loved this city it wasn’t hard to spend another few hours wandering the streets and eating some more great food. When we finally got bored we headed out to the bus station to grab an overnight bus to Cusco. As taxi fares are regulated we knew we should be paying S/8 ($3.20 AUD/2.45 USD) for the journey and after originally being quoted S/10 ($4 AUD/ 3 USD) by a driver we agreed on the official sum of S/8. On arrival at the bus station the driver insisted that we pay him S/10. Now we know that this isn’t a lot of money but it’s the principal of it, so after arguing for about 5 minutes he agreed to S/8 again…this is when it got a bit strange. Dani handed him a S/10 note and he handed us back 2 S/5 coins and then sped off. We’re not sure how or why he did this but we ended up with a free taxi ride to the bus station when all we’d wanted to do was pay the correct fare. After a loop of the station to scout out the different companies we booked a Civa bus to Cusco which cost S/30 ($12 AUD/9.20 USD) each for their Superciva class which was really comfortable. The journey took 11 hours and was an easy smooth ride. When we arrived at the Cusco bus station we were greeted by a very lovely and smiley guy who offered to take us to his guesthouse and he was offering double rooms with private bathrooms for S/35 ($14 AUD/10.70 USD) a night. As we knew that the girls had been paying S/40 ($15.95 AUD/12.30 USD) each for a dorm room this seemed like a great deal. We took a look at the map he had and it looked like it was between 12-14 blocks from the center, which didn’t bother us so we jumped in a cab with him and off we went. Well, on arrival we thought we’d hit the jackpot. The room was great with 2 double beds, a private bathroom, hot water and breakfast included. Not only that but the family who run the guesthouse including the lovely boy who met us at the bus station were incredible. The catch was that when we logged into the super fast WiFi we discovered that the 12-14 blocks on the map were in between a whole lot of other streets and we were actually 6km outside of the historic center. This transpired to be a small blessing. Not only did we have a beautiful and quiet room at a reasonable cost but also it meant we got to have fun figuring out Cusco’s great collective public transport system. It turned out that it was really easy from where we were staying just to jump in a minivan with the right company, always taking a different route to the city. As we’d arrived so early in the morning we decided we would do a walking tour of Cusco. Now despite the fact that our guide Jamie was very sweet, it wasn’t a great tour but we did see some interesting bits of Cusco. I’m not sure we could recommend either of the companies we ended up touring with while in Cusco, but its always a good way to orientate yourself in a new city so give one a go. We were pleased to find out on our return to the guesthouse that Nic who we had met in Bolivia was in Cusco and was keen to meet up with us the next day. We agreed to meet for our second walking tour and afterwards headed to the Sunday food market. It was here that Dani finally got to try the famous cuy (guinea pig) and fell in love with the controversial dish. We left Nic agreeing to meet him the next day at the chocolate museum (more like a shop with information and free samples) and planned a ‘travel family’ reunion as the girls were arriving back from their Amazon trip. After tracking down the girls and Nic and sampling our way through the museum we found a quiet pub to settle into for the afternoon. We had a great catch up with the family and managed to put away a fair amount of alcohol before saying our final goodbyes to our travel family. After 4 weeks and 2 countries together on and off this was going to be the last time we saw each other in South America. With promises to see each other again in Europe in the summer we left feeling strangely heavy hearted. It’s something Dani and I talk about a lot is how quickly you make travel friends. When in the real world to you ever meet someone at a bus station and decided to go on holiday with them?! In our world we do this all the time. The connections you make while travelling are quick and strong but can last just for the time your together or in some cases a lifetime. Part of our time in Cusco had been spent deliberating on the many different options we had to see Machu Picchu. We aren’t trekkers and don’t do so well with altitude so the trails weren’t for us (a good thing to note is that the Inca Trail is closed during February which means that it’s a quieter time to go) but there is the train, the minivan option, the minivan and train option, the 2 day 1 night tours the 2 days 2 night tours etc etc. I’m going to leave Dani to tell you about not only about all the options but also about the ones we took and how to do it in the next post. |
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