Cuzco to Machu Picchu

After three days in the jungle and two on a bus (we rode from La Paz to Copacobana to Puno, stopping for a night in Copacabana and a morning in Puno), Cuzco came as something of a relief to the senses. With graceful colonial buildings, pleasant plazas and cobbled streets lined with a great selection of small cafes and restaurants, it was easy to pass a few days here ahead of our trek to Machu Picchu.

We hadn’t done much research ahead of time, figuring our time here was really just to acclimatise before Machu Picchu. If anything, we had low-ish expectations for Cuzco; Machu Picchu is the main draw to the city, and for that reason we imagined it being excessively touristy and a bit dull. While there was all the usual touristy stuff – photos ops with baby llamas, shops and stalls selling faux alpaca wool jumpers and ponchos – there was also a lot more going on.

We spent the bulk of our time in Plaza San Blas, enjoying the array of small boutiques, galleries and cafes. Here we discovered an Irish-owned gem of a clothing store called Hilo, run by a Fermanagh woman called Eibhlin Cassidy. Eibhlin has been living in Cuzco for more than a decade now and makes everything she sells by hand. Having tried on some of the clothes and subsequently been photographed for the website (!), it seemed fitting to pick up an item or two from her (purchases filed under ‘early birthday present to self’…)

Being the former capital of the Incan Empire, Cuzco had lots to offer by way of history and legend, and we particularly enjoyed an afternoon wandering the grounds of Qorikancha, once the richest temple in the Empire.

We also did a chocolate making workshop at the Choco Museo during our stay, which involved roasting, peeling, grinding and melting cocoa beans into a paste, before mixing with sugar and setting into a mold. After breaking a sweat with our efforts, we were pleased to discover it had been a competition and we’d won..! Our prize was a chocolate goody bag 😎

After three days of trying on clothes, eating chocolate and generally taking it easy, we set our sights on the long-anticipated Machu Picchu. We signed up for a 4-day excursion which involved trekking the Lares region for two days, and then the Inca trail.

On the first morning, we set across the mountain chain of the Sacred Valley to the town of Calca, then through the Ampares pass to the town of Lares. We would camp here for a night before heading towards Pumamarca the next day and onto Ollantaytambo for a second night of camping. In our group there were five people: us, Francesco and Frederika from Italy, and our guide, José. A small group coupled with the fact the Lares route draws in smaller numbers (the most popular route to Machu Picchu is the 4-day classic Inca trail, which sees up to 500 visitors a day), meant we had a pleasant and peaceful trail- just us and the alpacas!

On day three we took the Peru Rail (a charming, Paddington Bear-esque adventure in itself) to the park gates of Machu Picchu to begin the second part of the trek: the Inca trail.

After a few hours of hiking in the morning, winding our way up, down and around the mountains and passing waterfalls and lush jungle on the way, we eventually reached the Sun Gate, i.e. our entrance point to the citadel of Machu Picchu. Being such a highly anticipated point of our trip, it was almost nerve-wracking to finally confront this view, for fear it might disappoint in some way or fail to meet expectations. It turns out it was more mystical and awe-inspiring than we could ever have imagined…

We spent our last night in the town of Aguas Calientes, where we had a farewell meal with our group ahead of the final (mostly wet) morning exploring the ruins of Machu Picchu more closely.