On our way to Machu Picchu by train from Cusco. Following the River Urubamba.Sometimes the railway seemed to overhang the river.Louise chatting to Karon, our JLA guide and fixer.From the train we transferred to a bus to make our way up the steep track to Machu Picchu. Sitting at the back of the bus, well behind the back wheels meant we were hanging out over the drops on some of the hairpin turns.Our first sight of Machu Picchu. There were limits to the number of people allowed onto the site each day, to reduce damage from the shear numbers of visitors.It was a long way down to the river – about 2,500 feet.Karon at Machu Picchu.Machu Picchu.Bright sunshine but the following day the area was shrouded in cloud and it was raining.Louise, Karon Shantha and Jenny at Machu Picchu.Huayna Picchu…there’s a ‘path’ up the side to the summit, and we could see a little white spec near the top, which was someone’s shirt. The climb up that was not for the faint-hearted. We chose a less daunting walk out to the draw bridge and I found that dizzying!Machu Picchu.Terraces below Machu Picchu and far below the Urubamba river.The approach to Machu Picchu up the side of the adjoining hill. On the second strip of track down from the top there is a coach…can you see it in the red circle? Later on the way down one of the coaches blocked the track when its rear axle snapped. I am SO glad I was not on that coach…my heart was beating fast enough without any incidents!The classic view of MP.The classic view from the watchman’s hut. The draw bridge. I did not enjoy the walk out to here as I’m not too good with heights.It looks so innocuous here, but people do mamage to fall off, and I certainly didn’t want to be one of them. I picked the spot for this picture becuse it was a little less ‘open’ than some other places on the trail.Just for scale…two people on the trail ahead, circled.Bob and Karon Bending at Machu Picchu, 2002.Back in Aqua Calientes. There’s no road into the town and everything comes by train. Even the buses used to ferry people up to MP were bought here on the train. So this is the main street.Aqua Calientes. Later we had lunch in the place on the right. At the back there was a huge ‘conservatory’ built out over the river below.The following morning we opted to skip a return visit to Machu Picchu (neither of us fancied wet slippery paths with BIG drops), so we took the orchid trail through the rainforest near our hotel.The Urubamba. It was winter and the ‘dry’ season when we went to Peru, so the river is a lot lower than the usual raging torrent it is for much of the year.
