Day 48 & 49 – 8/9th January. The Lost City & Sacred Valley.

The Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu and Return to Cuzco. 171 kms.

Total Distance So Far: 12,416 kms


After Patagonia, and Tierra Del Fuego this was the second major goal of the trip. I could not believe it had come round so fast, but we had seen so much and traveled so far since southern Argentina. About 8,000 kms the same distance as London to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I hoped Machu Picchu would be everything I had expected, and also hoped we would get a clear view as ALL the people we had met in Cuzco had been terribly disappointed as Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains had been in permanent cloud when they visited it due to the fact we were in the middle of rainy season. To the locals it is called ‘The City in The Clouds’, I just hoped we would be lucky enough to get a clear view of the famous citadel.

You have to get to Agua Calientes the town where you start the climb up to Machu Picchu, and you can get there by either 1) take a 4-hour train ride from Poroy near Cuzco, or drive north through the Sacred Valley to the last town of Ollantaytambo and then take a train for one and a half hours. We opted to drive through the Sacred Valley to take in the scenery of the old Inca villages.

The other information we got was about the mad scramble to get into Machu Picchu early before the crowds can swamp it, and to make sunrise at 6.15am which was the best time to see the city. At this time the sun can cast its rays across the city onto the mountain at the back of the city. We were told by 11am it is packed, and throughout the afternoon it would be cloudy. This was common knowledge unfortunately. The first buses up the mountain from Agua Calientes to Machu Pichu – a 30 minute ride - started at 5.30am. You could not buy tickets in advance, so people started queuing from 2 to 3am – incredible! Other people left Agua Calientes at 2am and trekked up the 12 km dirt road in the dark which ascended up to 2,600 meters - some 600 meters above the town so they would be first in the queue when the gates to the city were opened.

This all sounded very stressful and not my cup of tea. I knew there must be a better way. Our very helpful concierge in Cuzco, Beto, told me of a small luxury hotel, run by Orient Express, called The Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge. The lodge was perched high up in the mountains in the grounds of ‘The Lost City’ and was just 15 meters from the main entrance. It shared the same views of the mountains that the Incas would have witnessed 500 years earlier. It seemed ideal and was a sure-fire way to beat the queues. It took me (and Beto) about 3 hours to get through to someone at the lodge as they have a very unreliable satellite phone system. Luckily they had a room for the night in question, and could do me a deal as the booking was within 48 hours of arrival. “Great news” I said, “How Much?”. Just $1,375 for the night the young lady said which is a low-season, discounted late-booking price. At $5 peruvian dollars to the pound it worked out to be about £280, I said fine go ahead. It was well worth it. After all it was the second major goal of the trip, and the thought of it being ruined waiting for 6 hours in bus queues trying to get up the mountain at 5am was just too horrendous to contemplate.

The young lady, Stephanie replied, “sorry Mr O’Neill that is $1,375 US dollars not Peruvian dollars for the night”. I said you must joking I want to stay for a night not a week?, to which she then replied perhaps a hostel in Agua Calientes might be more suitable. I gave her a hard luck-story, a run-down of the trip and how I was going to write a photographic book of the trip and that the hotel would be featured prominently. She left me on hold for ten minutes (her satellite phone bill). She returned and said the manager will make a very special offer of US$1000 flat rate including all services. This would include breakfast, lunch and dinner for two in the Michelin starred restaurant, free mini-bar, free bar drinks and free bottles from the extensive wine list. She said it was an extraordinary offer and they would ‘hope’ that my treatment of the hotel would be reflected well in my book. They would also give me one of the 5 rooms (out of 29 at the lodge) which had a view of the site, and surrounding mountains. “Deal” I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow” and put the phone down before she could change her mind.

The next morning climbing out of Cuzco, which sits in a bowl, and riding through The Sacred Valley was really exhilarating. The bike was light, as we had left most of our things at the hotel in Cuzco, which was an old 16th century converted monastery. They were so helpful there. Independent travel can be tricky here, especially lacking GPS maps. There are tracks everywhere and a complete lack of signposts. The maps Beto drew, the concierge from the Casa Andina Hotel were invaluable – we owe him a huge debt.

We traveled about 80 kms through the valley (or valleys) to Ollantaytambo a spectacular old Inca city where the locals still live as their ancestors did. It is described as a living Inca town. The inhabitants maintain many of the old Inca traditions such as still ploughing their fields with foot ploughs, and weaving their own clothes. The exact age of the town is not known, but the town is famous as the place where the Incas scored a decisive victory over the Spanish. Sadly though the Spanish re-conquered it a few years later in 1537 and taught the locals a lesson with a very bloody putting-down of the rebellion.

The Inca stonework survives all around the town, and in the mountains around it. Its streets are like a living museum. We found an old local women and paid here a few pesos to store the bike, and boarded the train to cover the last 30 kms.

The train journey through the mountains alongside turbulent Rio Urubamba was unforgettable. The terrain was just so inhospitable; it really is amazing they managed to squeeze the single-track line in alongside the river. The Inca’s themselves traveled to Machu Picchu along a network of paths that run along the tops of the mountains from Cuzco, and other parts of their wide-ranging empire covering some 30,000 kms. They were just wide enough for a llama train to transport supplies, and are popular to trek with a guide today. It is so remote it is no wonder the Spanish never found Machu Picchu despite over 200 years of searching, hence the name ‘The Lost City’. It is unclear why the Inca abandoned the city in the 1600’s but after they did the foliage took its toll and the city disappeared into Myth and Folklore for some 300 years.

In 1911 explorer, professor and archeologist Hiram Bingham whilst searching for ‘The Lost City’, which many of his peers thought was just a myth, met a local farmer who told him of a city on top of a remote mountain called Machu Picchu. It was impossible to see from the valley floor but Bingham believed the farmer and decided to climb the mountain. He hired the farmer as a guide paying him one Sol (about $0.25c). The other members of his expedition thought it a waste of time, so Bingham set of with a local policeman, and the farmer. Eventually after cutting their way up through 2,000 feet of the steep mountainside of jungle, they arrived at the present day city of Machu Picchu. Even being covered in centuries of growth Bingham described it as being breathtaking.

Sadly after the discovery many scholars said the city should have been full of Inca gold like most of the other Inca cities the Spanish sacked. It is recorded that the Spanish shipped back to Spain 11 tonnes of Inca gold in the 16th century. Many accused Bingham of removing the treasures, which left a black cloud over the rest of his life. This meant he left Peru not as a hero, but one with suspicion attached to his name and never returned again until very late in his life.

Arriving in Agua Calientes, a ramshackled place being developed for tourists as the base point before heading up the mountain to visit Machu Picchu, we heading through the town but had missed the last bus up to the site, and our hotel. The hotel came through and laid on a 48-seat coach on just for Lidy and I. What Service!!

The journey up the winding track, with big views of the mountains was a treat. When we got to the Hotel Stephanie was there to greet us and treated us like royalty. By the time we arrived at 5pm the last tourists were departing back down to Agua Calientes. Having drinks on the terraces looking over Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains was a peaceful and incredible experience, although 70% of the views were covered in patchy cloud. I just hoped the next day would not be ruined by thousands of tourists and clouds.

The hotel even tried to call the manager of the site to try and get permission for us to be allowed in at 5.30 before the crowds at 6.00 so we could take ‘clean’ shots. Alas it was not allowed without a letter from the Peruvian Tourism Ministry. We had an excellent meal; some great wine and set our alarms for 5am. The lodge had a fantastic atmosphere, and blended into the surroundings very discreetly.

The noise outside woke us and not the alarm. It was dark, raining and at 4.45am trekkers were already queuing outside the gates. We went into panic mode, grabbing a very quick shower, and running outside to join the queue. We were already about 100 people from the front at 5am! I stayed in the queue and Lidy went back in for some fruit and croissants for breakfast whilst we stayed in the queue. It was funny to watch how many other people thought this was a good idea and try to do the same only to be told it was for residents only! By 5.50am there were a good 300 people in the queue who had walked up the hill. The slower walkers who tried to join the queue in the position where some of their faster walking fiends were received severe comments and the security was employed to send these people to the back. Just before 6am the first of about 10 buses arrived carrying about 500 people, and the queue starting running back several hundred meters. There was also a lot of excitement as the rain had stopped and the clouds had lifted.

The Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge was the most expensive hotel room I have ever paid for at £625 a night, even with a discount, but with the generous package of food for two, a fantastic Peruvian wine produced in the Sacred Valley, the quality of the hotel and service we were shown, plus all the hassle and queuing it saved it was MORE than worth it. I could not even begin to image the hassle it must have been like at the bus terminal down in the town below.

At 6am when they opened the gates it took a few seconds to process each person, check passports, had over a completed form, be stamped etc so we knew we had about 30 minutes before the site would be swamped. Luckily we had spoken to one of the rangers and he led us ‘for a small gratuity’ upwards through some old steps next to the entrance through a forested path up about 100 meters to the classic spot where you get the best views of Machu Picchu. Very few other people followed us, with most heading directly forwards. This gave us the time to get some good shots before too many brightly coloured rain coats spoiled the view.

When we got to the top and took in the view it really was an awesome site. Nothing can prepare you for what a truly fantastic sight this is. It is truly breathtaking. I would recommend to anyone to try and see this place in their lifetime. We had a good 20 minutes to take some shots, before the cloud and people started to pile onto the site. To be fair though even when people started to populate the city, being almost a kilometer long it did not really distract too much. The city used to house over a thousand Incas, so a thousand tourists it could cope with. By 8.30am we had walked the whole place and were be glad to depart as more buses were coming, along with the clouds and rain.

It was easily one of the most astonishing sights I have ever seen, quite possible the best. If I could somehow score the sights I have seen in my lifetime nothing would beat it. It certainly struck me with complete awe, and I marvelled at how any civilization could build such a huge and well crafted city high up on such sheer sided mountains. It was the same reaction from Lidy, I know, and a fitting climax to the end of her journey with me. I would love to return one day and walk the Inca trail.

Heading back towards Cuzco, again first by train to Ollantaytambo, then leisurely through the sacred valley we took a few detours and rode through the town of Moray. It was like going back in time. Life here was so basic. We also found out only half the kids here get an education, and that was usually them boys. The young girls had the job of looking after the animals, washing and cooking.

Eventually arriving back in Cuzco, we had a good meal to celebrate the successful completion of getting from Patagonia to The Lost City. The direction would now be south again. Firstly for about 2,500 kms along The Altiplano at an average altitude of 4,000m past Lake Titicaca and through Bolivia, and then the final 2,000 kms through Argentina’s northern regions. Sadly, I had only heard of bad stories so far about Bolivia and the level of police corruption, and hoped they were exaggerated.



The only way to get to Machu Picchu is by train. The journey is stunning.


Agua Calientes, the tourist town at the bottom of the mountain from Machu Picchu.



Typical 'Gunho' Peruvian driving.


Our private coach up the mountain to The Machu Picchu Santuary Lodge.