The Meandering Melanders

Ollentaytambo is the end of the road for those going to Machu Picchu or anywhere in that direction. There are two means of travel, one is the train and the second is to hike the Inca Trail, a trip of around four days of doing a lot of major ups and downs. Guides are available as are porters and cooks. Not an easy walk!! But we did it the easy way. A map of the area we covered by train follows. We got on the train at Ollentaytambo and got off at Aguas Caliente. The railroad follows the Urubamba River the whole way.

This is the train we traveled in.

We were very fortunate in that we sat in the front seat so had an excellent view This is a schematic of this part of the Sacred Valley showing the river (railroad follows along it) and the Inca Trail (the green dots).

Across the river heading up the hill is the Inca Trail

This is one of the sets of terraces which were constructed to allow agriculture along the river and in some of the valleys. In some cases they ran way up a hillside.

A couple Inca Trail hikers.

This is kilometer marker 88 which is where most hikers depart the train and start their trek.

Approaching Aguas Caliente, the end of the line for this train.

The road from Aguas Caliente to Machu Picchu. Will have pictures of the road from the top next update.

On this map, the white line that keeps winding back and forth is the road. It wasn’t as scary as it could be. We were envisioning old beat up buses, extra narrow, and extra steep road.

That’s it for this installment. Next we will visit Machu Picchu, The Lost City of the Incas. Hope you enjoyed this!!