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Honeymoon Part 2 - Train Ride to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu
last time I went over our time in Cusco, Peru http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=71720
Penny and I got up early Tuesday morning for our trip from Cusco, Peru out to Machu Picchu. There are a couple ways of getting there. The adventurous hike the Inka trail for 4-5 days, the wealthy take a Russian helicopter directly to the town, but most people end up on PeruRail for the ~4 hour trip.
The first thirty minutes of the train ride involves a series of cutbacks where the train would run across the side of a hill, pass a track switcher, flip the switch, and reverse up to the next section of track. This allows the train to climb straight up a steep mountain face. The view of Cusco is quite spectacular from the top!
Once past the city of Cusco the train follows a path through some suburban town. After the first stop the trip starts to resemble a frontier voyage across the wild west towards the Rockies. The land opens up and huge grassy fields are surrounded by the Andes mountain range. Little farms are peppered across the plains as if they had staked their "spot" years ago.
Cattle are a common sight on the plains. There are no banks around so farmers purchase livestock as a sort of savings account. After a few years they sell the animal for profit and make their "interest".
It seems just a quickly as we went from urban Cusco to the plains, the moutains gobble up the landscape and we are twisting along the Urubamba River banks in and out of manmade tunnels. The view is equally as spectacular. One minute you are staring out the window at a hedgerow, the train turns, and for just a moment you are rewarded with landscape bliss.
The Urubamba is dammed up near the town of Aguas Calientes at a hydro-electric power station. Little relay stations line the river from then on providing electricity to Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, and the surrounding area.
The train pulled into Aguas Calientes, we disembarked, met our tour guide in the station, and headed straight for Machu Picchu. This is the typical trip for a "day tripper". We decided to stay an extra day in Aguas Calientes so we had a little more time to enjoy the ruins and culture of this neat little town.
More images here: http://tmp.smugmug.com/gallery/3501342
Next up, Machu Picchu!
Penny and I got up early Tuesday morning for our trip from Cusco, Peru out to Machu Picchu. There are a couple ways of getting there. The adventurous hike the Inka trail for 4-5 days, the wealthy take a Russian helicopter directly to the town, but most people end up on PeruRail for the ~4 hour trip.
The first thirty minutes of the train ride involves a series of cutbacks where the train would run across the side of a hill, pass a track switcher, flip the switch, and reverse up to the next section of track. This allows the train to climb straight up a steep mountain face. The view of Cusco is quite spectacular from the top!
Once past the city of Cusco the train follows a path through some suburban town. After the first stop the trip starts to resemble a frontier voyage across the wild west towards the Rockies. The land opens up and huge grassy fields are surrounded by the Andes mountain range. Little farms are peppered across the plains as if they had staked their "spot" years ago.
Cattle are a common sight on the plains. There are no banks around so farmers purchase livestock as a sort of savings account. After a few years they sell the animal for profit and make their "interest".
It seems just a quickly as we went from urban Cusco to the plains, the moutains gobble up the landscape and we are twisting along the Urubamba River banks in and out of manmade tunnels. The view is equally as spectacular. One minute you are staring out the window at a hedgerow, the train turns, and for just a moment you are rewarded with landscape bliss.
The Urubamba is dammed up near the town of Aguas Calientes at a hydro-electric power station. Little relay stations line the river from then on providing electricity to Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, and the surrounding area.
The train pulled into Aguas Calientes, we disembarked, met our tour guide in the station, and headed straight for Machu Picchu. This is the typical trip for a "day tripper". We decided to stay an extra day in Aguas Calientes so we had a little more time to enjoy the ruins and culture of this neat little town.
More images here: http://tmp.smugmug.com/gallery/3501342
Next up, Machu Picchu!
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