Machu Picchu 2020 Day 4 – Machu Picchu morning tour, Sun Gate and Inca bridge

I jumped out of bed to turn off the alarm which I set on the loudest just so that I am sure I wake up so as not to miss the bus up to Machu Picchu. It was 5am and I felt really tired from probably the lack of sleep. I pushed on and got myself ready.

Proceeded to the 5th floor to have breakfast and the entire restaurant was empty. Seemed like I was the only person staying in this low season. The staff was still preparing the breakfast by the time I arrived so I just sat there and Instagram, the one time that I could connect to the wifi (it’s not possible in the room).

Breakfast area

When the food was ready, it came in loads and in waves! There was bread, cold cuts, coffee, scrambled eggs (with salt, what?) and cereal with yoghurt. They were not the most presentable but they taste ok! I finished the breakfast and returned to the room for a final check and a toilet visit before checking out and leaving for the bus.

Cereal yoghurt
Omelette
Table full of food

The bus station was incredibly close, I could see the queue right at the doorstep of the hotel and it stretched quite far from the start of the line. Two lady staffs were there to pre-check the tickets, one for the bus and the other for Machu Picchu entry. The line didn’t move until it was about 630am and this was for the entrance time of 7am. I guessed that controls the bus traffic and the human traffic at Machu Picchu, which was not a bad thing.

It’s a long queue!
Bus to Machu Picchu

The only bad thing was the weather, extremely gloomy with a ongoing but very slight drizzle and I knew in my mind that I might be in for quite a wet visit today. We loaded up the bus and it was about a 25mins ride up the mountain with many bends along the way. It was impressive driving from these bus drivers as sometimes there would be two buses sharing the same lane and it was not a big lane for these big buses! I saw there were people who tried to hike up the mountains instead of taking the buses and I applaud their bravery but I think it’s crazy to do that.

I alighted at the bus station at the top and met the group of Mexicans whom I met from the previous day train ride who were there to visit too. I bade them good luck with the visit as the terrible weather continued and went over to Belmond Hotel (the only hotel within walking distance to Machu Picchu) to drop off my bag pack and did the registration for check in first (since the rooms cannot be ready at such early hours). Then as I returned to the gate of Machu Picchu, I saw the French ladies (whom I met from the previous train ride too) who said they attempted to hike up the mountain but had to give up as it was really difficult and ended up hitchhiking the bus for the rest of the journey up!

Entrance to the luxurious Belmond

There was a guide who approached and asked if I needed his guide services. He quoted 250pesos for one person which was expensive in my opinion for 2hrs of work but I wanted to learn about the visit and so I agreed to it. I thought I could distribute the costs by getting the French ladies to join but they weren’t keen as they wanted to visit the Inka bridge more than to do the tour.

With a rain coat on, I entered the site with my tickets purchased online(advance purchase are required because tickets can get sold out!). The guide brought me around the place and since we were walking the lower circuit that goes right into the area with all the buildings, I could see up close the details of the buildings and its surrounding area. There was another upper circuit which was more of the scenic route but with the ongoing fog, there was no scenery to speak of. Through the guide, I learnt information about the temples and the construction of their buildings, which had similarities with those of the Mayan, their way of life in harmony with nature around them, and the total lack of writings/cravings that led to a gap in theoretical postulations of what happened and what actually happened.

Exploring Machu Picchu
Space to put in the decorations
What the buildings looked like with a roof.
Foggy morning
Drainage system
Temple of the Sun on the right background
Panorama of the surrrounding
Round stubs on the sides for tying down the roof
Inside the chamber of the Chief’s residence
Huayna Picchu could be seen in the background.
River within the valley
The Main Temple. The back wall had shifted due to soil movement
The blocks used in the temples were the most precise
Inca Chakana, will be completely formed with its shadow.
A compass!
Doing a check on its accuracy wth my phone
Sundial
A rock carving represent the mountain in the background
Windows aligned
Still massively foggy
These are thought to be mirrors in a building without roof
Thought this mouldy growth looked like a panda

Before the guide left me to roam around as he completed his service, he provided some tips on where I should go in the afternoon and for Huayna Picchu. The circuit I took was a one way circuit and that meant I couldn’t get to the top terrace to take that panoramic view. But given the fog and the rain, I didn’t bother as I left my luck to the afternoon visit. So I waited for the Condor temple to open (there are opening hours within the citadel to different buildings to have crowd control and limit exposure to visitors,this temple opens from 10am to 1pm while the Temple of the Sun opens from 1pm to 4pm) to check it out and tried to photograph the “condor” before leaving the site for the hotel.

Temple of the Condor. Shaped like a Condor!

I checked with the staff and the room wasn’t ready so I went up to the terrace to have a look. There was a pathway that went a little higher, I guessed it was built that way with the idea of providing an access to some viewpoints of the beautiful area but the surrounding tall trees weren’t doing them any favors, effectively blocking out the views. I returned to use the day room toilet and I found that rather self sufficient and would be enough for me to clean up after my last visit in the morning the next day.

Heading to the Terrace
Large lounge area at the terrace
Water feature while exploring the terrace
More waterfall
Clean walkpath within the vegetation
Not much of a view though
Little garden at the end
One of the blooming flowers
Inside the day room
Shower available

Went to the bar to get a drink and have asked for a cactus fruit drink which tasted a little sour, like plum juice. Since lunch buffet started at 11am and my room was a full board with full mini bar, I just went ahead to eat first.

In the bar
Refreshing cactus drink

Lunch buffet was pretty alright, although there wasn’t a lot of variety but the quality was good. The trout ceviche was really nice and so was the medallion alpaca, as informed by the guide. So good I went for a second serving of ceviche! ( the reason being that trout is freshwater and that is the freshest fish in this area for ceviche). A bit more IG update with the wifi that they had given me at the bar and then I left for the retail shops outside to see if there’s any souvenirs to buy. I wasn’t sure what to get so I left empty handed.

Buffet line at the main restaurant for lunch
Round 1
Second row with more Ceviche

After all this time, the room was finally ready when I approached the reception. I was brought to the room that had been upgraded and it was big with a personal patio balcony (though I doubted how much time I would spend there). Then it was some rest time as I watched Running Men online and even a shut eye before my afternoon entrance to Machu Picchu.

Bedroom
Bathroom
Shower
Toilet
Open wardrobe
My room’s patio
View from the patio

I woke up close to 2pm and made my way to Machu Picchu for my round 2. This time I took the scenic route and boy did my bet on the last entry ticket pay off as this was when the sun was rose up, the fog was all but gone and the entire site was revealed in its glorious beauty! Needless to say, the entire visit was dominated with photos and panoramas. I made my way to the Sun Gate first which was about a 20mins hike up. It was easy to run of breath as the path was going uphills most of the time. The view of the mountains on the other side of the river were also breathtaking.

Some signs seen on my 2nd entry
Panoramic view while walking to Sun Gate
Giant millipede
Cobbled pathway
Panoramic scenery

I made a stop halfway through the hike as I saw a couple going into an area out of bounds which had a flat surface on the rock hill. I ventured into the area as well and understood from them that there was actually the sound of the river being heard in that enclosed area! I guessed the sound waves traveled all the way upwards and then deflected there. It was an interesting experience to hear that.

The Sun Gate at the end of the route wasn’t looking all too impressive on its own but the view from there made up for it. Returned on the same route and then got onto the route to the Inka bridge. With the better weather, it looked like the route had opened up (whereas it could have been closed due to bad weather). Again walking there had a lot of stops because I couldn’t help myself as I kept taking pictures. Then I saw a llama for the first time, and subsequently 2 and more – it was photos galore.

Pillars of the Sun Gate
The view looking outwards from the mountain
Panorama of the most popular viewpoint
My selfie with the llama

The route to the Inka bridge was much easier but there was a need to register at a manned hut to keep track of people going that route. This route showed the other side of the mountains with the river and it was amazing too! It didn’t take too long before I arrived at the bridge. There was a gate nearer to the bridge but that was closed to prevent access to the bridge, which to me, didn’t look really that impressive nor stable to walk on. Met 2 Peruvians, a father and son maybe, and had a small chit chat with them. And they were happy to see a visitor from the Singapore visiting their country!

The view on the way to Inca Bridge was breathtaking
Zoomed in picture of the Inca Bridge
Panorama of the Inca Bridge area
Gate closed to prevent access to Inca Bridge
Path that I took to the Inca bridge
Registration counter before walking to Inca Bridge

After the bridge, I walked back (again on the same route) to an open space with the views of Machu Picchu and sat there to chill. Started to jot down the happenings of today and it felt really great to do that, with that awesome view in front of me. However, all too often I got carried away with snapping photos and even did some photos (like some poser influencers) for fun, and was honestly happy with the result.

My poser shot
The view while I sat there to chill

As the time approached 430pm, one of the staff there urged me to start walking out, slowly. i felt a little disappointed having to go so early (as I thought the site closes at 5pm), I stopped what I was doing and start walking and as I went along the way I was also snapping away. There was a field with lots of llamas and guessed what? More selfies, what else?

More Llamas
Walking down towards the exit
Sun from an angle casting shadows over Machu Picchu

I came to another viewpoint and stopped there to sit down again, with 2 staff there who were blowing into a horn made of a huge seashell. I checked out how they were doing it and found that there was actually a mouthpiece that was being fit into the shell. But still it was impressive when the sound came out and out into the valleys making an echo. After some demonstrations in which I tipped them 1USD, they urged me to start walking out too.

View of one of the huts from below
Last one before leaving the site

Then it was more photos while walking till I was finally out of the site. At the exit there was a stamping station that during my earlier visit, I didn’t have a chance to stamp onto my passport due overcrowding. Now that there was no one at the stamp, I then thought over it again and questioned  if that was actually a legal thing to do by stamping onto the passport? Eventually, I stamped onto my tickets instead.

My stamp on my ticket instead of passport

Returned to the room to get a drink from the bar and finish up on jotting down on the notebook. It was a relatively easy day and time was on my site. Relaxed at my patio to enjoy my drink (as I don’t really get to enjoy the room facilities that often during a trip) but there was my neighbors who were a couple that were really loud with their lovey dovey chit chat but I guessed this place was really a romantic destination for couples. The chillness was starting to return with the evening when I retreated back into the room.

View had improved from the morning but the sun lounger was still not in use

Was lazing around till it was 6pm and then I proceeded to bar for Pisco tasting, without knowledge what I was about to taste. I was the first one there and a while later, a pair of American ladies joined the table. The bartender Jose started the introduction of the Pisco, which I learnt soon enough, was actually hard liquor and tasted something like Vodka. It was an interesting demonstration with lots of laughs within the group, learning information about the Pisco and the impossible varieties of potatoes which we were also given a bowl of that to eat. I even got to learn how to mix a cocktail by getting behind the bar to do it under the supervision of Jose. The alcohol content was really high, and when I finally downed all my Pisco Sour, I was not able to have the dinner (included in my full board) and decided to return to my room to rest.

Hotel bar
All the different Pisco
Amazing varieties of potatoes, a sampler for us
Pisco cocktail that i made
Pisco Sour

I was totally knocked out and the next thing I remembered, I woke up midway and drowsy to bath and eat some snacks from the bar (because I missed the dinner) before returning back to bed.

Cusco 2020 Day 3 Flight to Cusco, Sacsayhuaman, Cusco City and train to Aguas Calientes

I was seated next to another man on business class for the Aeromexico flight to Lima. Immediately plugged in my handphone to continue charging (which is one of the perks in Biz). I scanned through the movies available but thought I would need to sleep and conserve the energy for the day and that was what I did for at least 5hrs of the flight.

I was awoken in the middle when they were serving food and there was actually dinner (thought I won’t be getting any food)! I thought it was a perfectly timed meal since my lunch that I felt bloated since afternoon had gone and I was ready to dine. I took chicken out of the 2 options and I was impressed by the quality of food, it tasted really good.

Spacious seat in Business class
Dinner!

After that, it was back to sleep. The seats were like the Singapore Airlines premium economy ones with an angle tilt rather than fully horizontal. I found it difficult to fall into deep sleep with that configuration but the feet support was way higher than what I had in premium economy which helped a little.

As I woke up, I checked the windows outside and found sun was about to rise on the horizon. As we approached Lima, I found the entire sky covered in a thick blanket of clouds, so big and wide that I have never seen anything like this before. Out in the distance, small peaks can be seen piercing through the clouds and that looked really incredible to realized how big and tall the mountain ranges were! I took multiple photos till we landed.

Once of the nicest things to see is sunrise over the clouds
Those peaks piercing through the clouds
Some islands underneath with mountains in the background

 

Peru’s coast
View landing into Lima

With the privilege to disembark ahead of the pack, I sped off to get through immigrations, which was pretty quick and effortless as there weren’t many people at that time. Then a quick visit to the loo before going past customs which didn’t collect my form anyway.

First I went to withdraw cash from the ATM and the first one (globalatm) only allowed withdrawal up to 400 soles and charges 19soles per transaction. I did it once and went outside the airport to try other ATMs. Then I realized different banks had different withdrawal amounts and I did another 2 withdrawals from 2 different banks to get the amount I needed. Needless to say, the globalatm one was the worst. The others offer up to 700soles per withdrawal.

Lima’s modern airport was very busy
 

I found that I had more than 4 hrs to my next flight to Cusco and went to the LATAM check in to ask if there were any earlier flights. This was where I felt very impressed with the staff, the lady on hearing my request got me to the counter to check for me. The staff behind the counter however didn’t really understand what I wanted and printed the ticket with the original timing. So I went back to that lady who brought me to the counter to explain that nothing was done. She didn’t give up and got me to another counter, this time explaining to the staff what I wanted. The staff then managed to get one flight 2hrs earlier! Good on you Latam!

View on the outside of the airport
Crowded check in counters

I went to the gates earlier and since it was domestic flight, I didn’t have to go through immigrations. Made a call home to talk to my son using airport wifi and then it was another waiting game before embarkation. While waiting, I quickly googled for a half day booking of taxi (called Taxidatum) so that I can do a tour of Cusco with this new found amount of time. And it was all arranged through WhatsApp when the personnel responded! I was impressed by the flexibility of such arrangements (and with myself for such adhoc tour)!

Crowded at the domestic departure

The plane that was supposed to take off at 910am was delayed for 30mins due to heavy traffic in the Lima airport. I took the time to jot down the ongoings and respond to the Facebook and IG messages and checking emails, effectively keeping myself busy.

No frills domestic flight

The plane took off when the airport finally cleared and the journey was pretty smooth. The stewardess were pushing carts and I ordered a chicken sandwich with cappuccino since I didn’t think I would have time for breakfast when I disembarked. The chicken sandwich used a ciabatta bread which was toasted before servicing. At first glance, I thought it was going to taste hard but all that perception changed in a split second when the teeth sank into the crunchy outside but soft inside of the bread. I thought it was delicious and well worth the 21 soles I paid in total.

Simple breakfast of bread and coffee
Surprising yummy!

The short flight landed into Cusco smoothly. I hurried off the plane and the first thing I saw was the Inca Rail office which I approached to get my tickets. After the staff handed over the tickets to me and explained on the meet up timing, I went out of the hall and someone with my name was already waiting for me outside.

Inca Rail office just after exiting the luggage pick up

I followed him and loaded up onto the taxi and we were off to Sacsayhuaman site. He let me get off at the ticketing counter and I paid 70soles for the partial circuit that allowed me a 1 day entrance to all the 4 sites stated on the ticket. There was a bigger one but I didn’t have enough time in Cusco to do that.

First view of Cusco just outside the airport
Cusco airport
Cusco city
Busy streets
Partial circuit ticket

Then a guide was offering his service and I just agreed with him for 50soles for 1 hour. He brought me around the big site of Sacsayhuaman and shared the various locations usages and how the rocks were being harvested etc. It was again interesting to hear the stories of these tribes and find them different from what were portrayed.

Inca city ruins of Sacshayhuaman
Amazing perfect square cut out of the rock
Gap to walk through
is actually a pathway

 

Large areas of greenery upon exit from the gap
Pathway through the rocks and to the city
Alpaca grazing in the distance
Wind eroded slope within the site
Panoramic view with the stone walls in the background
Stone walls made of giant rocks that fit together
Tiered pathways
Compounds in different shapes for different purposes
The view of the other side is the panoramic view of the Cusco old town
Another panoramic view of Cusco town
A doorway made of perfectly cut stones

Later, he tagged along with us for the other 3 sites at a costs of 20soles per site. Those sites (Q’enqo, Tambomachay & Puka Pukara) were much smaller and did not require as much explanations as the Sacsayhuaman. I was equally impressed by the beauty of the surroundings and was just taking panoramic views everywhere.

Q’enqo entrance
 
A passageway between huge rocks
Another perfect cut on the rocks
Place underneath some hugh rocks
Table for mummifying
 
Operating table

 

The other view of the same table

 

Another view of Cusco from Q’enqo
Entrance to Tambomachay
Cobbled pathway to the ruins

 

Quite a number of water streams along the way
Water streaming out from ancient drainage
Temple dedicated to water
 
The view on the other side, where paths seemed to lead to the top of the hills
Panoramic views of the area
Rushing river stream at Tambomachay 
Stone entrance of Puka Pukara
Not much of ruins left, but the view of landscape is amazing
Another perspective from the top
Another view, can’t have enough of the landscape

The guide alighted near where he stayed and I paid him the agreed amount of 110soles and with some time left, I requested the driver to allow me to alight at the Plaza de Armas, which he informed was close to restaurants and where Inca Rail office was too. He negotiated the single lane cobbled streets and arrive into the square where I paid him 150soles in total for his services (120) and for tips (30).

View of the old town while leaving Sacsayhuaman.
Skill driving of the driver driving within tight cobbled roads

The plaza itself was pretty too, reminded me of the old towns of many countries (this is the historic center of Cusco anyways). I spent a bit of time admiring and shooting photos and then googled for a good place to have ceviche which a friend said I must try when in Peru and out pop the name  Ceviche Seafood Kitchen restaurant that was coincidentally within the square perimeter of the Plaza de Armas.

Plaza de Armas of Cusco
Beautiful fountain in the Plaza de Armas
Garden at the Plaza de Armas
Going towards my lunch location at one of the historical building around the Plaza

Seated on the 2nd floor, I was served by a Pablo who was a very helpful waiter and explained everything about the food. I ordered 2 dishes and it was quite filling to have them all by myself. The food was very delicious and thus explained their high ranking in TripAdvisor. The food was 75soles excluding tips.

Ceviche Seafood Kitchen

 

Inside the restaurant

 

Sea vibes
Tapioca chips
Local beer

 

Corn where their delicious crunchy starters come from.
Main dish of ceviche
Delicious fish on skewers

After lunch, I walked to the nearest pharmacy to get a lip balm as somehow my lips are feeling very dry even in summer and I didn’t bring mine as I didn’t think I would need one. Then further along the same street of Avenida El Sol, I walked into the Inca Rail office which was amongst the one storey buildings lined along the street. Through the entrance, I realised that the inside was actually quite a huge space where passengers could wait for the transportation shuttle to arrive. Other than a resting area with tables and hot drinks, there was also a restroom to use. At this time, I was feeling really sleepy and wasn’t sure if it was due to the lack of sleep, the thin air in this highland city or the Peruvian beer from lunch.

Palacio de Justicia, the Supreme Court looked majestic
Street view walking down Av El Sol
Museo de Sitio Qorikancha, a museum seen while on the way
Inca Rail office at Cusco
Inside Inca Rail where there’s a big area for resting

Once onboard the small bus, I immediately went to sleep for the 2hrs trip there, waking intermittently and shooting some of the beautiful views of valleys and mountains on the way to the Ollaytambo town.

The bus connection to Ollaytambo
Landscape view on the shuttle

Arriving into Ollaytambo

When we arrived into the town, the place looked very much like the historic center of Cusco only much smaller. The vehicle continued on till we arrived at another holding compound for the passengers before. I didn’t stay there initially and ventured out to see the surroundings before going back to sit and wait for the train, which was due to arrive at 727pm.

Inca Rail at Ollaytambo

 

Nice looking place

 

Gushing water stream
Area near the railways, shops on the sides
Inside the Inca Rail lounge
Beautiful candle deco
Mate de Coca tea at the lounge. The leaves come from coca plant where cocaine comes from.

There were quite a lot of people who also took the train of on this schedule and I was seated with a group of 3 French ladies. Throughout the ride they were going on with their card games and talking in French, I just fiddled around with my phone and also dozed off since it was difficult to be involved in their games.

Our train to Aguas Calientes
Still a crowd going to Aguas Calientes

The staff brought us snacks to eat and for drinks, there was a choice of hot or cold but I didn’t comprehend what drinks were available except lemongrass which I heard and that’s what I had. Then it was like that till we arrived into Aguas Calientes, the tourist town just outside Machu Picchu.

Snacks of bread and chocolate on the train

I bade farewell to the French ladies and to the table of Mexicans seated on the other side of the aisle, who were kind enough to offer me pomegranate to eat and also a short chat with them.

Heading towards my accommodation of the night, Casa De Luz hotel, I walked through a sheltered area that seemed like a market which had mostly closed stalls at that time. The hotel staff had advised me to get bus tickets first so that I didn’t have to wait for it tomorrow. There was a ticket counter just along the corridor of the hotel and I paid 81.75 soles for the bus tickets in exchange with the vouchers that I reserved online.

Walking through the sheltered market to the hotel
Gushing river at the town from the recent downpour
Bus station near the hotel

 

Night view of Aguas Calientes with a railroad
Casa de Luz Hotel
Street to the bus tickets counter
Has a signboard

 

Inside the shop

Then I returned to check in and was given a suggestion of where to have dinner. I left all my barang barang in the room and left to explore the small town of Aguas Calientes.

Room at Case De Luz
Bathroom

 

View from my room
Can see the river outside

The place still had lots of restaurants opened at that time. In fact, there were many locals and kids roaming around the street, doing their thing and playing soccer. I tried to find a good dinner recommendation online but my mobile data was sporadically available. So after finding one of them which was already closed, I just walked into one local restaurant, El Antojito and ordered.

Interesting wall carving on the walls next to the river
Soccer pitch where football was played by the locals
One of the many bridges across the river

Got myself some alpaca meat, which the local staff recommended, and a bottle of Inca Kola. The food was quite tasty and I only had to paid 30soles for that plus it came with a small salad bar of sorts.

El Antojito restaurant
Inside the restaurant

 

Alpaca meat

 

Salad
Inca kola, my favorite soft drink
Random dogs come into the restaurant

After dinner, I returned to the hotel and struggled against the cold for the much awaited bath before finally ending the long day in bed.

Some of the view of Aguas Calientes at night
Official name of the town, alternatively known as Aguas Calientes.