The Sacred Valley, Peru

The train route from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes has made it so much more easier to visit Machu Picchu especially for the seniors like us.

Visitors to Machu Picchu normally start the trip from Cusco upon flying in from Lima. From Cusco, the old capital of Peru, it's on road by bus to Ollantaytambo. From Ollantaytambo, it's another one hour 40 minutes train ride to Aguas Calientes. And finally, an uphill ride in a smaller bus to Machu Picchu. 

To build a vehicular access road of 9 Km length over a 400m climb from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu, the final stretch has to zig zag intensely across many hair pins over the steep side of the mountain.

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The train ride from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes was another pleasant experience. Since the track is built running alongside the river bank of Urubamba River at the bottom of one of the Sacred Valley, passengers were able to enjoy the awesome views of the magnificent landscape and part of the Andean mountains range on either side of the river. The train ride was comfortable with free coffee and snack provided along the way.

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We flew in from Lima the day before we were scheduled to visit Machu Picchu. By the time we landed in Cusco Airport, it's past noon and the rest of the day after lunch was spent on an "acclimatization" tour of the Sacred Valley. Cusco is situated at an elevation of 3,350m AMSL and is much higher than Machu Picchu at 2,400m AMSL. Some among the group who are not accustomed to high altitude and thin air started to feel uneasy and and were down with dizziness.

While some vomited in the bus because of altitude sickness, I was one of those who could continue enjoying the magnificent landscape and snow-capped mountains of the Andes along the way.