GETTING THERE

The trip to Machu Picchu took several hours -- 2 hours via bus while we climbed to 14,000 feet, marvelling at the beauty of the snow capped Andes rising through the clouds, and passing neat farms and fields of cattle and sheep before starting the downward drive through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Caliente.

Here we transferred to a comfortable glass domed train for another 2-hour trip, following the turbulent sacred Urumbamba River. This river is 200 miles long, is very muddy and brown and eventually empties into the mighty Amazon River. Perhaps it's this river that gives the Amazon its dirty brown color.

At the station we saw women selling hot corn on the cob which the locals eat as a snack like we'd eat a hot dog. Their steaming kettles ensured that the snack was hot. We also passed by the start of the famous Inca Trail, which takes 4 days and 3 nights to hike, and passes over Dead Woman's Pass at 10,000 feet. This is the same trail that the Incas used when returning to Machu Picchu from Cusco.

At last, after climbing yet another half hour in a smaller bus that could negotiate the many hairpin curves up the mountain, we reached our destination -- the lost city of Machu Picchu!