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Saturday, 5 November 2022

Aguas Calientes (Machupicchu Pueblo)

Many people dream of visiting the incredible Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, but it's a little complicated to actually get there compared with other famous destinations around the world. You can't just take a direct bus from Cusco or any other city - but the good news is that you have several different transportation options, most of which involve a stop in the village of Aguas Calientes. (Once you're in Aguas Calientes, you then have a choice of taking the bus or hiking up to Machu Picchu - I'll be writing more about that in my next post!) 

The most famous way of getting to Machu Picchu is to do a multi-day hike, such as the one known as the "Inca Trail", but this is a very expensive option and has limited availability. Personally, I was never interested in doing any of these hikes, as I only like shorter hikes and don't like camping at all. Plus, I wanted to use my week in Peru seeing as many sights as possible, rather than spending the whole time walking.

There's also a lengthy but cheap option which involves taking a 5 hour bus ride and a taxi to Hidroeléctrica station, and then doing a long walk to Aguas Calientes.

But by far the most convenient option is to take the train either from Cusco or Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, and this is the option I chose, not just because of its convenience but also because it was a real dream of mine. I'd seen videos of this train journey before I even started planning my trip, and thought it looked incredible. I've always loved train travel, so this was actually one of the parts of my trip I was most looking forward to. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the most disappointing part of the trip, and I'll explain why in a moment.

When it comes to taking the train to Aguas Calientes, there are yet more options. You have a choice of two providers (PeruRail and Inca Rail) and each offer a range of services, from a nicely-decorated but fairly standard tourist train, to a full-blown luxury experience. I opted for the PeruRail Expedition train, which was the cheapest choice, but which still came to 127 dollars for a return, despite the fact that the return leg included a replacement bus service between Ollantaytambo and Cusco. Aside from the flights to and from Peru and a 4 night hotel stay in Cusco, this was the most expensive thing I bought for the entire trip.

Because of the price and the videos I'd seen online, I was expecting a very special experience, but what I got didn't really seem worth the money. The thing that bothered me the most was that they don't let you either choose or change your seat, which is a bit crazy, given the huge cost of the ticket. Now I'm a person who's a big fan of personal space, especially on public transport - if I'm sitting by myself on a train or bus journey, I like to watch the scenery go by and drift off into my own world of daydreams, which is something I find I'm unable to do when a stranger is in my personal space. But unfortunately, I got assigned a window seat next to a stranger, and couldn't put my arms down by my sides without touching him, so I had to be hunched up for the entire 3.5 hour journey. To make things even more frustrating, I could see other solo travellers in the same carriage had been lucky enough to get two seats to themselves!

Another disappointing thing was that there wasn't a special panoramic carriage like I'd seen in videos (it turns out you need to pay for an even pricier train to get that). But on the plus side, it was a very clean and nicely decorated train.




The scenery was also beautiful, as we passed through the Sacred Valley, seeing various archaeological sites. The train announcement system gave information in both English and Spanish about the different places along the journey.






There came a point later on in the journey, where the scenery suddenly changed and became much more green and tropical, as we had now entered the high jungle or "ceja de selva" ("jungle eyebrow"). This, to me, was very exciting, because the scenery around Cusco, although beautiful, is very similar to the mountain scenery in the centre of Chile, but this tropical jungle scenery was completely new to me.




After what felt like a very long time, it was a relief to arrive in Aguas Calientes at last. From what I'd read about the village, also known as Machupicchu Pueblo, most people didn't think of it as anything more than a necessary stop en route to Machu Picchu, so I was surprised to find myself enchanted by the place as soon as I left the train station. It's incredibly picturesque, featuring rushing rivers crossed by little bridges, and a backdrop of mountains covered in tropical rainforest.





I checked into my hotel, Machu Picchu Adventure House (a great name!), where my room had very pretty traditional Inca-style décor and a nice view of some exotic-looking buildings.





Then I went out to find some lunch and explore a little bit. In Aguas Calientes, there aren't any specifically vegan restaurants, but pretty much every place does at least one plant-based dish, so I didn't have any trouble finding food there. On that first day I ended up having lomo saltado de verduras, which was basically vegetables fried in a Chinese-style sauce, served with both chips and rice (the double carbs definitely reminded me of UK food!). It was so nice that I've actually had a go at recreating it back home in our little apartment in Santiago!

After lunch, I did a bit of exploring. First I visited the village's main square, Plaza Manco Cápac, which has a statue of an Inca king, and a little church. 






I also went to Parque Mirador Río Vilcanota, which is a very peaceful and tranquil little park next to the river, a little out of the way from the crowds. A really nice spot that a lot of tourists probably miss out on seeing!







Another picturesque spot is up on the other side of the village, where you can see some statues of Inca warriors.






After my sightseeing tour on foot, I went back to the hotel to unpack and get changed. The weather had been sweltering, but more or less as soon as I got into my room, the heavens opened and unleashed a tropical downpour for the following 30 minutes. I felt glad to have avoided it!

Once I'd got myself organised, it was time to visit Aguas Calientes' main attraction: the thermal baths. (This is where the name Aguas Calientes - "hot waters" - comes from.) They're located up some steep steps a bit of a distance from the centre of the village, but you get some beautiful views of little waterfalls on the walk there.




Entrance to the baths costs 20 soles (about 5 dollars), and there are several warm baths that are between 34 and 37 degrees, and a cold one that's 14 degrees (I only dipped my toe in that one!). The baths are quite busy, both with tourists and local people, including splashing kids, but once you find a little space for yourself, it's a really relaxing experience.





It was so nice to float in the warm water (which definitely helped ease my stiff muscles from the cramped train journey!) and enjoy the incredible rainforest scenery around me. I was reminded a bit of Termas Geométricas in the Patagonian Rainforest - a much colder but equally beautiful setting!

Finally, my day in Aguas Calientes was rounded off nicely by seeing a gorgeous orange cat on my way back to the hotel!




Overall, this was a day of two halves; the morning train trip was a let-down, but my afternoon and evening in Aguas Calientes more than made up for it. Although the village is mostly just known for being a gateway to Machu Picchu, it actually turned out to be one of my favourite places I visited during my week in Peru, and it definitely gave me Wanderlust to visit other jungle destinations in the future.

The following day, it was finally time for me to visit the place that was the main reason why I was taking this trip: Machu Picchu. Both my journey there and my visit to the citadel were really memorable experiences and I can't wait to write all about them!

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