Discovering the Sacred Valley of the Incas

  Cuzco, Peru
Wednesday, January 30, 2008

posing with llamas

I almost didn't go to Cuzco (or Qosco, the official Quechua spelling) - but a number of locals and fellow travelers convinced me it would be a crying shame. So I braved my continuing cold, the relentless rain and the frigidity, and stayed in Cuzco for a few days. How glad I am now that I listened to all these people who gave me advice!

Cuzco is a unique city, not just in Peru but in all of South America (or at least those places I have visited to date). It blends remarkably well the Spanish colonial legacy with the Inca heritage of the local population. You can see this manifested in the architecture, the museums, the arts and crafts that are sold on every street, and even the cuisine...

The central cathedral on Plaza de Armas is well worth the s/ 16. The high altar is made of solid silver, and the pulpits and some of the side altars display remarkable wood carving craftsmanship. There are also a number of altars in gilded gold - mostly in the baroque style. Though an incredible sight, it leaves one wondering what all this precious metal used to look like before the conquistadores came along and melted it all, and transformed it into its current state.

inca stonework

Although the cathedrals, museums and cultural sites are interesting, I most enjoyed wandering through the narrow steep cobble stone streets, admiring the architecture and the inca stonework which can be seen in many places. Looking at these huge boulders, some of which weigh many tons, and the way that their multiple angles perfectly fit into each other... leaves a lot to the imagination.

guess which one is me

It rained every day without fail. Which was OK because the altitude and the city terrain left us breathless. This, combined with the rain, provided the perfect excuse for the Czechs and I to explore some of Cuzco's excellent cafes and restaurants. We didn't try out the nightlife, despite the city's reputation of being a party town - I don't think I would have had the energy or oxygen sufficiency to dance at night.

The one thing I absolutely hated about Cuzco were the street sellers. They are everywhere, and are very annoying. Almost every second person you walk past has something for sale, and most of them do not understand the meaning of "no, thanks", they follow you around and continue murmuring their offerings as you try to briskly walk away. If you look one of these peddlers in the eyes for even a second, they take it as an invitation to come pester you with their goods. The handcrafts are indeed amazing and good value, but the street sellers' persistence has the opposite of the desired effect.

at the top

Of course, visiting Cuzco without making it to Machu Picchu is impossible (well, I did meet some people who oddly enough opted not to go to MP). Evzen and I left all planning to the last minute, thinking it would be safe to do so in the low season - not! When we went to the train station to buy the ridiculously overpriced ticket to Aguas Calientes (the base from which all day treks to MP begin) for the next day... it was sold out! Instead we had to get a taxi half way to Ollaytantambo, and catch the train from there.

Aguas Calientes is unexciting and unpleasantly commercial. For example, when you get off the train, in order to exit the station and get to the main street where all the hotels are located, you pretty much have to pass right through this large bazaar where textiles, figurines and other souvenirs are sold (at prices higher than in Cuzco). We were both quite put off by this, finding it downright sleazy.

glorious machu picchu

We were determined to hike up from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu instead of taking the bus. We asked many people how long the hike would take, and most replied quite confidently that it was an easy 1.5 hr walk. I have learned not to trust people here, so we gave ourselves an extra hour. And a good thing, too, because it was NOT an easy walk, and it took almost 2 hours. We set off at 3:45 am in total darkness and in pouring rain. The "walk" turned out to be a never-ending series of steep steps that were quite slippery in the wet weather.

exhausted but happy

We arrived at the entrance to the site at 5:45am, 15 minutes before the official opening time. My guidebook claims that the guides at the entrance will let you in early to see the sunrise if you ask them, which was our intent. But the guy at the entrance was quite rude and only said, "la hora es la hora". For anyone who has experience with South American timeliness, this line is an absolute joke. Even in the pissing rain, Evzen and I managed to find this mildly amusing, although at the same time we were thoroughly annoyed at having woken up so early for nothing. A word of advice - if you want to see the sunrise, go to INC in Cuzco to ask for permission (the INC in Aguas Calientes is not authorized to do this). This line, la hora es la hora, will remain forever etched in my mind as one of the classic jokes of my trip.

This is not to say that we regretted the hike - even in the darkness it was interesting, and good exercise for our legs and lungs. And despite the inflexibility of the guide, we were one of the first to enter the site. Later on in the day, as the crowds of tourists began to arrive with the buses, we realized just how valuable those first few hours spent almost alone at Machu Picchu were.

the way to wayna picchu

The morning fog had not lifted yet, one could hardly see 10 meters ahead. This only added to the mystism of the ruins, and made us feel as though we were totally alone (although there were another few brave souls who had hiked as well, plus all those coming from the Inca Trail who generally tend to arrive very early). We opted not to pay for a guide and instead used our guidebooks, leaflets and imagination. I have seen far more impressive and advanced XV century castles and walled cities; but even so there is something so magical about Machu Picchu. Why did the Incas choose such a high altitude location for their settlement? How did they build such a huge city using nothing but stone tools? And what was the significance of some of the enormous monolith rocks strewn about the site? Will we ever know the answers for sure? Maybe it is better than some mystery remains to feed the imagination.

more amazing inca stonework

As if the morning hike were not enough, we then decided to hike up to Wayna Picchu as well. The views from there were supposed to be magnificent, and there is a 400 person per day maximum so we thought we'd better get going before the limit is reached. As you enter the pathway you see this signpost warning you that this climb is not for the faint-hearted. Indeed so. Another hour of walking, climbing or crawling up steep steps or rocks with hardly visible footholds in them. I thought surely my heart would explode any second now.

Miraculously, we made it to the top, where there are more ruins to be explored. In search of a good viewpoint, we kept going up and up and up, until we reached the very top - a series of cliffs that are hardly wide enough for one person to sit on. This did not prevent me from inching on all fours to the very tip of the rocks, camera in hand. And then we sat and waited for the fog to lift. A good hour later, it finally did, and then we were rewarded for all our hard work with spectacular views of the entire site, and the mountains and valleys surrounding it. Incredible! Breath-taking! Spectacular!

The remainder of our walk around the Machu Picchu ruins was marked by fatigue and a lack of water, and climbing up even more steps. By 1pm we were both ready to head out and have a well-deserved lunch at Aguas Calientes. Mostly, I just needed water, I was so dehydrated from all the hiking. There is no water for sale inside the site itself, but you can buy 200ml bottles just outside for s/ 10, an awfully inflated price (in Cuzco a 600ml bottle goes for s/ 1). So if you are attempting the same route as us, bring more than a litre per person unless you want to be skinned at the cafe.

ritual masked dance on train

The train ride back from Aguas Calientes (over $70 for a 4 hr trip, probably the most expensive train in South America) was interesting, too. The attendants subjected us to an alpaca fashion show and a ritual masked dance. I wonder what a job ad for a train attendant must look like... The most interesting view, though, was that of the river that runs along the train tracks. Its chocolate colored waters were boiling with fury and crashing onto the riverbed boulders with such force and violence that it sent foaming waves up many meters into the air. Only suicidal people would attempt to raft down this river.

We came back to Cuzco exhausted and much poorer than we had left, but totally content and in silent awe of what we had experienced. Machu Picchu is indeed deserving of its place among the Seven Wonders of the World. With this, I have now seen four of the seven (the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum in Rome, Chichen Itza in Mexico, and Machu Picchu). As a friend of mine likes to say, life is long and the world is small, so I am sure I will have an opportunity to conquer the remaining three at some point (Petra, the Great Wall, and the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio). This is going by the new classification... my one comment on which is, how is it possible that the Christ Redeemer statue booted the Pyramids???

a deserved beer

And so it is that I boarded yet another bus, headed for Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca. This is where I experienced my second disappointment with Cuzco. Like most Peruvian cities, the center of Cuzco is immaculately clean. But leaving the city in direction south, you experience a rather different side of Peruvian culture. A river runs along the road for the first hour of the journey, as you pass through satellite villages. The road is littered with rubbish, and the river has equal amounts of water and garbage flowing through it. Quite a sad sight indeed...