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It was after dark by the time our train finally pulled into the station at Ollantaytambo, a charming, picturesque town nestled in Peru’s vibrant Sacred Valley, and I couldn’t wait for a hot shower, a hot meal, and a cold beer at Las Qolqas where I was staying.
Even from Ollantaytambo, endearingly shortened to Ollantay by locals, the journey to Machu Picchu, considered the crown of the Sacred Valley and Peru’s number one tourist attraction, is long. Requiring a luxury 90-minute or no-frills two-hour train ride (reservations must be made in advance), followed by a winding, dizzying bus ride up to the top of Machu Picchu, where entry not exceeding three hours is granted based on your ticket time window, it’s a heck of a day trip.
This was my second time in Peru, my second time visiting the country’s claim to fame. I first visited in August 2009, and while I can definitively say the journey to the famous site, physically arduous and mentally challenging via the Lares Trek, an alternative to the popular Inca Trail, was incredibly rewarding and memorable, I’ve always felt guilty admitting that I found Machu Picchu itself underwhelming. It was Torres del Paine in Patagonia, the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador which topped my backpacking year’s highlights, but I wanted to be gobsmacked by Machu Picchu too.