Cusco - Aguas Caliente

After a wonderful stay in Lima, we continued by plane to Cusco! During the 50-minute flight, with sunshine and hardly any clouds, we enjoyed a wonderful view of the Andes mountain range.

From the airport, we took a taxi to our accommodation. The air up here in Cusco is very thin and every step in this city was an effort! Our hostel was only a 2-minute walk from the main square, Plaza de Armas, and the view from our breakfast terrace is impressive!

After arriving at the hotel, we immediately went to our tourist agency to check in for our tour to Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to acclimate!

With a little headache and a slight rumbling in the stomach, we took the bus to Santa Teresa, the starting point of our hike to Aguas Caliente, at 7 o'clock the next morning!

We then hiked for 3 hours through the jungle along the train tracks.

We reached the little village at the foot of Machu Picchu at 6 pm. We then decided to buy bus tickets for the next morning at short notice - which, in hindsight, was a very wise decision!

Exhausted, we fell into bed at a less than great 'hotel'!