Unless someone has been living under a rock, they know that Machu Picchu, one of the new seven wonders of the world, is an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains. It is one of the must visit places in Peru on most visitors' itineraries and a bucket list item for many.. Since this was the longest and most tiring leg of our trip, we decided to head here first so that the latter part of our trip could be more relaxing. The gateway to Machu Picchu is Cusco, which is located at a very high altitude. If you are spending additional time in Cusco (and you must!), it is advised to speak with your physician and take some altitude sickness medicine like Diamox. The locals also advise drinking coca tea to help with any symptoms like dizziness and nausea. A smart move would be to buy a can of oxygen (Oxyshot is the most popular and easily available in local pharmacies) for any emergencies.
Cusco is very well connected with Lima; there are several flights in a day that take just about an hour. Getting to Macchu Picchu from Cusco is a combination of bus and train. There are 2 main rail services - Inca Rail and Perul Rail (this is the company that operates the fantastic Hiram Bingham train). These trains leave from the Ollantaytambo station, which is about a 2 hour drive from Cusco. There are only seasonal trains that leave from near Cusco (the Poroy station). All train services offer a bi-modal service, which means they drive passengers on a bus from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, where they get on the train to Aguas Calientes. The drive from Cusco to Ollantaytambo takes one through the very scenic Sacred Valley, usually with a stop at Mirador Racchi. This is where you can see an archeological site and gorgeous views of the Sacred Valley.
Upon reaching Ollantaytambo, you can either take the Inca/Peru Rail train to Machu Picchu train station in Aguas Calientes, about a 1 hour 45 minute train with sweeping views of the mountains and the rapids flowing next to the tracks. There are many people who do the 1 or 2 day trek from several spots in the Sacred Valley to Macchu Picchu, instead of taking the easy way out via the train. Even though the train station is named Machu Picchu, we were not quite there yet as Aguas Calientes is just the gateway to the Incan archeological ruins. We spent about half a day to relax at Aguas Calientes. It is a very touristy town, with several souvenir shops, restaurants serving basically the same type of food and a man made hot spring. There are no vehicles that operate in this town, except for the buses that run to and fro from the Machhu Picchu entrance. We stayed at the Panorama B&B which lived up to the expectations of offering beautiful views from the cute balcony and an excellent breakfast. Plus the service provided by Freddy and Percy was exceptional. The next day, we started on our expedition to Machu Picchu.
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