machu picChu, peru - day 4 - september 9, 2025

We had a very nice breakfast at Tambo Del Inka - the best hotel so var, by a lot!

Harp at breakfast at Tambo Del Inka

Inca Chief & Shelly in Ollantaytambo

Military Fortress & Temple at Ollantaytambo

We boarded the bus and headed to Ollantaytambo, a huge temple complex. I did’t climb up the huge number of steps - saving myself for Machu Picchu later in the day. We drove to the town of Ollantaytambo and caught the train to the town of Aguas Calientes. We had a very nice train car with lunch and a commentary for about a 1.5 hour journey. In Aguas Calientas you catch the public bus and go up a very steep and switch backed road to the entrance of Machu Piccu. While in Aquas Calientas the police were lined up across from us - it looked very scary, but they motioned to Shelly and she went over and had here photo taken with them - the large crowd cheered. We found out later that the police were there because of internal political issues with the train and they closed the access to Machu Picchu several days later; we where very fortunate!

Parade to the Machu Picchu Train

Pisco Sours on the Train

Shelly with the Police in Aguas Calientas

We made it to Machu Picchu!

Machu Picchu - the shot!

We are fortunate to be able to stay at the only hotel at the entrance to Machu Picchu, Sanctuary Lodge. We dropped out bags at our rooms and entered Machu Picchu. We climbed a bunch of stairs to the spot where everyone takes a photo. It’s hard to describe how amazing it is to actually be there - pictures really don’t do it justice. It is truly a bucket list item for me! Our guide, Danny took us on a 3 hour tour to see the Condor Temple, Sun Temple, and many Llamas. My knees were really sore and I was very lucky to make it back to the hotel!

At the hotel we had a interesting “Spirits of Peru” tasting at the bar and a very nice dinner!

Spirits of Peru Tasting