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| Statue in Aguas Calientes |
Before flying to Cusco, I spent three days in Lima to start acclimatizing (Lima's altitude is 1500m; Cusco is 3300m; and Machu Picchu is 2450m). I also took a lot of Coca leaves/tea to help me prevent any altitude sickness, as the local people there swear that Coca works. In Cusco, I also stayed there first for three days before traveling to Aguas Calientes, the town where Machu Picchu is located.
I bought a roundtrip van transfer in one of the agencies near Plaza de Armas. The van transfer is from Cusco to Hidroelektrika and back. I forgot the exact cost of the ticket but it should be around $20-25$ only. And travel time was around six to seven hours.
The first few hours in the van was good. I was sitting by the window and I enjoyed looking at the view outside. However, on the fourth hour I believe, when we reached the mountain, there was just a lot of twists and turns, and our driver was driving a bit too fast that I started feeling nauseous. It was bad. It was very uncomfortable and I tried all the different seating positions just so I won't get sick. But I couldn't and so I threw up in the van. It was horrible. Good thing after a few minutes, we had a quick stopover for lunch, and I was able to clean myself. Hidroelektrika was just then a few minutes away from this stopover which was perfect because I was starting to feel a little bit dizzy again after.
In Hidroelektrika, there was a little booth where you would need to write down your details in the logbook before starting the trek. A couple from Chile, around late 40's or early 50's from our van was really nice and they called a few of us to form a group and trek together. It took us three hours to reach Aguas Calientes. We started at around 3pm and arrived the town at 6pm. There were a lot of other trekkers so you would not feel alone even if you do it by yourself. And you'll never be bored with the trees and mountains and rivers that you will see along the way. It was beautiful.
Going back, I decided to take the train instead, because I didn't want to get car sick again. My train ticket costs $75 as I just bought it the day before the trip. It was from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo. But if you buy it in advance, you will definitely find something cheaper. You can check Perurail.com. From Ollantaymbo, I then took a colectivo/shared taxi to Cusco.
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