Machu Picchu lies about 80 kilometres northwest of Cusco, as the eagles fly but in actual travelling distance is much further because this world heritage site lies high in the Andes Mountains. Visitors need to negotiate part of this impressive mountain range in order to reach the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. Some travellers choose to make a 3-5 day trek over the ancient Inca trail from Cusco but we chose an easier route which included a train and bus trip over the Andes followed by a shorter but still challenging trek, up a section of the Inca trail to the entrance gate of Machu Picchu. In our younger years we may have attempted the longer route but we also only had 4 days off the ship to see all the sights that Ecuador and Peru offered us. This one day visit to Machu Picchu promised to be another full-on hectic and exhilarating day.
We'd read that the older (the less fit) you are, the harder it for our bodies to adjust the higher altitudes. We found this in Nepal 30 years ago but back then we'd trekked for 2 weeks, gradually acclimatizing to the heights on the way to Everest base camp. We had less time to adjust, since arriving in Lima with an altitude of 154 metres but we began the acclimatization process by staying overnight in Lima before flying to Cusco with an altitude of 3399 metres. There we spent the day visiting various sites (mentioned in the previous blog) in the Sacred Valley area where our bodies began adjusting to the altitude, but that night we were driven down to the lower altitude town of Ollantaytambo, (2729 metres) where we slept in a hotel to avoid the chance of getting altitude sickness which is very debilitating and potentially life threatening. By spending time in an area, taking it slowly and sleeping at a lower altitude our bodies were able to acclimatize to the varying altitude zones in Peru. 
We woke at 6.30 am having had a long restful night's sleep at our lodgings in a Spanish-style hotel in Ollantaytambo. After a wonderfully satisfying breakfast we took a short but interesting walk to the train station. We passed local families preparing children for school or opening their stalls, shops restaurants, ready for a day of trading. It was fairly cool walking to the station with the early morning mists rising high into the air, as the rays of the sun began to shine down from behind the high, jagged mountain ranges which surround this busy tourist mountain town.
Ollantaytambo station was a hive of activity as several trains were being prepared by smartly dressed railway staff, to welcome and board tourists heading up and over the Andes Mountains on a 90 minute train journey to the town of Aguas Calientes where buses awaited to take us on a hairy zig-zag ride up the final slopes to the start of the final section of the old Inca trail which leads up to the Machu Picchu complex site.
We really enjoyed this unique train journey. Our carriage had huge picture- windows and sky-ceiling windows from which we were able to photograph the mountain vistas. We passed rainforest-carpeted mountains and others which were ever steep, jagged and snow capped. We looked way down into deep valley gorges with muddy rivers snaking along valley floors. We crossed many bridges spanning gorges or passing over mountain streams and we travelled through several long dark tunnels. This railway line sure took some engineering feats and physical effort and manpower! In some valleys we passed farmlands of corn and other vegetable crops which looked like they were almost ready for harvesting and village workers could be seen working the fields. We saw thatched and tin roofed mud-brick buildings, llamas and children playing in the fields or wandering along mountain paths on their way to a village school. Other workers we passed were busy maintaining roadways, bridges and clearing rainforest vines from encroaching onto our train track. Tourism plays such a significantly important part in the economy of Peru, that the safety of trekkers and travellers is given a high priority in this ancient land. One thing we noted from our carriage window views was the brilliant azure blue sky, fluffy, puffy white clouds floating around mountain peaks and a crisp bright sunlight which caused the damp forest canopy to sparkle as we trundled over the railway tracks, enjoying the sights over refreshing cups of tea and cornbread snacks, provided by our friendly train hosts. Yes today was full of great expectations of seeing and experiencing an archaeological wonder, of a civilization that once was part of the vast Inca Empire of Peru.
Surprisingly, our train journey ended right in the main street of the town of Aguas Calientes which is set at the bottom of a narrow valley 400 metres below Machu Picchu. It's a tourist town where the houses, boarding hostels and markets are all jam-packed and hemmed in together along and up the valley's mountainsides. Many intrepid trekkers stay in Aguas Calientes overnight, before attempting their climb up to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. The climb is a very steep, strenuous and slippery uphill trek which takes about 2 hours. We took the easier option and travelled by bus to conserve our energy and to give us more time for exploring the massive Machu Picchu complex site. 