MACHU PICCHU ADVENTURE
Taking the sensible route to a beautiful Inca stronghold
Don’t be ashamed to let the train take the strain in Peru, writes Lesley Stones
I felt a bit of a wimp when I booked a tour through Peru and requested a train ticket to Machu Picchu. I’d weighed up the options for reaching the stunning lost city of the Incas high in the mountains, and figured I shouldn’t be ashamed to let the train take the strain. Far better than a four-day hike at high altitude, where you struggle to breathe, let alone walk; sleep in a tent and try to ignore people plodding along so you can pretend you’re an Inca warrior entering the city in the original, noble way. Besides, not torturing myself on a mountain gave me extra time in Cusco, a gorgeous old city that trekkers whizz through. I had time to take the free walking tour, the open-top bus ride, admire other Inca treasures, have a massage and eat in nice restaurants instead of cooking over a camp fire. Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire that flourished from 1400 AD until Spanish conquerors arrived in 1532, bringing war and disease that rapidly wiped them out. The city was studded wi...
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