On June 4th got up at 4 am for drive to Ollantaytambo to c atch the train to Machu Picchu. Got of in the middle of nowhere at 7.30. Just four of us and a guide. Anita, myself and two girls 18 and 19 respectively, on their gap year. We set off on the trek climbing approximately 450 m in 4 hours up some breath defying steps until it was almost impossible to get your breath back through the most spectacular lush scenery I have ever seen. The Urubamba river runs ...

Had intended to hop on and off local buses to see the Sacred Valley but have realised it would take 10 times as long to do anything as they wend their way through every little town and take ages. So, not quite in the spirit of the intrepid traveller we have booked Arturo for 1 and a half days as our driver! After a breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juiced , a scrambled egg (literally) and coffee set off to see Sacsaywaman, Q`uenqo, PucaPucaara and Tambomachay....

Arrived in Cusco abouty 10.25 on 1st June after an uneventful but long and tiring journey. Immediately fell in love with the place. Our hotel is a quaint, quirky hacienda type built around a courtyard. We love it although it is not exactly state of the art regarding facilities, it`s charm more than makes up for it.It has a mixture of ofdd fixtures and fittings, beautiful stone pots and stone baths in the garden along with funny local artifacts like cute cows and ...