Peru & Machu Picchu

We berthed at Lima and then flew into Cuzco, which was the capital of the Inca Empire AT 11,200 feet (3,400 meres) it literally takes your breath away. Main effects of the altitude seemed to be a migraine headache. We visited the Plaza Amas and Quriikancha the Inca Temple of the sun which now form the foundations for the Spanish Church of Santo Domingo.

The second day saw us driving into the Urubama valley stopping at Ollayantaybo which was another important Inca town. The narrow streets and houses are much as the Incas would have built at the height of their Empire. The Glacier topped Andes here are 6,00 metres high. The train took from here down the valley to Callientes, the Stopping off point for Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is reached by a zigzag road that climbs up the steep mountain side. The view of the city is truly breathtaking.

After seeing the destruction from the earthquakes in Christchurch we were truly amazed on the lack of damage to the early Inca structures or for that matter the later Spanish ones