Après une nuit assez reposante et un peu moins froide, c’est le lever à 5h30, suivi d’un autre excellent déjeuner. Nous quittons le campement vers 7h30 en direction de Ollaytantambo. Aujourd’hui, tout est en descente, de façon assez régulière. En revanche, le soleil nous donne chaud rapidement. Nous faisons un arrêt à la carrière inca, Kachiqata, qui donne son nom à la piste. Puis après un autre arrêt pour voir des monuments funéraires incas, nous approchons de Ollaytantambo. Mais petit problème: il faut traverser la rivière et le pont exige un détour d’environ un kilomètre. Finalement, nous arrivons à la place centrale du village où nous pourrons nous reposer avec une bonne limonade à la menthe avant de prendre le train pour Aguas Calientes.
Le petit train qui nous amène vers Machu Picchu serpente à travers la vallée en suivant de près la rivière Urubamba. Tout le long du trajet nous descendons et perdons au final environ 800 mètres. La dernière partie du trajet est d’ailleurs dans une forêt tropicale qui nous change des décors arides et rudes des derniers jours. Nous n’avons pas vu tant de vert depuis deux semaines. Aguas Calientes est la porte d’entrée de Machu Picchu et n’est pas une ville, mais plutôt un immense centre commercial en plein air où les prix sont doublés par rapport au reste du Pérou. Pas une grosse surprise, mais quand même un peu triste.
After a fairly restful and slightly less cold night, we get up at 5:30 a.m., followed by another excellent breakfast. We leave the camp around 7:30 in the direction of Ollaytantambo. Today, everything is downhill, in a fairly regular way. On the other hand, the sun makes us hot quickly. We stop at the Inca quarry, Kachiqata, which gives its name to the track. Then after another stop to see Inca funerary monuments, we approach Ollaytantambo. But small problem: you have to cross the river and the bridge requires a detour of about a kilometer. Finally, we arrive at the central square of the village where we can rest with a good mint lemonade before taking the train to Aguas Calientes.
The little train that takes us to Machu Picchu winds through the valley, closely following the Urubamba River. All along the way we descend and finally lose about 800 metres. The last part of the journey is also in a tropical forest which changes us from the arid and harsh scenery of the last days. We haven’t seen so much green in two weeks. Aguas Calientes is the gateway to Machu Picchu and isn’t a town, but rather a huge outdoor shopping centre where the prices are double compared to the rest of Peru. Not a big surprise, but still a bit sad.
Inca Quarry Trail: 4h30 heures de marche, 1,000m de dénivelé, 10km, arrivée à 2,750m / 4:30 hours of walking, 1,000m of descent, 10km. Finish at 2,750m
[Auteur/Author: Pierre & Suzanne]
Les voyages de Suzanne & Pierre 
Beautiful, as usual. I didn’t realize that Aguas Calientes had become so completely commercial. (Some people now call it Machu Picchu town.)
Thanks for your note. I don’t have any point of comparison not having been there before but it felt pretty commercial to us and prices were literally double what we paid everywhere else in Peru.
More great images! And that quarry, when was that in use?
Thanks Sue. Glad you enjoyed this last series from our trek. The quarry was used by the Inca from the 13th to the 15th century. It was also probably used by the Spaniards but now it is listed as an historical site so it is protected and it can’t be quarried.
Ah, OK!
Tremendous!
Thanks Anabel. We were so glad to have finished the trek. The last day was the easiest though it was a long descent but on 10km so mostly gentle.
My knees hurt with every step! The scenery is truly spectacular and the sky so blue. I love the old quarry stone – looks like a millstone.
Thanks Jacqui. Actually, our knees and legs weren’t too bad (our trekking poles made a difference) and we weren’t too stiff the next day. I think it might be a millstone but I am not certain. The quarry is no longer in operation and is actually protected so that it isn’t mined anymore.
Incredible photos again! What a trek!!
Thanks Donna. Glad you enjoyed this series of photos. It was indeed quite a trek.
Those views are incredible! I’ve read that Aguas Calientes is now very built up and commercial. When I was there in ’79, there were two wooden buildings hugging the river and a walk to a cement pool for the hot springs and that was it!
Thanks Eliza. Agua Calientes was truly a commercial centre. It wasn’t a very interesting town; it was actually quite depressing.
So sorry to know that. It reminded me of a one-horse western town back then. One of the buildings had a few rooms to rent and a small kitchen and we ate on the porch, viewing the river. There was a macaw on a perch that squawked and spoke Spanish to everyone. 🙂
You probably wouldn’t recognize the city. From description it looks more interesting than it is today.
FANTASTIC! 👍 👍
Thanks for your note. Glad you enjoyed this series.
J’aime beaucoup cette série sans doute parce qu’elle nous offre beaucoup de photos de montagne et un autre visage de ce pays. Merci beaucoup du partage
Merci Marie. Bien contente que cette série ait su vous plaire. Ce trek était vraiment spectaculaire quoique très difficile. La 3e journée fut plus facile. Une longue descente mais sur 10km donc plus douce et plus simple à manoeuvrer.