The original itinerary for Day 4 read something like this:
- You will wake up early this morning approx 3.30am to witness one of life’s special moments.
- We will have breakfast at 4am, beginning our trek with flashlights making our way to Inti Punku (2,780 m) also known as the Sun Gate and the entrance into Machu Picchu Citadel.
- Upon arrival into Machu Picchu the ancient City of the Inca’s you will be given a comprehensive tour.
- You will have some free time to wander around the ruins at your leisure
- Enjoy a lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge.
- Later, a shuttle bus will take you to the town of Aguas Calientes, where you will have the evening to relax. Our guess is you will appreciate the soothing sounds of the Vilcanota River, a hot shower, a nice dinner and a warm comfortable bed.
Let’s back track a little here...
At dinner on day 2 I had overhead our two guides discussing the trains from Aguas Calientes back to Cusco and how they might not be running. They were talking in Spanish and when I asked about it they just said I hadn’t understood. Turns out I had understood correctly and the trains would not be running for two days. November 15th and 16th. Or Day 3 and 4 of our hike.
My understanding from our guides, the hotel staff, our tour company in Lima, our tour company in Cusco, friends in Lima, other tourists, newspaper reports and of course google is this:
Peru Rail, the company that owns and operates the train is actually privately owned by a Chilean company. Which means the local communities do not see any income from it’s operation. Approximately 3000 tourists a day visit Machu Picchu and they pretty much all transit though Aguas Calientes. The only money that locals make from those ~3000 daily tourists is to sell them souvenirs, food and drink. And now the rail company is looking to monopolize that too by selling food and souvenirs on the train. The locals are less than impressed. Wouldn’t you be? So local residents announced a 48-hour protest in which they would block the railway between Cusco and Aguas Calientes until demands were met.
The protestors were asking for a dedicated local train service or more frequent services and a number of passenger cars to be reserved for residents of Machu Picchu, Urubamba, and other Peruvian nationals. They were also demanding an end to the rail company selling food and souvenirs, better internet coverage in the area, tour guides to be allowed to sell tickets to Machu Picchu and to stop the building of a tourist centre on the lower edge of town as it will divert business from the town centre.
And shut down the trains they did. So what did that mean for Michelle and I?
First:
It meant a later start to Day 4. Day 4 on our hike, was Day 2 of the strike. Normally the day would start at 330am with breakfast at 4am. The porters would break camp, walk to Aguas Calientes and take the 7am train back to Ollantaytambo. Because of no trains the porters would be walking all the way to Ollantaytambo. Along or parallel to the train lines not back the way we had come on the Inca Trail. It meant they didn't have to leave as early. So we got to sleep in. All the way to 430am. We weren't complaining.
Second:
The Sanctuary Lodge was closed as local workers were discouraged from crossing the protest lines to get from town to Machu Picchu. So no lunch.
Third:
Our guides had been told the shuttle buses from the Machu Picchu site into the town of Aguas Calientes were cancelled and we’d have to hike. It's about an hour of steep downhill stairs from the site to the bridge and then another 30 minutes into town. As it turned out the shuttle buses were running from the Machu Picchu site down the hill to the bridge. (Doesn’t mean much to you, but it made a difference for us). So we would only have to hike along the flat rail line into town.
That was the plan for Michelle and I. When we booked our trip back in May, we had already decided to spend a night in Aguas Calientes and get the train back to Cusco the next day. We didn't want to rush our visit to Machu Picchu to race for the train. Spare a thought for the rest of our group who had to hike another 6kms to Hidro Electrica and then endure a 6 hour bus ride back to Cusco, on a windy road and back up to altitude. We definitely took the better option.
Fourth:
Our bags were being carried by a porter that we had hired for the trek. Normally they would carry the bag to the hotel for us to collect on check in. However with no trains running the porters would not be walking through Aguas Calientes. After some discussion with the guides, the office and the porters it was decided a porter with the short straw would take our bags into town and then carry on his way. This was not ideal as it meant a porter would have to add time and distance to his day, and he would have to go into the heart of the strike and protests. Carrying our own gear wasn't an option, although we did consider it. When we hired the porters, we packed our stuff into two provided duffle bags. The two duffle bags were then packed into a porters bigger bag and carried. We still had about 3 hours of hiking ahead of us to get to Machu Picchu from camp, plus the time at Machu Picchu, and then the walk into town. So carrying duffle bags was not practical. We weren't being lazy.
Fifth:
We didn’t know if the trains would actually start running again on the 17th. So we had no idea how we were going to get from Aguas Calientes back to Cusco.
So our actual itinerary for Day 4 read more like this:
- You will wake up early this morning approx 4.30am to witness one of life’s special moments.
- We will have box breakfast on the trail, beginning our trek with flashlights making our way to Inti Punku (2,780 m) also known as the Sun Gate and the entrance into Machu Picchu Citadel.
- Upon arrival into Machu Picchu the ancient City of the Inca’s you will be given a comprehensive tour.
- You will have some free time to wander around the ruins at your leisure
- Enjoy a lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge.
- Later, a shuttle bus will take you to the bridge. You will then walk into the town of Aguas Calientes, where you will have the afternoon and evening to relax. Our guess is you will appreciate the soothing sounds of the Vilcanota River, a hot shower, a nice dinner and a warm comfortable bed.