En tren a Machu Picchu

1. En tren a Machu Picchu

2. Machu Picchu • After a breathtaking Peru Rail train ride you will find yourself exiting your train into the small town of Aguas Calientes. Then as you take a short motor coach ride up the side of a mountain, your vision makes contact with Machu Picchu Peru. • Machu Picchu Peru was discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1906, since this discovery it has been one of the most sought after travel destinations in the world! Machu Picchu has between 1,000 to 1500 people visiting each day. • Many women skeletons were found in the ruins of Machu Picchu, suggesting to some that if was a common place for the Incan women to be or use as a refuge. This destination is a true example of professional architecture and engineering.

3. Practical Information for Machu Picchu • Machu Picchu is Peru's main tourist destination and it is magnificent. It is never a disappontment. It is definitely one of the world's great sights. As it will be the climax of your journey around Peru, careful planning is important in order to make the most of your visit, since Machu Picchu is very busy especially in peak tourist season (July & August). • Here are three important tips: walk if you can, overnight if you can, and stay in the only hotel by the ruins if you can afford it. Oh! And if you don't walk, and you can afford it, take the new Hiram Bingham Luxury Train service.

4. To get to Machu Picchu, your starting point is the City of Cuzco. There are flights to Cuzco from Lima and other cities in Peru. Once in Cuzco there are different options: you can either drive for a couple of hours and trek the Inca Trail (5d/4n), take the train part of the way and trek the One-day Inca Trail (5 hour walk) or take the train all the way (4 hours). • You may also want to consider spending a few nights in the Urubamba Valley (also called Sacred Valley), the staggeringly beautiful Valley that lies north of Cuzco on the way to Machu Picchu. For more details on what to do and see in the Urubamba Valley, please click here. From the Urubamba Valley, specifically in Ollantaytambo, you can take the train to Machu Picchu or start your drive to the start-off point of the Inca Trail as mentioned above. Click here for a detailed map of the area.

5. Once embarked on your journey, you will go from the Andes to the high Amazon Basin on the narrow gauge railway that is an attraction in itself; from an open country of rolling, grassy fields studded with rocky outcrops and steep valleys rich in corn and potatoes, to a matted tight fur of dense, low jungle. The climate becomes tropical, with heavy rains, electrical storms, and clammy mists shrouding the steep green hillsides….. • You will be approaching Machu Picchu…the lost city of the Incas, whose purpose and origins remain an enigma. The Spaniards never saw it or seem to have heard of it. Apart from the exquisiteness of the buildings' stonework, what is remarkable about Machu Picchu is the perfect way the city is laid out to blend with its surroundings… spectacular mountains covered in luxurious vegetation

6. Cloud wisps over terraces: A wisp of cloud envelopes one of the peaks off the west end of Machu Picchu. This picture was probably taken from the quarry

7. Machu Picchu full view: The mountain peak in this photo is called Wayna/Huayna Picchu (Old Peak). In the foreground you can see the Royal Sector with the curved Temple of the Sun approximately 2/3 the way from the left and just a little bit from the bottom.

8. Mystery peak: There is a prominent peak very easily seen from almost anywhere on Machu Picchu. It's also observable for most of the busride up the switchbacks to the site entrance. You can barely make out a Peruvian Flag at the top of it.

9. Urubamba river and mountain: You can just make out the Urubamba River snaking its way around that main peak in the bottom right of this shot. Notice also the lone tree at the left.

12. EL CANAL DE PANAMÁ

13. El Canal de Panamá • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia • A canal tug, making its way down to the Caribbean end of the canal, waits to be joined by a ship in the uppermost chamber of the Gatun Locks. • The Panama Canal is a major shipping canal which cuts through the isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The construction of the canal was one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken; it has had an enormous impact on shipping, because it removes the need for ships to travel the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 kilometres (6,000 mi), well under half the distance of the previous 22,500 kilometre (14,000 mi) route around Cape Horn.[1] • Although the concept of a canal in Panama dates back to the early 1500s, the first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880, under French leadership. This attempt collapsed, and the work was finally completed by the United States; the canal opened in 1914. The building of the 77 kilometre (48 mi) canal was plagued by problems, including disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) and massive landslides. As many as 27,500 workers are estimated to have died during construction of the canal. • Since opening, the canal has been enormously successful and continues to be a key factor in world shipping. Each year the canal accommodates the passage of over 14,000 ships, carrying over 203 million tonnes of cargo. By 2002, about 800,000 ships had passed through the canal.[2]

20. FINAL