Just back from a week long vacation in Peru. I'll post a few of them below. More are available on Photobucket, and even those are only a random sample that I grabbed out of the 500+ pictures that we took. Here's the link:
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q...20Peru trip/
Look over on the left side of the page and you will see links to the different locations, with pictures in those sub-folders. They are Arequipa, Cusco, Hike to Machu Picchu, and Machu Picchu.
For a little background info, Arequipa is located in southern Peru and is nicknamed the "White City" because much of the building material is white lava rock from the nearby volcanos. It's at about 8,000 feet elevation, and the nearest volcano is over 18,000 feet tall. There are some others in the area that are around 21,000 to 22, 000 feet high.
Cusco is located farther north, deep in the Andes. Elevation over 11,000 feet. It's the stepping off point for going to Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. Cusco was the capitol of the Incan empire.
We took a 3.5 hour train ride from Cusco further back into the mountains, then did a 6.5 hour hike to get to Machu Picchu. The hike is on one of the old Inca trails that leads to the city, and I highly recommend it as the best way to get there. Most tourists take the train all the way to a small town below Machu Picchu, then a 1/2 hour bus ride up the switchback road. The bus/train thing is much easier, but it has nothing to compare with hiking in over the top of a pass and seeing the whole complex laid out below. The hike and Machu Picchu itself are all at elevations varying from 7,000 to 9,000 feet.
Machu Picchu is...unbelievable.
Sample of pics to follow.
http://s138.photobucket.com/albums/q...20Peru trip/
Look over on the left side of the page and you will see links to the different locations, with pictures in those sub-folders. They are Arequipa, Cusco, Hike to Machu Picchu, and Machu Picchu.
For a little background info, Arequipa is located in southern Peru and is nicknamed the "White City" because much of the building material is white lava rock from the nearby volcanos. It's at about 8,000 feet elevation, and the nearest volcano is over 18,000 feet tall. There are some others in the area that are around 21,000 to 22, 000 feet high.
Cusco is located farther north, deep in the Andes. Elevation over 11,000 feet. It's the stepping off point for going to Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. Cusco was the capitol of the Incan empire.
We took a 3.5 hour train ride from Cusco further back into the mountains, then did a 6.5 hour hike to get to Machu Picchu. The hike is on one of the old Inca trails that leads to the city, and I highly recommend it as the best way to get there. Most tourists take the train all the way to a small town below Machu Picchu, then a 1/2 hour bus ride up the switchback road. The bus/train thing is much easier, but it has nothing to compare with hiking in over the top of a pass and seeing the whole complex laid out below. The hike and Machu Picchu itself are all at elevations varying from 7,000 to 9,000 feet.
Machu Picchu is...unbelievable.
Sample of pics to follow.