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Ridng all the way to Machu Picchu
Hello folks,
Was wondering if anyone out there has tried to ride all the way to Machu Picchu, or at least as far as the road goes. So I underestimated the difficulty of getting to MPichu, it hsa been a lot tougher just to get here to Abancay where I am now, but I have a plan to get there..."the backway". Ride to Santa Maria and leave the moto..taxi to Santa Teresa, or ride the moto if possible...hike 2 miles through the forest and across a river....then pay to climb MP. Has anyone done this? What are the roads like from Cusco to Santa Maria, or even all the way to Santa Teresa. I am hearing conflicting stories from the locals here. Need to know quickly...heading to Cusco in the morning. Then Santa Maria the next day. For my info check my website. From Lima - Abancay 1350km dirt roads! :mchappy: Thanks, Daveed |
Road is wonderful most of the way to Santa Maria. After that it's susceptible to washouts and slides, but usually fine (by Andes standards) to Hidroelectrica. If the minibuses are going to Santa Teresa that means the road is open. Don't pay any attention to what the folks in Abancay tell you: how would they know?
You need to slow down at some point. Cusco deserves more than an overnight, and so does the Sacred Valley. Hope that's helpful. Mark |
That helps alot.
Thanks for the info. It was lightly raining here all day, so not sure what the roads will be like there. They were fairly dry all the way from Lima.
Is there any place to safely leave my bike for the day in santa teresa? You are not the first to tell me to slow down...my answer...but riding is the best part! But I do plan to slow down in Bolivia. When I find a place I like I usually do. |
Leave your bike wherever you stay the night. You'll be staying the night, right?
If riding is the best part, why bother getting off the bike to go up to Machu Picchu? I can tell you lots of fun places to ride in Peru if you're not concerned with stopping to see stuff. In point of fact, we each find our own balance between moving and staying put, but even so you can't possibly have any idea what you're missing--that means, whether a place is worth stopping or not--by whipping through in such a hurry. enjoy, Mark |
Thanks Mark
I appreciate the information on the road conditions, that's all I needed.
Many Blessings, David |
THX
Just read your Lima to Abancay report. Very interesting! I appreciate your testimony along the way. Some day you will know how greatly you affected the lives of those little kids!
I live in Peru (in Huanuco, you just missed it when you went from Lima to Huancayo) and work with the Quechua handicapped up in the Andes. To support my wife and I in this work I run a Moto Adventure Tour company there, and all around Peru and South America. Would like to meet you, but you are already in Cuzco and on your way to Chile. I can recommend a great route thru Bolivia and places to stay with mission-minded friends... You are brave on that (overloaded) Honda 150cc! You kept saying 5,000 ft when it was 5,000 meters! HUGE difference! Blessings, Toby :scooter: |
+1 on markharf's comments - take it easy to appreciate where you are.
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The ride to Sta Teresa is a great one; I hope you enjoy it! |
Thanks Toby and CSUStewy
CSU,
I will checkout the posts on advrider.com, and thnx for the encouragement on the ride to Santa Teresa. I almost caved in and paid for the tour, but I took a walk and thought about it...I am here for the adventure...lol. So, looking forward to it, tomorrow. Toby, Wish I would have posted a little sooner. Would have like to met you, gotten to see your moto operation, and the work you are doing with the Quechua (they are great people!) I would definitely like to have the Bolivia route information if you don't mind. I was just asking a guy earlier the best route to take to Bolivia. I made it to Cusco pretty early. Mark is right there is a lot to see and do here. Great little town. Not my style though with all the touristy stuff. Had some pollo ala Brassa with the local, and walked around...of couse had to have a starbucks, it's been a while. And finally found a peru flag sticker for the moto. All is well. Just hope all the rain has not made the road impassable at the river crossings tomorrow, I heard it can get bad. :rain: David |
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Mark |
What a great experience!
So I decided to stay a while after all. 1st night in cusco, 2nd and 3rd nights in Santa Maria, 4th and 5th nights in Cusco. Now I have been asked to stay a sixth night while the hostal owner has stickers printed to put on my bike. He is letting me stay tommorow for free as long as I put his sticker on the bike. This part of Peru is growing on me. Machu Picchu was cool, but like everyone says WAY over priced. I Really liked Santa Teresa, ond Ollataytambo, they seemed like cool places to stay. Santa Maria was Closest so I stayed there instead. I ended up riding to Hidroelectrica and parking next to the tunnel in the mountain. Then I walked 2 and a half hours down the tracks to Aguas Calientes, then rode the bus up to MP and walked down an hour and a half then all the way back to Hidroelectrica, over 30 kilometers of walking in all. Then while walking the train tracks back I met a cool guy from Lithuania who rode the Unicycle and played the Accordian at the same time and was on Peru's got talent and he asked for a ride back to Santa Maria so it took forever and got dark. The road from Hidro back to Santa Maria is not the best place to have a passenger on a honda 150cc at night. Made it, and it was a crazy cool experience. The ride alone was worth a million bucks. So all other riders out there don't cave in and buy the package from Ollataytambo or Cusco...ride all the way there! So thanks to all for the advice.
David |
David,
Your best way to Bolivia is through Copacabana. There are many who do this route and their trip details abound. Just search 'Copacabana' and you will get updated info. There is a Samaritan's Purse office in La Paz and I know the director. They also have a base in Trinidad, Bolivia where they have a river launch that does medical work up and down the jungle area. There is also a South American Mission base in Santa Cruz (a place that you can't miss anyway, as it is the motorcycle capitol of Bolivia) and they have an aviation center there... maybe you can get some cool flights and find out more about their work too. If you want any info on these, pm me. Decide on your route and I will recommend some great (read cheap too!) places to stay! :thumbup1: I recommend that you do: Copacabana - La Paz - Corioco/Chulumani ('Death Road') - Independencia - Cochabamba - Villa Tunari - Santa Cruz - Sucre - Potosi - Uyuni - Villazon... then toward Salta Argentina. Blessings! Toby |
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Hi you can ride all the way to Santa Teresa. There were the train station is is a gate with Police were you can park your bike. They will look after it but will not let you through with it. Then you can walk along the rail 7km to Aqua caliente to get the tickets (there are hostels too) and then 2km up Machu Pichu: http://reisemotorrad.eu/?report=en_peru The road from Cuzco is 200 km tar then easy dirt road with small rivers crossing as you can see on the fotos Enjoy it, Tobi |
Machu Picchu...wow...A life changing experience.
I posted an update on my blog with photos and lots of useful info (i think), if anyone wants to check it out:
Machu Picchu...A life changing experience I won't soon forget! Thanks TA-rider. I actually rode past Santa Teresa, and past Santa Maria all the way to Hidroelectrica and parked in a guys yard for 10 sols next to the tunnel in the cliffside where they drive in and out of to work. I had no trouble what so ever. The road is a little rough, and there are some intimidating water holes, but if a Honda 150cc can make it...It was the a great part of an already amazing trip. Highly recommend riding all the way to Hidroelectrica, but always check with the locals in Santa Maria just to be sure the day before you leave, you never know. Tobi, Thanks for the info. I am in Puno and I would not have considered Copacabana, just by looking at it on the map. But I think it is the way to go. I am doing the 4 hour boat tour to the floating islands of lake Titikaka in the morning then the next day I will cross over. Definitely heading to LaPaz. Then from there I was going to paddle up the Benis River in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia on a thirty day excursion a guy told me about, but it's about the same distance as Trinidad. But if I could do something a little more structured, I think it would be more productive... Expect a PM. Thanks, David |
Video of the road from Santa Teresa to Hidroelectrica
Here is a video link in case anyone is curious as to what the road is like. Hidroelectrica is as far as you can go with a motorcycle to Machu Piccu.
Take a bumpy ride with me from Santa Teresa to Hidroelectra - YouTube |
Riding ALL the way to MP!!
I'm looking forward to reading a report of someone driving ALL the way to MP along the railway!!
I reckon it might be doable with lightweight bikes and at least 2 of you, to manhandle the bikes across the various bridges (big and small) where the gaps between the sleepers would be a challenge. Getting past the cops would be fun too!! That would be proper adventure riding..... |
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There must be a road to Aguas Calientes, as there are dozens of buses ferrying tourists up and down the mountain to Machu Picchu. Did they bring the buses in by train? I suspect there are some really bad roads, which are closed to private traffic. |
Step by Step and the gory details
Step by step:
http://goo.gl/maps/jIiQS General food and lodging advice, and more: Aguas Calientes travel guide - Wikitravel Note: There are ATM machines in Aguas Calientes MY RIDE TO MACCU PICCU If you don’t have much time and have the funds, take the bus, train, bus combo to Machu Picchu. Riding a motorcycle, then hiking from the hydroelectric plant takes more time and energy. You might save a little money, but in the big picture, not that much. On the other hand, it’s an adventure to “ride” to Machu Picchu and you’ll have serious bragging rights. Google Maps reports a distance of 209 miles from Cusco to Santa Teresa. I thought I could get Machu Picchu and return to Cusco in the same day. What was I thinking? I knew from experience that you need to double the time Google provides for routes in Latin America, but for some reason -- reason flew out of my head and I thought it would take less time. Departing around 9:30 AM, I lost time trying to escaping Cusco due to typical GPS misguidance. West of Cusco, taking the GPS "direct route" after leaving the highway I encountered construction, then a road closure. There was the option of waiting a few hours for the road to open, but I didn't feature that. I tried taking a secondary road, but the mud was too deep and the road too steep for my comfort, so after a few miles I back tracked and found an alternate route. I wish I could be certain about the route I attempted and the one I ultimately took, but my GPS went missing along walking along the train tracks to Machu Picchu and the traces were lost. Depending on your choice of route to escape Cusco, the next way point is Ollantaytambo. This is the last regular gas station. I failed to buy gas here and bought more expensive fuel east of Santa Maria from a primitive gas station. It was a place where I estimated the amount I needed, paid in advance, then the owner brought out a large container of gas. The road from Ollantaytambo to Santa Maria goes over a mountain, with dozens and dozens of switch backs. The views are incredible. The switch backs make the trip much longer than you might assume based on distance. Be careful going around the switch backs as oncoming trucks often cross the middle of the road into your lane. Approach each turn with caution and be prepared to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. Motorcycles are not given little respect from trucks on these hairpin turns. As I descended the mountains between Ollantaytambo and Santa Maria I dropped the motorcycle in one of the water run off streams that cross the highway, the bike landing right side down in a foot of water. A few months earlier a friend dropped his motorcycle in water when returning from Machu Picchu. His bike was submerged for 5 minutes. It took a month to get parts sent to Cusco. Driven by fear that I would suffer a similar fate, I picked up the bike faster than I have in my life. Water flooded one pannier, soaking a few paper items and filled my boots. After recovering, I pressed on to Santa Maria, slightly shaken and wet. If there is rain, expect to make several water crossings. Some are shallow and others are quite deep. Near the center of Santa Maria there is an unmarked road (left turn) leading to Santa Teresia. A combination of GPS and asking for directions got me over the river, and headed up the mountains to Santa Teresa. It took me an hour or more to get from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa. The route is not for the faint of heart, many steep drop offs along the road and of course no guard rail. (Ha!) I felt this road was more "challenging" than the Death Road in Bolivia. That road has a world famous reputation due the volume of traffic and number of fatal accidents. The volume of traffic and number of accidents on the Death Road has decreased following the construction of a parallel modern highway, but I digress. On the road to Santa Teresa there are several water crossing. At least two are deep and should be studied before executing a crossing. Arriving in Sata Teresa around 6:00 PM. After investigating and failing to find a cheap room with parking, I checked into the most modern hotel on the north end of town. I was quoted a reasonable rate and stored the motorcycle into the lobby. The next morning I was presented with a different rate, more than double what was agreed to the night before. The management showed a receipt book to prove the validity of the higher rate. They failed to point out that many of the receipts for occupancy of two or more people. I held my ground, but for lack of exact change paid slightly more than agreed to the night before. I have learned not to wait for agreement, but to pay what I know to be the right amount and leave. It was a matter of principle, paying something close to the local rate, and not giving in to being bullied and scammed. Often I have paid for my lodging the night before to avoid "confusion", and ensuing "extra charges", which can include parking fees...even when parking was said to be included on check in. My boots were soaked which would make the planned walk along the train tracks from the hydroelectric plant to Aguas Calientes rough on my feet. I have very wide feet and mail order my foot wear, so the prospects of finding something to wear in a small Peruvian mountain village were dim. To my amazement I found a pair of cheap rubber sandals in a shop that fit my extra wide feet. The sandals were a touch snug, but they would work. The next morning I left for the hydroelectric plant...and went the wrong way leaving town. Lost an hour and saw a small village before back tracking and getting on the right road to the hydroelectric plant. There is a small green building where hikers register. They will give you directions to the guy who will store your bike. The storage shack (yes, they guy lives there, very friendly) is across a bridge and down the road a short distance. You can store for the day or overnight. Given my foot wear issues, I would have preferred at this point to have taken the train from the station near the hydroelectric plant to Aguas Calientes, but missed the train due to the time lost taking the wrong road leaving Santa Teresa. It’s an 11 kilometer walk to Aguas Calientes, ~2 hours depending on your hiking speed. There are signs along the way that reveal the number of kilometers to Aguas Calientes. There are also signs that say you must stay off of the railroad tracks. There is usually a foot path running alongside and I rarely found a need to walk on the tracks. Take water and a snack. There is a small restaurant about halfway, but I had my own supplies and can't comment on the food. Stopping at an open air shelter near a hotel/ restaurant halfway is where I think I lost my GPS... Arriving in Aguas Calientes locate the ticket center for Machu Picchu. Entrance is limited to something like 3500 people per day. I rolled the dice and got lucky, securing a ticket for the same day. I didn't buy my ticket in Cusco and was in the last few hundred of tickets sold that day. I think you avoid travel agent surcharges by buying the ticket from the official office in Aguas Calientes. It is not clear to me if you can buy an entrance ticket in Cusco from the tourist board. Check for info at the Peru tourist office in the Plaza de Arms (northeast corner of the plaza.) Most of the people I met bought tickets through an agency and probably paid more. Next stop, buy a bus ticket that will get you up the mountain to Machu Picchu. If you have the time and energy, then walk up. Remember you are at a high elevation, so it will not be an easy walk, the road is narrow and there is serious bus traffic. Food is expensive at the top of the mountain. Think stadium prices. There is a restaurant and a snack stand. Everything was overpriced and I wasn't hungry, so I skipped eating and took in the site. I got lucky again as the site was not shrouded by clouds. Got the classic picture of the site when first arriving, with and without yours truly, I took a fairly quick walk around the site. Given more time I might have hired a guide, but wasn't in the mood. It is crazy, but I was eager to get back to Aguas Calientes and hopefully catch the train back to the hydroelectric plant to avoid walking back 11 kilometers. The clouds rolled in and light rain began. When I got back to the bus loading area there were long lines. By the time I got back down the mountain and found the train station I had missed the only afternoon train to the hydroelectric plant. Ok, I'm walking back. I noticed people tent camping large groups below the tracks as I got near Aguas Calientes. If you are inclined consider camping. There is plenty lodging in Aguas Calientes, but I didn't look into the prices as I was heading back to Cusco where I had left the balance of my luggage. I had thought I could reach Machu Picchu and return to Cusco in one day, so I hadn't checked out of my room. Getting back to Cusco that night was my goal. The walk down the train tracks to the hydroelectric plant took me a little over 2 hours. I was stopping to wash small stone out of my sandals along the way to prevent blister and chaffing on my feet. It wasn't until I was back at the hydroelectric plant that I realized my GPS was missing. Damn, no turning back as I wasn't sure where I lost it and if it could be found (not likely.) As I passed the hotel in Santa Teresa I mentally gave them the finger and rode on. The water crossings coming back were roughly the same level as when I went up. These crossing are tricky as you are basically crossing a raw stream with rocks of various size. Study the stream for rock and current, then pull back to get some speed, put the engine in first gear, face shield down, stand on your pegs and don't stop whatever you do. If you drop the bike, kill the engine, then pick it up as quickly as possible. Pick you bike out of water like your life depends on it… Arrived in Santa Maria around 7:00 PM, took a short break then headed east toward Cusco. I made it back to Cusco that night, now without a GPS, arrrgh. Instead of attempting the secondary roads directly west of Cusco without a GPS, I rode further east on 28B, which goes north and slightly over shoots Cusco to the east before dropping down on 28. It was a long, cold ride back in the dark, through drizzle, back over the mountains. It was St. Patrick's Day and I was determined to the Wild Rover Hostel, an Irish hostel and bar, for a wee bit of the party. Near midnight I got to Wild Rover, returned a rubber Guinness football that I had borrowed to use as a photo prop, and had a quick beer. Being exhausted from the cold and rain I packed it in near midnight. Visit my blog for the hydroelectric train schedule and a few photos: Peter's Ride: Macchu Picchu |
Damn. You left Cuzco mid-morning, rode and walked to M.P., then rode and walked back to Cuzco on the same day? And I thought the OP was in too much of a hurry..... That's crazy.
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You're probably right about booking yourself a reception party of cops in Aguas Cal if you tried the railway on the moto, but there is a bit of me that thinks the Peruvian cops may admire the achievement and only ask for a reduced bride.... |
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Yup, you're right. I've gotta work on my reading comprehension. Blame it on faulty schooling and inadequate parents!
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I drove my 4x4 into Santa Teresa 3 years ago during rain season (Jan-feb) and also at the time of an El Nino effect. The road from Ollantytambo to Santa Maria was under construction, but because of the weather, in many places large portions of the road had fallen into the valley. The road from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa was near impossible to drive with avalanches of rocks everywhere. Many people died on the roads there during the 3 days i did the drive in...so for everyone thinking of doing this drive, please be careful.
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The road to Santa Maria is a beauty now - great tarmac and switchbacks all the way. The dirt road to Hydroelectrica is fine in the dry season, but I suspect it would be a bit sporty in the rainy season.
If your planning this trip, don't forget there are great hot springs at St T. Give yourself an extra day and chill out there. |
Two days...too fast
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I break too many rules of quality travel. The primary one is to travel slow. I fell victim to a schedule. At that point I was counting the days left to arrive in Cartagena where we would sail to Jamaica, Cuba and finally Mexico. At this point I was seven months into the trip, getting road weary and a bit burned out on South America. It happens. The trip ended up being 9 months and covered a lot of ground, with hot spots of intensity and long riding stretches connecting them. A "South American Sampler." No regrets, no excesses. I rode my ride. Next time I embark on an overland adventure, my wife will come with me and there will be no return date. Maybe no return, per se. I dream of selling the house, contents, cars and the rests of the junk that seems important to us now. Fill a 40 foot container (or smaller) with the essentials and store it somewhere, sending for it when we have found our own little piece of paradise. You start with a dream, frame it out, collect the details, then start checking thing off. If things go well, the above could happen within the next ten years. Getting back on topic, Macchu Picchu is amazing. Just go there, one way or another. |
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