i did this deal a couple of days ago and it has changed a little bit ,first of all ,they wont let you ride up to victoria lopez,s house anymore ,you need to leave it at the gate nea the hydro power station entry at the start of the line, under the eye of the security gaurd and walk to her house (10 soles for a room for the night),they wont let you catch the 8.30 am train ,locals only ,i guess to many gringos turning up ,so i had to walk up and back ,its fine but a little dodgy walking on those rocks ,but a great place and must be done ,the ole legs were killing me the next couple of days
dave

Simon, thanks for the details. I plan on leaving the bike in St. Teresa later this week, per your route.

Phill, did you ever find a good tire service here in Cuzco? I have the rear tire with me, but want to get it balanced some where.

Thanks,
Mike

__________________
Left Seattle March '09 for RTW trip.
'02 BMW 1150 GSA

Rode the Ruta 3S, all paved, then right in Poroy or Anta, in the center of town, there are signs.
Then 15km Gravel until you hit the 28B, after that all paved to Ollantaytambo.
Roads blocks in Ollantaytambo, someone on strike again, but no problems with the bike.
All paved to Santa Maria, except a few diversions.
Fuel can be bought in Santa Maria, even if it looks a bit rusty, my 90 did.
Gravel to Santa Teresa.
Pass and road to Santa Teresa, waterlevel is higher than assumed.
Diversions in Santa Maria and Santa Teresa, becausse of road works.
Road to Hidroelectrica gravel, but only the diversion in Santa Teresa is a bit rough.
Bike parked by the trucks infront of the guardhouse, cloth, gear and helmet inside the guard´s house.
They don´t let you park the bike inside.

I was wondering all my time in La Paz, for what you need a faked student card, half price here in machu picchu, if you have one. 64 instead of 128 sol. The faked card was offered for 20 bolivianos, if i remember right.

We took the bikes up to Machu Picchu last week and by way of an update we though we would share with you our findings.

We stopped in hostell Estrallita in Cuzco which we found on the HUBB, great big courtyard for the bikes and there were a total of 9 bikes here during our stay.



Hostal Estrellita
Av. Tullumayo 445
13 31.112 S, 71 58 434 W (if you're using a GPS)

Before we arrived, we decided we wanted to ride to Machu Picchu (or as close as possible) but struggled to make sense of all the names being thrown around the HUBB. And its almost impossible to find a map with Santa MAria and Santa Theresa on it. Others in the hostel found the same problem so we have sketched out a little map so others can visualise the trip before they arrive in PERU / CUZCO.

A high res copy of the map above can be downloaded by clicking HERE



Brian and Marie posted an concise list of directions (IN ANOTHER POST) following their visit, and I will update this given our recent experience;

From Cusco make you way to the village of Ollantaytambo (a 2 hour drive on paved roads) - West / Clockwise
OR
Leave Cuzco in an ANTI-CLOCKWISE direction for Pisac and tick off a few ruins on your way to Ollantaytambo (all paved). We did this and were still in Olly. for 3pm.

From Ollantaytambo go to the village of Santa Maria, a 2.5 hour drive that brings you up to over 4300 meters pass Abra Malaga, then drops you back down into a valley, this road is now paved other than small spots damaged by landslides.

From Santa Maria you make your way to Santa Theresa (a 45min ride on gravel)

We stopped in ST for the night and returned to ST for a night after MP. Leaving our bikes overnight in the same hostel while we were away.

In Santa Theresa find parking for your vehicle and/or a hostel (see map for our hostel

ps - there are fantastic thermal baths 5 mins outside ST, perfect to relax in after a days riding or walking MP!

From ST take a cab (we dont recommend walking its a very dusty track!) to the hydroelectric station (a 45 minute ride) There are mixed messages on the HUBB about places to leave your bike at Hydroelectrica and we weren't aware of anywhere when passing through.

From the hydrolectric station you walk along train tracks to the village of Aguas Calientes, (lots of accomodation) at the base of Machu Picchu (2 hour walk).

A high res copy of the map above can be downloaded by clicking HERE

We hope this all makes sense.

Chris & Chloe
BUENOS AIRES to VANCOUVER | Chris, Chloe & two motorbikes across South, Central & North America

Howdy!

just found this on the internet, looks like they will eventually start to charge a fee to come through the back door.

Control booth in route to Machu Picchu to be complete by Oct. - Peru this Week

dags