Tracks to the Inca city
Steve McKenna rides the opulent Belmond Hiram Bingham train to Machu Picchu.
Compared to the historic core of Cusco – all sloping cobbled streets, arcade-fringed plazas and baroque churches – nearby Poroy, with its humble, lowrise adobe houses, isn’t much to write home about. At first glance, anyway. But entering its little railway station, I find a scene to rouse the senses. To a soundtrack of soothing Andean pipe and drum music, a trio of young Peruvian women cloaked in brightlycoloured woven attire are dancing on the platforms, their skirts fluttering through the crisp early-morning mountain air.
Behind them, with its shiny carriages in navy blue and gold livery, is the Belmond Hiram Bingham – one of the world’s most luxurious trains. Renowned for its fine dining, ambient live entertainment and jaw-dropping window views, it goes to Machu Picchu and is named after the Indiana Joneslike explorer who ‘‘rediscovered’’ this legendary ‘‘Lost City of the Incas’’ in 1911.
The citadel was probably built in the mid-1400s, at the height of the Incas’ powers, but as their empire crumbled following the early 16th-century invasion of Peru by the Spanish conquistadors, Machu Picchu was abandoned and gradually reclaimed by the luxuriant Andean jungle.
Bingham, a Yale University lecturer, located the site with the help of indigenous farmers and travelled there by mule.
Many tourists take similarly arduous routes from Cusco today, lugging their backpacks for days along well-trodden paths such as the Inca Trail. There are also ‘‘regular’’ trains but nothing can match the opulence and bygone charm of the Belmond Hiram Bingham (not surprising, considering a round-trip fare is about $1170).
Sipping a ‘‘welcome’’ flute of bubbly proffered by one of the waist-coated guards, I hop on board and immediately feel as if I’ve walked into an Agatha Christie story. All polished wood panels, brass fittings and fine fabrics, the carriages are designed like the elegant Pullman trains of the 1920s created by American engineer George Mortimer Pullman. For most of the almost four-hour journey, which sees us travel 93 kilometres via the Sacred Valley of the Incas, descending more than 1400 metres in altitude, I’m happy to lounge in my comfy upholstered seat, admiring the Andean scenery. There’s also a rather delicious brunch to savour: roast alpaca loin and corn, paired with South American wine, followed by a dessert of baby papaya, passionfruit and chocolate chip cheesecake.
At the observation coach I find a convivial bar where musicians play upbeat Latin tunes, and floor-toceiling windows reveal gushing rivers and jungly peaks, trekkers and roaming llamas, and Quechua farmers and their oxen ploughing patchwork fields of corn, quinoa, potatoes and beans. Direct descendants of the Incas, the Quechua have had roots in the Andes for several millennia.
We also whoosh past an old battleground where, in 1438 under their leader Pachacutec, the Incas quashed the rival Chanca tribe, sparking an expansionist drive across the Andes and paving the way for settlements such as Machu Picchu.
When Bingham located the citadel, perched 2430m above sea level, it was shrouded in dense overgrowth. Arriving today, after a short bus transfer from nearby Aguas Calientes train station, we find this Unesco World Heritage site looking neat and tidy, with a network of marked footpaths and signs.
Considering Machu Picchu’s popularity, the atmosphere amid the ruins is surprisingly serene.
As we explore, climbing steps and terraces, our guide points out the intricacies of the Inca stonework and relates myriad facts, myths and legends. But he can’t tell us exactly why this place was built. No one really can. Theories abound – it may have been a ceremonial base, a centre of astronomy or a holiday pad for the Inca king – but the mystery endures.
Adventurous types love scaling Huayna Picchu, the steep mountain that sits directly behind Machu Picchu. We don’t have time for that, but we do take afternoon tea at the adjacent Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, a five-star retreat in which you can overnight then return to Cusco – or your next destination – another day.
After one last glance at the misttickled ruins, I take the bus back to Aguas Calientes and reboard the Hiram Bingham.
As my china plates are taken away, I hear music floating gently through the carriage: guitars, tambourines and the cajo´ n (a box-shaped percussion instrument). I close my eyes, reflect on today’s once-in-a-lifetime jaunt and drift off into a hard-earned nap.
– Traveller
The Belmond Hiram Bingham operates daily between May and December, except for the last Sunday of each month. The service is only partially available during the rainy season, which runs from January to April. See belmond.com for info.
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