60 Tourist Train to Macchu Picchu

60.

Tourist Train to Macchu Picchu

From Cuzco I take the flashy, modern tourist train to Macchu Picchu Station. The train is filled with tourists—not the grubby off-the-beaten-path backpackers I have grown accustomed to, but well-dressed Japanese, Europeans and Americans.

The train makes two stops before arriving at Macchu Picchu and hundreds of camera lenses glitter in the morning sunshine as everyone hops off to take photographs of the handful of fruit and popcorn vendors and “professional natives” dressed in festive costume, who pose for photographs for a small fee.

The train follows a wide valley, then the rails curve entering a narrow gorge. Abandoned Inca terraced fields add interest to the lower slopes of both sides of the canyon.

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