Machu Picchu is the grandest of all ancient Indian ruins.  It takes 3 hours by train to get here from Cuzco, but the trip is well worth it.  Try to ditch your tour guide if you can. Normally, the tours start by taking you directly into Machu Picchu, but you can get this post-card view by bearing left at the front gate and climbing as high as you can.  You'll go through the cloud-forest and emerge on this wonderful view.  Besides, you can get an adequate walking tour guide at the visitors center (where you get off the bus) for a mere $10, and you'll get much more satisfaction out of it than from listening to the same old Inca lore.

These photos make Machu Picchu look high in the mountains, but it really is much lower than Cuzco.  The stunning thing is that the city is 1500 feet straight up from the valley below.  And the 18,000 foot mountain, Veronica, makes a gorgeous backdrop for any picture.

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