Aguas Calientes

By Kristen Manning

Jernigan

Once the first train arrives from Cusco, Machu Picchu, it is crammed with thousands of day-tripping tourists. But in the earliest hours of daylight, when the cloud forest canyon is silent; an ethereal mist dances around the Inca citadel, alternately revealing and concealing the green mountain spires and wild roaring rivers that kept Machu Picchu hidden for centuries.

To witness this mystical performance of vapors and haze, and to experience a relatively uncrowded Machu Picchu—without committing to arduous days of an Inca trail trek—arrive the day before. Spend the night sleeping under a luxurious alpaca blanket at Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, a boutique hotel in Aguas Calientes, the village at the foot of the mountain that is home to the great lost city of the Inca.

Whitewashed guest cottages with working fireplaces nestle into terraced hills, surrounded by waterfalls and nature trails. The intent, according to the management, is to re-create the ambience of a royal Inca retreat, with spa services and a first-class restaurant, decorated in local antiques and pre-Columbian artifacts.

Rising just before dawn, spend an hour or two climbing a steep footpath, enjoying the scent of orchids and the company of butterflies. If you don’t want to hike, hop on the morning’s first bus, and ride the zig-zag road to the top. Upon reaching Machu Picchu, you should have plenty of time to explore the ruins and even walk to the Sun Gate before the train whistle sounds in the village below. Let that be your signal to leave before the throngs of tourists arrive on the next bus.

Head back down and have lunch while you listen to the Andean ensemble playing in the Pueblo Café, which overlooks the chocolate-brown waters of the roaring Urubamba River. Then wind your way up the cobbled streets of Aguas Calientes, and find the namesake hot springs. Soak there, surrounded by craggy ledges covered with drooping bromeliads. People speaking in a cacophony of languages, familiar and unfamiliar, create a sort of international soup, and you can be part of it.

The village is colorful and worth experiencing, with shops and hostels catering to tourists and backpackers who flock to Machu Picchu from all over the world, so the hotel offers a welcome haven from the hustle and the hordes.

Indulge in a massage or visit the sauna built of native bamboo and scented with local eucalyptus. Take a walk with a naturalist guide, who will lead you past a working tea plantation, along forest walkways leading to ancient petroglyphs.

With an emphasis on eco-tourism, the property includes a sanctuary which is home to 16 species of wild hummingbirds, as well the world’s largest collection of native orchid species in their natural habitats.

There is a tangible connection with the culture that existed here before Machu Picchu became a destination that would attract the world to this remote Andean outpost, where every morning, before the multitude ascends, clouds still waltz around stiletto peaks, in an age-old dance.