More Aguas Calientes

The church in town, and a picture I took from the train station in the morning before we left, showing one of the basically vertical mountains that surround the town.

The Urubamba, um, River

The Urubamba runs through Aguas Calientes. June is the middle of the dry season, so I assume the river (which is a headwater of the Amazon) looks more impressive after some rain. I love the shapes and colors of those stones in the riverbed though.

Aguas Calientes

I like the old name Aguas Calientes better, but calling the town Machu Picchu Pueblo makes it clear it's definitely a tourist town—hotels, restaurants, shops—but also that it's a place that only exists as a waystation to Machu Picchu. There are no cars in town, only the buses that go up the mountain. And since you're only allowed to bring one carry-on sized piece of luggage on the train in, nobody is staying for long. (Many people actually do Machu Picchu as a day trip from Cusco.)