The other bonus is that I had connected with Csustewy up in Huanchaco northern Peru, and stayed in touch. They were coming to Cusco and MP, so I helped set up tickets for going into Machu Picchu and the climb up Wayna Picchu. We met up for a great Indian meal in Cusco on Thursday night and then met at 7Am for the ride out to Santa Teresa.
The ride takes about 6 ish hours and it a critical to get an early start if you plan to ride and walk the train tracks to Aguas Caliente which is the town right below Machu Picchu. You can only arrive there by Train or walking.
Off we go out of Cusco and into the hills!
It was just under two hours to Ollantaytambo. Nice roads and scenery.
Fun having a set of riding partners for this great experience. We started calling it “mystical” 
We stop for a quick break in Ollantaytambo in the main square. There are ruins here also and lots of tourists, but it just had a great “feel” …..a place you want to stop over! Meet Mike and Jill from Colorado! There Blog is….
the town is all cobblestone (or as Young James says; Wobblestones)
See the ruins right in town….
There are some sections of dusty, rough road along the way 
Off we ride through town and then headed for the mountains. We were told that it would get cool as we headed up the pass, so we geared up and were glad we did!!
Incredible ride up the mountain switchbacks which I already teased you guys with! But is worth repeating!
As we got up over 13,000 the fog and light rain held us in its grip!
Fortunately we there was a Bano stop over on the other side of the 14, 226 foot pass.
As we head down the valley toward Santa Maria. We stop to say hi to a guy on a BMW F800GS. This is Guillaume from France. We exchange greetings and he says; “I have been following your Ride report” 
Crazy!
Guillaume gave us a few tips and timing on getting to Santa Teresa!
and of course we talked about riding, the roads and Miners in Bolivia etc. We will stay in touch on our way south!
Down the valley we go. and the weather slowly improves.
There are many “spillways” on this road, with small water crossings. We were told to be careful as they can be slippery, and indeed they were as both of us slid a bit through a few of them. Thanks for the warnings YJ and SJ.
In Santa Maria, you need to turn off on CU107 to Santa Teresa but really no sign at the turn. It is right in the middle of town and is almost a 120 degree turn off.
Then it is dirt road for 1 hour to reach the town of Santa Teresa and another 20 minutes to Hydro Electric
It is a great ride!
Once in town we decided to leave our bikes at the far end of town at Inka camping, so are gear was safe. You can also ride to Hydro Electrica and leave your bike if you are arriving before 4PM which is when they close. We then took a collectivo for 5 Soles PP (they started at 10 or 15 so be prepared to tell them too much 5 soles is the price to pay )
They drop you at the Machu Picchu walkers check in. You need to put your name, Passport number then be ready for a 2.5 hour hike to Aguas Caliente. It is a fairly flat to slight up hill hike.
Jill Signing In
Then off we go……
Or you could catch the train at 3PM for $17 USD. But we walked the train tracks….
At the bridge if you look up high on the hills to the right you can see some of Machu Picchu…..
And the train rolled by while we were walking!
Hiked the 2.5 hours up to Aguas Calientes in great anticipation of the early day at Machu Picchu
We enjoyed the beauty of the area, with the river and huge rocks, and mountains around the area with steep rock faces…….
Saturday …… We had our ticket for MP and the hike up Wayna Picchu!!
