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Aguas Calientes
The difficult geography makes Cusco Historic Sanctuary of
Machu Picchu is almost inaccessible. Maybe that's the main attraction for many
tourists who visit Peru's cultural heritage and the world.
However, there are two ways to reach Machu Picchu: The first is by the
ancient Inca Trail (recommended
for those who like to test their physical endurance), lasting 4 days of travel,
and the second alternative is to board the
train leaving from the station of San Pedro (in Cusco) and reaches the town
of Aguas Calientes, where there are cars that take visitors to the sanctuary of
Machu Picchu in half an hour.
The origins of the town Aguas Calientes back to the early twentieth century,
when they start the construction work of the railway line linking Cusco with the
town of Santa Ana early as 1901 a group of workers employed in construction the
railways decided to stay in small plain located between the steep mountains
covered with jungle vegetation high, little knowing if what you want about the
sanctuary were lost from the Incas.
Aguas Calientes is located 110 kms northwest of the city of Cusco, Machu Picchu
district, province of Urubamba. And it would still be just a train station were
it not that in 1911, the American historian Hiram Bingham (1875-1956) discovered,
for Peru and the world lost the remains of the sanctuary of the Incas and was
named of the mountain where it was built: Machu Picchu.
This would become the true origin of the town of Aguas Verdes, since the
interest aroused by the discovery of Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary attracted
the interest of the peruvian government, and foreign researchers, to that hidden
in the dense area of the high forest.
Its name comes from the hot springs that are located 800 meters east of the
village, along the Vilcanota river. Are of sulfur, have a temperature between 38
° to 46 ° C and is said to have medicinal properties. But to reach them, have to
climb a steep and difficult. The presence of these hot springs is the test of
orogenic activity in the Andes and has caused several major earthquakes in both
the colonial era (1650), as in the Republican era (1950).
The economic and demographic growth of the town of Aguas Calientes was slow and
was associated with increased dissemination of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu
Picchu in the early 70's the dissemination of the sanctuary was still very poor
and the town lacked basic services to cater to tourists. In the 80's the
development of Aguas Calientes was delayed due to terrorist violence, but in the
90's, tourism was growing rapidly, and that pace continues today.
Its climate is temperate and humid, for being in the high forest, and its
average temperature is 16 ° C. The period of heavy rain starts in November and
ends in March.
Aguas Calientes is a town that has grown over the past 5 years due to the large
number of tourists who come there to visit the Historic Sanctuary of Machu
Picchu. Its economic development revolves around tourism, so the population is
engaged in the sale of various products, and provide accommodation for tourists.
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Mon-Fri From 9 Am to 6 Pm ET
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