To the citadel, in style

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This was published 14 years ago

To the citadel, in style

Gravy train ... the Hiram Bingham is the epitome of luxury train travel.

Gravy train ... the Hiram Bingham is the epitome of luxury train travel.Credit: AFP

Machu Picchu will be upon us this afternoon, yet there's not a mud-caked hiking boot in sight and instead of being sweaty and breathless, my fellow travellers are looking dapper and relaxed.

Hardy trekkers may lap-up the various three- and four-day trails that lead to the legendary Lost City of the Incas but for those more inclined to living the high life, the Hiram Bingham is the only way to go.

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Named after the Yale university lecturer who stumbled across the hidden Inca citadel in 1911, the Bingham is the epitome of luxury rail travel.

In just over three hours, it carves an exquisitely picturesque route from Poroy, on the outskirts of Cusco, to Aguas Calientes, the village on Machu Picchu's doorstep. Along the way, guests are treated to an assortment of fine dining and entertainment.

Designed like the vintage British Pullman trains of the early 20th century – dubbed "palaces on wheels" by original creator George Mortimer Pullman – the Bingham's exterior is a blaze of navy blue, with crisp gold lettering.

After enjoying a glass of champagne while a troupe of Peruvians perform a traditional song-and-dance routine on the platform, a waistcoated guard leads me – and my smartly but casually dressed fellow passengers – aboard.

My seat is as comfy as an armchair and despite some mod cons – like a speaker system and air-conditioning – it almost feels as if I've been transported back to Bingham's day or, come to think of it, into an Agatha Christie novel (indeed, the company that operates the service is called Orient-Express).

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Polished brass trimmings abound: framed black-and-white photographs decorate sober beige walls; and flower-filled vases and lamps rest on the dining tables. I can't help thinking what Bingham would have made of the opulence – this Indiana Jones-like figure reached Machu Picchu on the back of a mule.

With pipes and drums still sounding from outside, the train chugs off. From the comfort of our window seats, we watch farmers, assisted by their families and oxen, ploughing patchwork fields of corn, quinoa, potatoes and beans, before the train whooshes past the famous old battleground of Pampa de Anta.

Here, the ninth Inca leader, Pachacutec, routed the rival Chanca tribe in 1438 – a victory that sparked the Incas' expansionist drive across the Andean region and was the catalyst for the construction of major new settlements like Machu Picchu.

As the train enters a steep, narrow gorge alongside the Urubamba River, I take a stroll towards the bar and observation carriage.

It's not your average drinking den. There's a cabinet full of sparkling jewellery in it, for starters. Some passengers are sipping coffee but wine, whisky, beer and cocktails are also doing the rounds.

Buoyed by upbeat Latin-flavoured music performed by a young ponytailed guitarist and an elderly singer shaking maracas, an American tourist begins comically twirling around a pole. He's soon mimicked by three female compatriots. Several "wooaaahhs" fill the air and it almost feels like I'm on an upmarket booze cruise on wheels.

Not being a fan of drinking and dancing at 10.30am on a Monday, I'm slightly relieved when we're called for brunch.

Gentle pipe music wafts from the dining carriage speakers as we eat a three-course meal; the highlight of which is the roast alpaca loin. Dessert – a cheesecake muddle of baby papaya, passionfruit and chocolate chips lashed with strawberry sauce – is delicious and complemented by Chilean white wine.

As we eat, a regular train full of locals trundles past and we are met with wide-eyed stares. For most, a ride on the Hiram Bingham would be a pipe dream. A return fare is $US588 ($697).

It may be pricey but walking the Inca Trail costs almost as much these days and, of course, it's far more taxing physically. At several points, we spot trekkers making their way towards the ruins.

After rolling into the station at Aguas Calientes, we hop on a bus that takes a zigzagging dirt track up to Machu Picchu. A post-brunch stroll beckons. And what a place to take one. “In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell,” wrote Bingham in his book Lost City of the Incas, “I know of no place in the world which can compare with it. Not only has it great snow peaks looming above the clouds more than two miles overhead, gigantic precipices of many-coloured granite rising sheer for thousands of feet above the foaming, glistening, roaring rapids, it also has, in striking contrast, orchids and tree ferns, the delectable beauty of luxurious vegetation and the mysterious witchery of the jungle.”

Of course, when Bingham found Machu Picchu, it was shrouded in verdant overgrowth. Now, it looks pristine and polished, with an abundance of marked footpaths and signs.

We spend three hours marvelling at the Incas' incredible stonework, while our guide reveals scores of facts, myths and legends about the place. Despite various theories – it was used as a religious ceremonial centre, an astronomy base or a holiday home for revered king Pachacutec – no one really knows why the Incas built the city.

What is generally agreed is that it was deserted during the Spanish conquest in the mid-16th century and lay hidden to all but local indigenous people until Bingham's discovery.

The atmosphere is more sedate than I imagined it would be; indeed, the peace and quiet is only really broken by voices of tour guides and the occasional whistle from eagle-eyed security guards keen to ensure visitors don't trample where they shouldn't.

Following afternoon tea and cakes at Machu Picchu, we head back to Aguas Calientes for the return journey, which consists almost entirely of more eating and drinking.

A pisco sour – a concoction of brandy, bitter lemon juice, egg white and sugar syrup – is followed by king crab galette, pumpkin cream soup, beef tenderloin medallion with oyster mushrooms, peanut brownies in butterscotch sauce and a few glasses of Peruvian red.

Afterwards, slouching further into my pseudo-armchair, I can hear the faint sounds of guitar strings and voices from the bar area but at the end of the day, I'm content to stay put and doze.

The writer was a guest of Orient-Express.

TRIP NOTES


LAN Chile (lan.com) fly from Sydney to Cusco via Santiago. A round trip on the Hiram Bingham, including entrance and tour of Machu Picchu, costs $US588 ($697). Phone 1800 000 395 or see orient-express.com.


See peru.info.

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