Claros is a cognition center just outside İzmir, on Ahmetbeyli road, among artichoke orchards.. Yes yes, you did not misread, wise. BC with a water source that is not understood from where it comes from.. 6. This center has a century-old history. The people of the period used to come here and ask questions to the oracles to try to understand whether their wishes would come true.. Soothsayers often answered questions with confusing puzzle-like answers.. Thus, the days passed in Claros. Naturally, we could not go to such a knowledge center without questions and plans in our minds.. What we tried to learn was neither goods nor money, like every traveler who has lost his heart to the roads.. The only question in our minds is “Will we be able to see Machu Picchu?”
Our question was on our minds, we had our bags on our backs, we fell on the roads and we arrived at Claros on a Saturday.. After examining the ruins and wandering around for a while, we succumbed to our curiosity and followed the path of the oracle**, we asked our question.. The Oracle asked us for details.. ”Tell me what kind of place is this Machu Picchu, how to get there?” said. We started a little confused and excited to explain our 10-day trip plan in detail.
Day 1:
1. You can only reach Lima, the capital of Peru, with a 20-hour journey every day.. around 6 in the morning. The journey of dreams begins as the day dawns. Before the places we want to see in Lima, our friend Barış, whom I haven’t seen for five years, comes to our minds.. He can both give us tips for this trip and tell us how we can better evaluate our time in Lima.. There are many places we want to see because in Lima. Catedral de Lima, Plaza Mayor, San Martin square built to commemorate Peru’s independence are some of them.. But before these, we have the most famous guard change ceremony in front of the Government Palace and the San Francisco Convent, which is famous for its catacombs and library.. In addition to these, we are also curious about the back streets of Lima. Local people’s life, routines. I think the easiest way is to ask Barış for help in this regard, too.. What a place to drink, these are the people of Liman. Of course, the most important thing we have to do before all this travel plan: Buying a plane ticket for tomorrow morning.. To where? Of course in Cusco. The heart is in favor of hitchhiking or the greener train, but time is limited.
I think Chinatown will be our stopping point after buying the tickets and walking the streets of Lima to feed the hungry stomachs.. We are in Lima tonight.
DAY 2:
We have our tickets, our route is the airport. Since Cusco is surrounded by mountains, it is very difficult for planes to land, but we prefer the air route because we do not want to waste time.. Upon our arrival to Cusco after a one-and-a-half hour journey, we find a depository and leave our bags.. Cusco, capital of the Incas. Lots of beauties to visit. But since our priority is Machu Picchu, we buy our tickets for the last train for Aguas Calientes.. Now that we have bought our tickets, we are on the streets of Cusco whenever we have time.. Plaza das Armas is one of the busiest squares in Cusco.. Cobblestone roads, Inca baths, Coricancha, Pisac market are among the top places to see.. We don’t spend the night here and save the remaining beauties on the way back, and jump onto the Orient Express and straight to Aguas Calientes.
DAY 3:
Warm night After spending time in Aguas Calientes, which means waters, we get up at dawn and have breakfast.. Now the long-awaited moment Machu Picchu. We arrive at Machu Picchu by minibus without walking the Camino Inca, which means the Inca road, in order to get a little secluded and to save some time.. Our first goal is Huayna Picchu hill, saying that it would not be possible not to go to Huayna Picchu while you are there, and take a postcard-like photo from there.. While we fully believe that this 2400-meter-high wonder of the world will take our breath away, we hope that coca tea will help us regain our breath.. If we can take 1-2 souvenir photos without being exposed to the spit of the llamas, we will be happy with them =). Our backup plan is Aguas Calientes hostels in case it’s late and we can’t return.
DAY 4:
4 days again in Peru We are going to Puno, one of the places we want to see most in .. Places to visit here are a little bit outside of Puno.. We will see the Uros, which are floating islands made entirely of reeds by the local people to protect them from the persecution of the Incas.. We will have the opportunity to see and meet the Uros families living here.. After that, the island of Isla Taquila, which is passed by a 1-and-a-half hour boat ride, is really interesting.. Enjoying the view from the top of the island like a bird from a height of 3800 meters, which is climbed with approximately 500 steps, is among the pleasures that cannot be missed.. We hope to hear from someone about the customs and traditions of the people.. We read in detail and studied our lesson, but it would be better if someone who knows. After eating our fish in one of the restaurants on the island, we will spend the night in the house chosen for us by the island leader and relieve the tiredness of the day.. The next day, our route is Arequipa.
DAY 5:
Arequipa is located on the road between Puno and Nazca lines. Arequipa is an almost white city. The reason why it is called the white city is the white volcanic rocks from which the buildings are made.. The streets, houses and cathedral here are really worth seeing.. Our plan is to visit the most magnificent building of the city, the Convent of Santa Catalina, Plaza de Armas square, the cathedral and the Museo Santuanros Andios, where the mummy of Princess Jaunita is located.. We spend a day here and tour this city from one end to another.. We stay here for the night. Our new route is Nazca lines.
DAY 6:
When we reach the Nazca Lines, we go to the top of the tower and start discussing how they could have been built. When we get back, we take lots of pictures to show our friends and leave.. We turn our route to Huacachina, an oasis in the middle of the desert. We prefer this place as a resting point on our long and tiring route.
DAY 7:
Take a good sleep After getting rid of our tiredness, we decide to spend the day here.. Among the many activities that can be done here, Dune Buggies, that is, sand skiing, attracts our attention the most because neither of us has even worn a ski suit until now, let alone skiing.. We are left on the sand dunes with desert vehicles, we will try to slide by sometimes falling and sometimes getting up. However, we have to wait until evening to realize this.. Before that, we can take a boat ride or sip our pisco sour, the traditional drink of Peru, in the pool.. We attend one of the parties held at night and celebrate T.’s birthday.. We spend another night here and return to Lima the next morning where we started.
DAY 8:
We get the opportunity to visit places and say goodbye to Peru.
As we spoke, the oracle listened. As the oracle listened, we told. Finally, we finished the plan we made, telling the dream we built to the oracle.. After a few seconds of silence, the oracle said that the answers were downstairs at the source of the water and he would go and listen.. A few minutes later the oracle arrived with a small smile on his face. “Even though the Machu Picchu road is as close as 12000km, it is still a step away,” he said.. The Oracle has done its thing and the long wait has begun.
* This article was written for Gazella Tourism’s 3 Continents 1 Blogger contest.
**The Oracle is purely a product of our imagination for this article. is a character. Please do not go to Claros looking for a prophet
Thanks to our friend Ezgi Yasemin who recommended Claros to us.
