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Author: (Stein) Runar Bergheim

  • The Titicaca Train: A Long Day of Luxury

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    I had just installed myself in my seat on board the Perurail Titicaca Train in Cusco. My carriage was elegant with wooden panels, white table cloths and plush seating. It exuded an air of elegance long gone from modern travel. My fellow passengers offered a compelling reminder that this was, after all, modern travel. While…

  • Good to know about the altitude in Cusco

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    I spent my childhood in the mountains. Well, not quite. To be painfully exact, I spent it at 29 m.a.s.l. a stone’s throw from the fjord. But, what I meant to say is that I grew up BETWEEN the mountains. And, as I remember it, I used to climb them quite frequently. Which amounts to…

  • NOT the Rainbow Mountain

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    Visitors to Cusco will have been offered a day-trip to Mount Vinicunca, popularly known as the ‘Rainbow Mountain’. While technically possible, doing this in one day requires the sacrifice of significant human comfort. For one, you will have to be ready outside your hotel at 3:30 AM. The only circumstance when it is acceptable to…

  • Thoughts on what Mountain to Climb at Machu Picchu

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    While booking my ticket for Machu Picchu, I faced the unexpected question of whether I wished to climb Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu Mountain, both or neither – and at what times. For 44 years, I had lived in the blissful ignorance that such places existed, and I found myself at a loss.

  • A Contemplative Walk in the Clouds

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    The view from the top of Machu Picchu mountain justifies the 700-meter climb, that is when there is a view to be had. The clouds were not just sitting there idle, though. The view constantly shifted from complete whiteout via blurry mists to sudden openings in the cloud-cover that permitted photos like this one.

  • Useful Notes on Getting to Machu Picchu

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    There it was. Machu Picchu, a photographic cliché, if ever there was one. And still, cliché or no cliché, it was one of those views imprinted in my mind since childhood from countless travel magazines and innumerable travel documentaries.

  • Ollantaytambo: The Perfect Stopover in the Sacred Valley

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    I had booked myself into a small hotel in a village called Ollantaytambo (Ollanta), of which I had no knowledge and few expectations.⠀Low expectations constitute a favourable starting point for any village hoping to exceed them but are entirely wasted on Ollantaytambo. This village, and its surroundings, are brimming with Inca fortifications and constructions that…

  • A Unique Taste of Salt and History at Salineras de Maras

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    It must have started something like this: Salty water came out of a small spring on the hillside. The flow rose and fell with the seasons. Some surfaces that were submerged when the flow was high dried out when the flow lessened. Left behind, was a white substance.

  • The Hidden Purpose of the Inca Ruins at Moray

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
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    Historians and scientists agree unanimously – and with absolute certainty – that the concentric circular terraces of Moray were made for an important purpose.

  • The Urubamba River

    Written by

    (Stein) Runar Bergheim
    , ,

    Within an hour of landing in Cusco, I found myself standing at a bridge near Ollantaytambo, taking in this most pleasing scenery.⠀“This isn’t how Peru is supposed to look”, I thought to myself. “This is how Alaska is supposed to look. Where are the colourful, pipe-smoking ladies with bowler hats, where are the pan flute…

    The Urubamba River