Aquas Calientes is the small town outside the entrance to Machu Picchu. We had our tour group give us an extra night here because we heard there were some hikes besides the Inca Trail that were worth doing. The one we wanted to do is the big mountain you see behind Machu Picchu in all the pictures however after days of hiking and the threat of rain we decided to set out to find a waterfall hike instead. This hike was very short and gave us time to also explore Aquas Calientes. The tiny old towns only purpose is to service tourists to Machu Picchu. It is built in a narrow valley so all the buildings are built vertically giving it a unique look and charm. It didn’t take us long to walk the entire town several times. Theres a souvenir market and a few Instagram spots but the highlight for us ended up being the food. We got our first chance to try Alpaca and it did not disappoint. Like Kangaroo, it was very lean and not gamey. We tried it in 2 different dishes and enjoyed it each time. Then we stumbled across our favorite meal of the trip by accident. We were wandering around behind a market and as we entered an alleyway we saw a tiny food stand packed with locals. We were going to keep walking not sure what they were eating when one of the locals spotted us and yelled for us to come over and sit. We were hesitant at first but ended up playing along. The local couple ordered us a dish that ended up being our favorite meal of the trip. We have no idea what it was but it was amazing. Rice, meat, potatoes, veggies and spices. It was the perfect end to a once in a life time adventure in the mountains of Peru. Next stop back to finish Lima!