The Hiram Bingham Highway to Machu Picchu

The last time we met Spotlight team member Janina (Nina) Schneider-Eicke here, she told us all about "Surf and scenery in spectacular Sydney". Well, it's a long way from Australia to South America, but Nina is an intrepid traveller and this week she's taking us on a tour of Peru.

We're on the way to Machu Picchu, "The Lost City of the Incas", which was "rediscovered" in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. It is high above the Urubamba Valley, 80 kilometres northwest of Cusco

Nina: "In the markets around Cusco, you can find not only traditional woolen hats and ponchos, but also fresh vegetables and meat. Local farmers sell beans, carrots and choclo, a type of corn. And everyone sells potatoes. After all, the world's most popular vegetable comes from Peru!"