Machu Picchu

For something that wasn’t part of my original South America travel plans, Machu Picchu turned out to be an absolutely wonderful surprise. The ruin is set in an absolute gorgeous location, it is very well preserved and the construction is very impressive. The fact that it is at high altitude left me in awe at what these ancient people were able to accomplish without modern day tools and conveniences.

How (not) to independently tour Machu Picchu.

So, you want to visit Machu Picchu yourself? There are several available options from all-inclusive tours to DIY hiking trips. The option I chose is somewhere in the middle. I handled all the arrangements myself, but my transportation was all diesel powered.

There’s a good reason that Machu Picchu stayed hidden for so many years. It’s located in a remote, nearly inaccessible area. If you are an avid hiker or have some spiritual need that you wish to fulfill, you might consider researching trekking along the Inca Trail to get to Machu Picchu. Otherwise, arranging transportation for yourself can be a pretty fun adventure.

The Train

Peru Rail operates service between Cusco (Poroy) and Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes). There are 3 classes of service: Backpacker; well suited to the no-frills traveler, Vistadome; you get a car with windows in the ceiling and food/drink service are included and last is the Hiram Bingham service, which I think is for royalty and heads of state.

Train service is also provided between Ollantaytamba and Aguas Calientes with greater frequency and reduced cost.

What I did was find a shared taxi service from Cusco to Ollantaytamba. I overnighted in Ollantaytamba and caught a 5:30 AM train to Aguas Calientes. What I should have done was got myself all the way to Aguas Calientes and spent the night there. Once in Aguas Calientes it is necessary to buy your entrance pass for Machu Picchu (I’m fairly certain they aren’t available at the monument itself) and you need to purchase a bus ticket to go from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu. You can, of course, walk if you feel so inclined. Bus service begins at 5:00AM.

Guide books and articles I have read all write off both Ollantaytamba and Aguas Calientes as a horrible, but a necessary evil to getting to Machu Picchu. Despite the fact that they are complete tourist traps they still retain a “mountain town” character that I find charming.

There are several advantages to getting to Machu Picchu early in the morning. First is if you can manage to get to the top of Wayna (Huayna) Picchu before sunrise, you can get beautiful light for your photos. 2nd is that it gets a bit crowded later in the morning. I was there in the low season so the crowds were bearable, but I’m led to believe that from May – September there are often shoulder-shoulder people.

At the entrance, I was offered guide service, but my best negotiating couldn’t get the price below 100 soles (~$30USD) so I opted out…which was probably a wise choice as that left me free to climb Wayna Picchu and I can always read more about Machu Picchu on wikipedia.

For my return trip to Cusco I opted for Vistadome service on Peru Rail. This was quite possibly the worst thing I have endured in all of my travels, but that’s for another post.