January 2016 (by YK) Itinerary Link
Machu Picchu as we saw:
Why?
I’d seen pictures, I’d heard bits and pieces about how special it was, and I knew I wanted to go see it with my own eyes. At the same time, I did not want to know too much about it in advance so that I could “feel” it as I enter the site.
And the first thing that popped into my mind as we walked into the goround of Macchu Picchu was a question: why? Why here & what for? It was pretty well hidden locationwise, but, the whole complex spreads out quite a bit that it could not have been a secret hangout of any kind. Why would mighty Incas choose a secluded place like this and build a whole village?
According to Wikipedia, it was built in 15th Century, and, if so, that seems to be relatively new in the league of the ruins of old civilizations around the world that are frequently thousands of years old. Yet, nobody is sure why it was built. Many researchers do believe it might have been a country resort for elite Incas. If it was, then the idea of leisure for the ruling class or rich and famous of Inca Empire was more spiritual than decadence, I concluded. I am sure they had their fun in thier lives, but not here.
To get to or from Macchu Picchu, one has to go through a little town of Aguas Calientes. My guess is this once was a charming local village filled with peace and quiet. Those days are long gone. There were over 1.4 million visitors to Macchu Picchu in 2017 alone. I didn’t think it was as bad as some people said it was, but it could have been a destination on its own right if there had been a far sighted planning involved. Easy for me to say, I admit.
We stayed one night at a small riverside B&B called Terrazas del Inca($60), and it was quite adequate. Free breakfast was helpful the next morning so that we were fueled up to tackle the main attraction, Macchu Picchu. Our dinner at the Tree House restaurant was very good once we survided climbing up all the stairs to get there.
How we did it:
Caution: Bring your passport to buy the tickets of all kinds and to get into Macchu Picchu.
Getting into Aguas Calientes: We took the train out of Cuzso. under 4 hours, $202 roud trip in January 2016.
1. We made a reservation online at the Peru Rail site & had to pick up the tickets at a Peru Rail office in Cuzco. Be sure to bring the same credit card that you used to make the reservation. There are 3 different levels of train/service you can choose from: Expedition is the entry level, Vistadome has big windows, and Hiram Bingham is the super luxrury with gourmet meals and all. Ticket prices change depending on time, season etc. We chose Expedition, and it was fine. We got the same scenery as others. Vistadome can be at least $20 more expensive. Hiram Bingham can be over $500 each way.
2. We took a taxi to Poroy Station, 13 km away from the center of Cuzco. This is where you get on the train to Aguas Calientes. There is nothing much around the station, but a marching band was brought in to entertian the tourists when we were there. Possible to get snacks and drinks at the station.
3. From the train station in Aguas calientes, you can walk to most hotels.
– An alternative to using the trains: join a guided hike of the Inca Trail, a 2+ day trip. There are many tour companies who do this. You can search online. Costs seem to be $200 & upward. You can also get this arranged once in Cuzco.
Park Tickets: You can find out how many tickets are avaialble for a given day on the official website, and this is good to know since only 2,500 people are allowed in each day. Forget getting tickets online, though. The site is very slow to load & hard to navigate through. The first thing we did after arriving in Cuzco was to line up to get the entrance tickets to Macchu Picchu at the Ministerio de Cultura office near the main square. It took 20-30 minutes to get to the front of the line, but it was not too painful. We paid about $40 per ticket except one person who wanted to do the Huayna Picchu Mountain, and she paid about $20 extra. Nowadays, the tickets cost over $60 each, I hear.
Getting to Macchu Picchu: One can either take the shuttle bus(runs from 5:30 AM to 9 PM) or walk. We took the shuttle. The bus depot is by the river & anyone can point it to you. There is a ticket booth, and you basically wait in line for your turn to get the tickets and to get on the bus. For us, it was $14 round trip, but, now it is $12 each way, it seems. When you are on your way up, you will be glad you are not walking. It is a stiff climb for the 30 minute bus ride.
Touring the park: You walk. I’d read the tour groups come between 10:00 and 14:00, so we went there before 9 AM and it was quite comfortable. There is quite a bit of going up and down within the park, but it is never a serious hike. We spent about a couple of hours or so, and we had covered most of the sites. By the time we left, the park was jam packed.
Some people choose to stay at the Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel in Macchu Picchu. We were not tempted not just because it was $450/night back then, but we thought we could see enough of it by just visiting for a few hours. We did not change our mind after visiting
Getting back: We got on the shuttle, came back to Aguas Calientes, had lunch, walked around, then got on the train back to Poroy.
Hire a guide?: One can hire a guide by the park entrance. The guided tour typically lasts about 2.5 hours, and cost between 30 to 50 soles($10-$16) depending on the size of the group. We did not hire a guide. we might have learned more from a guide, but we liked to browse on our own pace.
Small Wide World 