Machu Picchu is one of those places you can’t avoid hearing about when traveling in Peru. While Peru has an abundance of amazing sights to visit, Machu Picchu garners the attention of the world. I remember seeing pictures of it in textbooks in elementary school world history class and thinking I’d like to see it someday. With so much hype surrounding it, I wondered if Machu Picchu would live up to my expectations… I’m happy to say it absolutely did! It is one of the most visually impressive sights I’ve seen in my journeys. The pictures really don’t do it enough justice. The only drawback is of course the hoards of other tourists, but there are ways to avoid the worst of the crowds.
To begin with, getting to Machu Picchu is either easy and expensive or difficult and cheap depending on the option you choose. The most popular option to arrive to the town of Aguas Calientes (currently re-branding itself as Machu Picchu Pueblo), which is the gateway to the site of Machu Picchu, is to take the train. The train runs from Ollyantaytambo (about 2 hours by bus from Cusco) to Aguas Calientes directly, taking about an hour and half. The price varies from 60-200 USD each way depending on the time of day you take it and the seating class you choose. This seemed rather expensive and a bit too simple for me, so I opted to take a different route to Aguas Calientes. It is possible to take a collectivo from Ollyantaytambo to a place called Hydroelectrica, which is really just a power plant with a few restaraunts and shops around it. The train to Aguas Calientes passes through here. There is a trail on either side of the railroad tracks, where it is possible to walk the rest of the way to Aguas Calientes. It is a decent walk, taking 3-4 hours, but it is mostly flat and easy. However, the collectivo from Ollyantaytambo is quite long, taking 5-6 hours to reach Hydroelectrica. By the time I started the walk after getting to Hydroelectrica, I was lucky to reach Aguas Calientes just before dark. Luckily, there were plenty of other tourists taking this same route, so it felt very safe.
I waited until I reached Aguas Calientes before purchasing my ticket for visiting Machu Picchu, which was fine when I went in mid-September but could be risky in high tourist season when tickets may sell out. I purchased a ticket for the next morning, including a hike up Machu Picchu Mountain. After the entrance ticket, I had to make one more purchase – the bus ticket up to Machu Picchu. The road from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu is rather long and steep. It is possible to walk up, though this requires about two and a half hours. I chose to take the bus instead, which is a 30-minute ride. Tickets have to be purchased in advance from the office in Aguas Calientes.
In the morning, I woke up early to be at the bus by 5:30 a.m. There was a long line already at this point but luckily they had several buses running so the line moved quickly. I was on a bus by 6 a.m. and up to the site by 6:30. After waiting in line to enter the park, I followed the crowds up the staircases, where I got my first view of Machu Picchu! Astounding even in the morning clouds, the ruins sprawled out below me while the imposing green mountain of Hauyna Picchu towered behind. I could hardly believe I was finally seeing the photo from my textbooks in person. I stopped to take several photos of my own before heading up to hike the mountain.
There are two mountains in the site of Machu Picchu that people can choose to hike (you do have to decide in advance and pay an extra fee on the ticket). The most popular is Huayna Picchu, the picturesque mountain directly behind the archaeological site, which sells out months in advance. However, the option, Machu Picchu Mountain is a great choice. It is actually much taller than Huayna Picchu and a more demanding hike. The benefit of this is that I had wonderful views of the ruins of Machu Picchu with the imposing Huayna Picchu behind it the whole way up the mountain. From the summit, I could see the valleys on either side of the mountains, which was stunning.
I took my time climbing the mountain and enjoying the summit. After descending, I spent a lot of time wandering around the upper levels of the site and taking pictures. This is because once you enter into the ruins themselves, there are sections that are one-way only, so you can’t backtrack to re-visit other parts of the site. I wanted to fully enjoy the day there and also wait for some of the crowds to die down and the lighting to be better for pictures. I took the time to walk to see the Inca Bridge, which was nice to see. I also spent some time playing with the llamas that have free roam of the terraces surrounding Machu Picchu. There were some adorable baby llamas there too!
By around three in the afternoon, most of the tour groups had already gone through the ruins and the sun was sinking in the sky, perfect for photos. I decided to enter the ruins. It was very impressive to walk through the remains of the Incan buildings. I was impressed with how intact they were (or perhaps well restored). I had visited Kuelap in the north of Peru before Machu Picchu, which was impressive as well, but felt much more like ruins, recognizable as buildings only in the foundations, with only a few fully intact structures remaining. Walking through Machu Picchu was more like walking through an abandoned city. I could almost visualize the people that must have once inhabited it. It seemed extremely large to me, with narrow alleys between buildings to walk between, staircases to descend, and large temple footprints with impressive overlooks to marvel at.
I spent close to two hours exploring the ruins. I would have understood more about what I was seeing if I had taken a guided tour (there are no informational plaques in the site and there’s not a lot of information available online about the ruins themselves), but I enjoyed being able to take my time the whole day and not be rushed through the experience. I also enjoyed having relatively few other tourists wandering the ruins with me so late in the afternoon. I finally left the site as the sun was setting, extremely happy with the day and thoroughly impressed by Machu Picchu.
I chose to take the train back to Ollantaytambo that evening, partly to avoid spending another night in the tourist trap village of Aguas Calientes and partly to avoid losing the entire next day to walking/riding the bus from Hydroelectrica. Since I took the train at night, I didn’t get to see any of the famous scenery in between, but it was the quickest option and also a cheaper ticket price at night. All in all, I’m very happy with the way I experienced Machu Picchu. I didn’t do everything in classic tourist fashion but I also did get to see one of the world’s most impressive archaeological sites in person. It really lived up to its reputation. I can understand why it is must-see when in Peru.
By Train:
There are two companies that run the train route between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes: Inca Rail and Peru Rail. The services and prices they offer are more or less the same, so it really just depends on schedule and personal preference. The cost is in USD, $60-$200 each way depending on time of day and seating class. The cheapest option is the night train, but you won’t see the scenery that way. The train takes one hour and a half to arrive.
By Bus/Hiking:
From Ollantaytambo, take a collectivo headed for Hydroelectrica. You’ll need to arrange this in advance to guarantee a seat as the collectivo typically comes from Cusco. One of the agencies near the main square can help you with this. Cost should be around 35 soles. It is about 5-6 hours from Ollantaytambo to Hydroelectrica. Be warned that many of the collectivos don’t have air conditioning and it can get very hot on the dusty dirt roads between the towns.
Once you get to Hydroelectrica, there is a check-in station where you need to register with your name (there is no fee) before starting the hike. Head down down from the station until you reach the train tracks. From there, just follow the train tracks all the way until you’re almost at Aguas Calientes 3-4 hours. At this point, there will be a tunnel. Do not enter the tunnel but instead follow the path down to the road, then follow the road the rest of the way to the village.
- If you have the opportunity, hike one of the mountains when you visit. It really adds to the experience and allows you to get unusual views of the site.
- Bring snacks with you! There are no facilities in the park, so bring a small backpack with a picnic lunch and plenty of water if you want to spend a lot of time at the site.
- Take your time. What I enjoyed most about my visit was just being able to soak in the grandeur of the place without being rushed. It’s better to try to stay behind the crowds than get ahead of them. So many people rush through the ruins and don’t take a lot of time to fully enjoy all the site has to offer.
- Try to enter the ruins in the afternoon. There were far fewer people there than in the morning, or directly after noon when the next rush of visitors come in. If you wait, you’ll have better lighting for pictures and less crowds.
