After spending a few days in Cusco, we moved on to Machu Picchu, one of the most famous archaeological ruins in the world. To make the most of the trip, we decided to spend two days there, staying overnight at a cheap hostel in Aguas Calientes.
Top Tips for Visiting Machu Picchu
– The rules are always changing at Machu Picchu, so be sure to check them out before you go! Recently I read that visitors will be required to be accompanied by a guide and stick to certain circuits through the site… neither of those were requirements when we visited, so be sure you’re up-to-date on the most recent rules before you go.
– One of the changes that took place not too long before we went was that two tickets were required for a full day visit, otherwise you had to choose between afternoon and morning tickets. We recommend staying overnight to explore the site more, especially since hostels in Aguas Calientes are so cheap. Get an afternoon ticket the first day and a morning ticket the second, or arrive in the evening and do two tickets for the following, full day before returning that evening.
– Machu Picchu is not cheap, and the costs add up… Train tickets will set you back about $150 USD round trip per person, bus tickets up to the site are $24 round trip, and the entrance fees are around $47 / ticket (more if you’re doing a climb). You can save a little money by buying tickets from the Peruvian (Spanish language) website – check out this blog post to see how, if you don’t speak Spanish! Keep in mind that you cannot buy Machu Picchu tickets AT Machu Picchu, so make sure that you either buy them online before you go or when you are in Aguas Calientes or Cusco. The linked blog has advice for doing any of those.
– As I mentioned, the train ride is expensive. There are lovely views, but if you have more time and energy than money I think it could actually make more sense to do the Inca Trail or another trek up to Machu Picchu. Some are very affordable and when you factor in the train and bus tickets and lodging elsewhere in Peru, it might actually make sense to do the trek. The same goes for the bus ride up to the site if you do take the train; you can save yourself some money if you are willing to hoof it instead. We struggled so much with the altitude that we decided against it, and thought it would be more interesting spending four days seeing other sights in the Sacred Valley than hiking the Inca Trail, but be sure to weigh your options!
– If you do decide to take the train, you will have to decide between IncaRail and PeruRail. IncaRail is the newer company so there seems to be a lot of outdated/incorrect information. They do, in fact, have departures from the Poroy station outside Cusco (which is what we took) so either is an option fro Cusco! The two are quite similar in price and function, and actually use the same railroad tracks to get you up to Aguas Calientes… There are lots of opinions in support of PeruRail since it has been around longer, but we chose IncaRail. What sealed the deal for us, and why we chose IncaRail, was because it is 100% Peruvian-owned company, whereas PeruRail is 50% owned by Belmont in the UK. We felt it was better to keep the money in the country we were visiting, and we had an excellent experience… the snacks, service, even the office in Cusco, were all great.
– If you’d like to do one of the climbs at Machu Picchu, you have two choices again – Wayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Montaña. You’ll need to purchase a more expensive entrance ticket with a time slot for one of the climbs, so be sure to do some research and plan ahead. Wayna Picchu is the mountain that is in the background of all those iconic Machu Picchu photos, and is a steeper climb, but it may take less time. Machu Picchu Montaña is on the other side of the ruin and is better for those afraid of heights or who may have balance issues. We chose the latter after Googling pictures from the top of both… the view from Wayna Picchu just didn’t look as exciting without Wayna Picchu itself in the background. 🙂
– One important note is that there are NO bathrooms inside the site itself. Be sure you go to the one outside the entrance when you get to the top (by bus or walking). It cost 2 soles when we were there, so consider having some change ready to speed the process up too.
– Bring your passport! You will need your ticket AND your passport in order to get into the site, so be sure you have both! You can also get some pretty nifty Machu Picchu souvenir stamps somewhere at the site, but since we had a more… eventful… trip than expected I didn’t manage to get to the place where they do the stamping.
Day 1: Cusco to Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu afternoon visit
We took an early taxi to the train station outside Cusco and soon were aboard the train and on our way to Aguas Calientes, the town nearest the ruins of Machu Picchu. I didn’t have a lot of expectations for the train ride but it was gorgeous! We followed the Urubamba River through the Andes mountains, seeing farmland, forest, and even terracing and ruins along the way. There was one particular ruin that was really cool–Inca terracing right beside a waterfall!
The train took quite a bit less time than the three hours we expected, so we sat on a bench outside the train station for a little while. There’s a nice little park with flowers there, so we just hung out for a while, getting our plans ready for the rest of the day. Then we walked into town, which was quite nice, with colorful buildings and the Urubamba River flowing through the center of it. We found a restaurant that looked good, and sat down at a table with nice views of the river and the mountains. Ryan had a burrito with mango juice, and I had fresh-squeezed orange juice and lomo (pork loin) with a blackberry sauce that was quite tasty.
Since our afternoon tickets to Machu Picchu would start soon, we headed over to the bus station. Round trip tickets up and back were $24 USD (each) so if you’re more athletically inclined consider hiking up and back, or at least hike on the way down if you need to save money. The bus ride had some pretty cool views of the valley on the way up, since you follow switchbacks up the mountain. Once up, be sure to go to the bathroom because there are not any inside the site! It cost 2 soles to use it.
We took a stone pathway out to the site, enjoying some nice views of the Urubamba River snaking through the valley, then onto a guardhouse before you step out and are able to see Machu Picchu in all its glory. It really is as breathtaking as it looks in pictures, and the site is so intact that you can almost imagine that it’s still a functional city today!
We followed Circuit 2 to begin, which seemed to be the less popular option. There were great views of the site, then we were able to walk through the stone buildings and onto the main temple, the Sun Temple. From there we saw some llamas and decided to follow them to the other side of the site. On the way we saw some super cute chinchillas running around. I just regret that they moved to fast to get a good picture! We stayed in one of the structures that seemed to be for the llamas until a brief bit of rain passed, then continued our explorations.
The path continued through a lower part of the site, with more views of the valley. There was actually one part where there was no wall and just the end of a path and a (potential) long fall to the bottom. It was marked with just a small sign. 🙂 On our way back out of the site, we passed the Temple of the Condor, which had a large rock formation that was obviously the inspiration for the name of the temple! We also passed a llama who was strutting around like he owned the place, heading straight through groups of tourists as if they weren’t even there.
Once finished for the day, we took the bus back down the mountain to Aguas Calientes. We walked along the river and northward until we found our hostel, where we rested for a while before going out for dinner. That evening, we walked down to the Plaza de Armas, where we admired the “Bienvenidos a Machu Picchu” sculptures of Inca citizens. Then we split a pizza for dinner before returning up the steep hill to the hotel, where Ryan was able to indulge in the show he discovered that he loved last year in Greece, BBC News. 🙂
Day 2: Machu Picchu morning visit and return to Cusco
The night we stayed in Aguas Calientes, Ryan got very, very sick with something like food poisoning. It was awful, and we both hoped he would be well enough to go to Machu Picchu by the morning, but he only made it to the hostel lobby before needing a bag to vomit in. 🙁 I went to a drugstore and got traveler’s diarrhea medication (glad that I knew enough Spanish to explain what I needed, and that unlike in the US, I didn’t need a prescription!), as well as more drinking water, some Sprite-like soda, and crackers. Then we paid for another night in the hostel (which was cheap luckily… only around $30) so that he could rest while I went back to Machu Picchu. The woman working at the hotel, who only spoke Spanish (yet another reason I was glad I’m fluent) was very understanding.
Our Machu Picchu tickets were for the morning, but I got to the bus station pretty late with everything else that happened that morning so by the time I got to the entrance it was too late to get in to do the Montaña climb we had planned 🙁 (and also I was on the bus with all senior citizens). So my day didn’t exactly start off too well.
I walked up the other circuit to the guardhouse with really nice views. The weather was a little nicer than the day before so I took full advantage of the views (and the fact that I could take as many pictures as I wanted without slowing anyone else down) to get some good shots. Then I hiked part of the way to the Sun Gate before turning around and attempting to find some llamas again. It didn’t really feel worth it to do the second day without doing the mountain climb, but events out of my control prevented that from happening. I’d still recommend doing two days, especially if you want to do either the Wayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Montaña times. And then if you get sick one day you’ll still be able to see it on the other day. 🙂
I left the site a little bit after I was supposed to (I think my ticket ended at noon) and took the bus back down to Aguas Calientes. I returned to the hotel to find Ryan doing a little bit better. The woman at the hotel was very helpful, and very concerned because she thought Ryan hadn’t been able to see Machu Picchu at all. When we told her that we both went the day before she felt a bit better though. Since the train wasn’t until a bit later, we both took a nap at the hostel for a while longer. I wasn’t feeling so hot either, but wasn’t nearly as sick as Ryan.
We walked back to the train station (slowly, for Ryan), crossing the bridge over the river for the last time and waiting at the nice park area of the train station again. It was a bit less nice than the day before, since the weather had changed back to cloudy and sprinkling a little and there were quite a few people waiting there for trains. The train ride was pretty again, or at least the first half of it was before it got dark and we couldn’t see a whole lot. Our cab driver was waiting for us at the train station (since he’d volunteered and we’d arranged it with him the day before). He drove us back to our hotel, and we went to bed shortly after.
We noticed right away that it was harder to breathe in Cusco than it had been in Aguas Calientes, but it was really nice to be back at our hotel since it had started to feel like our “home away from home” here in Peru!