Tips for a great visit to Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It is atmospheric, evocative, and utterly spectacular in every way. It is also the most visited tourist attraction in South America, and plays host to hundreds of thousands of people every year. Most visitors to Machu Picchu come as part of package tours from Cuzco, and get a quick glimpse of the area during the middle of the day when the ruins are overrun with people. Don't let this happen to you! If you are taking the time to get yourself to Peru, and would like to really enjoy your visit to Machu Picchu, then please read on for some advice on how to make your trip more meaningful.

Buy a good Machu Picchu guidebook ahead of time, and read it carefully before you leave home. It will whet your appetite, get you excited for your trip, and add much more depth to your visit. I recommend The Machu Picchu Guidebook by Ruth Wright & Alfredo Zegarra. If you want to learn about Inca culture, check out The Last Days of the Incas by Kim McQuarrie. You will hear a great deal about Hiram Bingham on your trip, so you might as well read his account of 'discovering' Machu Picchu as well. It is called Lost City of the Incas and is available in a wide variety of editions. If you are interested in the religious significance of Machu Picchu, check out  Machu Picchu: Exploring an Ancient Sacred Center by Johan Reinhard.

Machu Picchu is not particularly high, at least in Andean terms. The plateau upon which the city is built lies at about 7,970 feet (2,430 meters) above sea level. Nearby Cuzco, in comparison, is 11,153 feet (3,399 meters) high. If you have been in the Andes for a while, you will likely not even notice the altitude. If you have just come from Lima, however, or directly from your international flight, you might have some issues. Most people - even very fit people - experience at least a few symptoms of altitude sickness when going directly from sea level to this elevation. Read more about altitude sickness here.

To avoid this, try to spend at least a few days relaxing and acclimatizing at altitude before your visit. Even though it is higher, Cuzco is a great place to do this. You could also stay in Pisac, Ollantaytambo, or another town in the Sacred Valley.

If you are reasonably fit, and don't mind some exercise, this is by far the best way to arrive at Machu Picchu. You'll get to enjoy Andean culture and landscapes on the way, and see spectacular ruins that are far from any road.

The Inca Trail or Camino Inca is by far the most well-known of the hiking routes to Machu Picchu. There are several options here: the Mollepata route (5 days), the shorter classic Inca Trail route (3-4 days), a two-day route, and a one-day route. You will enjoy remote ruins, incredible biodiversity, great views, and high altitude passes along the way. Permits and guides are required, and most hikers go with an organized tour operator. Make sure to choose a reputable guide who uses low-impact camping practices, as environmental degradation is a problem along the trail.

Alternatives to the Inca Trail:

The Lares Trek is a 2 or 3 day, high-altitude trek from the Lares valley to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley. Here you can catch the train to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu.

The Salkantay Route offers an alternative, seven-day trek to Machu Picchu, often with overnights at remote lodges. Many itineraries involve a stay in Aguas Calientes the last night and then a bus up to the sanctuary on the final morning of the trip

If you decide not to hike, then you will pass through Aguas Calientes. This is the town along the Urubamba River that is the jumping-off point for motorized trips to Machu Picchu. It is also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo, or Q'uñiyaku in Quechua. The town was originally built to house railway workers in the 1920's, but has been transformed by concrete and rampant, uncontrolled tourism development. This town does not have the charm or culture of Cuzco, Ollantaytambo, or other nearby towns, - in fact, it has very little charm at all - but it makes up for that with location.

I recommend catching a late morning PeruRail train, making the spectacular journey through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Calientes, and sleeping here overnight before visiting Machu Picchu the next day. Sleeping in Aguas Calientes instead of Cuzco will allow you to get to the sanctuary early in the morning when it is quiet and relatively uncrowded (see tip #6 below). For those who have been struggling with the altitude in Cuzco at 11,200 feet, you might also enjoy sleeping a bit lower. At only 6,693 feet, the air in Aguas Calientes will feel downright thick.

As you might expect, there are lots of restaurants and lodging options. Most of these are simply OK, and several are pretty bad, but some offer a good value. Try to vote with your nuevos soles and choose a place that isn't a textbook example of tourism run amok. Restaurants all put their menus out on the street so that you can see your options before you sit down. We ate at a place with decent food but very questionable translation skills - check out the menu here. Prices, in general, are at least double what you will pay elsewhere in Peru. Check Trip Advisor for current recommendations from other travelers. Also try to find a quiet place so you can get to bed early.

You can escape the concrete with a beautiful walk along the Urubamba River, or a soak in the hot springs for which the town is named. Both are just a short walk from any of the hotels or guesthouses in town. Make sure to buy your tickets for Machu Picchu admission while you are out exploring. Anyone in town can direct you to the ticket office.

Pack your smallest daypack the night before with a warm/waterproof layer, full water bottle, lunch, snacks, and camera. Large backpacks are prohibited in the ruins, and the gate attendants actively enforce this. If your bag is too big, or simply gets noticed, you will be asked to check it for the day. Try to keep your bag as small and discreet as possible. If you are traveling with others, try to spread the gear out so that no single person has to carry a big bag. My backpack wasn't exactly tiny, but we simply walked through the line quickly when the attendant was already speaking with someone else about their bag. This meant that we got to keep our food, water, raincoats, and all the other essentials for a good day of exploring. Make sure to carry out EVERYTHING that you carried in, including every last bit of trash and food waste.

It will be worth it!! We got up at 4:00 AM, and staggered down the streets of Aguas Calientes to get in line for a bus to the sanctuary. During our visit in 2007, the first bus left around 5 AM. We were on the first bus, and arrived up top just after 5:40 AM with about 20 other people. Everyone at the $450 per night Sanctuary Lodge was apparently still enjoying their luxury bedding. The Inca Trail trekkers were still a few kilometers away. We waited for a few minutes, and then as soon as the sanctuary opened at 6:00 AM we had the entire place to ourselves.

The scene was atmospheric, unforgettable, quiet, and lovely. We watched the sun come up over the Cordillera Vilcabamba, and the mist swirling over the river thousands of feet below. By noontime, we had already enjoyed six hours of exploring, climbed Wayna Picchu, and lounged on secluded terraces reading Neruda. The first day trippers from Cuzco started arriving around 10:30, and by noontime the ruins were overrun with people. I am quite sure that we would have been disappointed if the noontime rush was our entire experience. The place was still incredibly beautiful, but the atmosphere had changed. We felt very lucky to have been there in the early morning when the feel was entirely different.

Wayna Picchu (also spelled Huayna Picchu) is the steep peak in the background of most Machu Picchu photos. This peak was the home of the high priest, as well as the site of several important temples. The summit is about 8,920 feet above sea level, which is about 1180 feet above Machu Picchu. The climb is non-technical, but is extremely steep and exposed for nearly the entire way. This is not a place for anyone afraid of heights. Only 400 visitors per day are allowed, so try to start early. This is a challenging, incredibly beautiful hike and offers a different perspective on Machu Picchu.

For more information, please see my upcoming article on climbing Wayna Picchu.

My advice is to NOT get wrapped up in seeing every architectural feature of the ruins. If you bought a guidebook, read it ahead of time and then try to leave it in your backpack for most of the day. Focus your senses on your surroundings. Ask yourself: how many times in your life will I be here? Visit some of the spots that you find the most fascinating, and then just find a quiet terrace to soak in the incomparable surroundings. The atmosphere of this place is like nowhere else on Earth. Stay at the sanctuary as long as you possibly can, and then quietly, reverently, grudgingly make your way back to the bustle of the river valley below. This is a place that will stay with you for your entire life.