Peru: Machu Picchu
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Shannon has always loved travel. There’s no getting around that. But for Michael, this is the trip that started it all. This remains a clear number one on Michael’s favorite destinations list. This is one of those places that is just hard to top. This is Machu Picchu.
Perurail to Aguas Calientes
The morning that we left Cusco, we checked out and took an early taxi ride (arranged again by the hotel) to the train station. It’s not walking distance, so you’ll definitely need transportation to get there. We purchased our tickets to Aguas Calientes in advance from Perurail, and we selected the early Vistadome train. Shannon’s altitude sickness was still in effect when we boarded the train, but thankfully abated completely during the 3,000 foot descent. What a relief!
The train ride itself was pretty cool. Its windows extended onto the ceiling, and they had Peruvian music playing in the background. We are the worst with knowing celebrities, but the lady next to us was clearly in that category, we realized after several people stopped by to request her autograph. We still have no idea who she was! The views were incredible, and we enjoyed the meal that they prepared for us, too. The ride was so unique, and operated in a zigzag fashion to navigate the steep mountains. We’ll try not to spoil everything for you.
There are several train options, and they vary in price. The Vistadome option was comfortable and in the middle in terms of pricing. There is a more economical option called the Expedition, and a luxury option named the Hiram Bingham after the famed explorer who discovered the ruins of Machu Picchu. We felt like Peru consistently offered a great range price option, from backpacker to luxury traveler, across the board.
Aguas Calientes
When we arrived in Aguas Calientes, the porter from the hotel met us at the train station to help with our bags. We had chosen to stay in a river view room at the Sumaq Hotel. There were less expensive hotels available, but our meals were included with our room rate, the food was great, and the hotel itself was very nice. They also offered complimentary Pisco sours (a Peruvian cocktail) upon arrival, which were excellent!
We soon found that the Sumaq excelled at service. Sometimes unique services. The lines for the bus ride up to Machu Picchu are notoriously long, and we knew we’d arrive late enough in the day that we’d be standing in line for quite some time. Instead, the hotel offered a service where they would have someone purchase our tickets and then we’d essentially change seats with them in front of the hotel. We felt a little dramatic utilizing this service, but it was really nice, and Shannon was still pretty wiped out from the earlier altitude sickness. So, we did it. When we boarded, we found that the guys saved us really good seats, and we were even more grateful.
The bus ride up to Machu Picchu is an experience in its own right. Hairpin turns, incredible views, backing up into crazy little spaces to make room for a bus going in the other direction — so fun! There’s a walking option available if you are interested in avoiding the bus or bus ticket fees. A friend who lived in Peru for a while described it as “walking up the stairs in the dark” so we chose to decline this opportunity, but to each their own!
Machu Picchu. Oh, Machu Picchu. We were afraid it would be underwhelming after so much hype, so much travel to get here, and so much time spent looking forward to this moment. It was literally breathtaking. Our photos don’t fully capture the majestic surroundings you have while at Machu Picchu — it’s one of those places where you actually have to be there to fully experience it. We heard that most people spend only three hours actually at Machu Picchu, which was just crazy to us. We’d been looking forward to this for years, and we wanted to soak in as much time there as possible. We purchased two days of tickets, just to make sure we had sufficient time.
Wayna Picchu
The second day, we took the earliest bus to Machu Picchu, and were ecstatic to hike Wayna Picchu (a.k.a. “Huayna Picchu”), the peak in the background of the photos you’ve probably seen of Machu Picchu. We purchased tickets well in advance, and read that the earlier time slot was the better one, so we went with it. When we entered Machu Picchu, we headed directly to the entrance to Wayna Picchu. We were the only ones within site and earshot for quite a while, apart from the alpacas. We signed our lives away in terms of a liability release, and headed on our way.
The hike to Wayna Picchu included a lot of very steep stairs with notably absent handrails, at times nestled along alarmingly steep cliffs. The views along the way were almost as wonderful as the views at the top, and we watched Machu Picchu get smaller and smaller as we ascended. For those of you hearing “ascension” and thinking “altitude sickness” — we are excited to report that it was not an issue! And, it’s a good thing, because (did you read our post about hiking in Costa Rica?) we got lost on the way back.
After we saw the views from the top of Wayna Picchu, we must’ve taken a wrong turn. And, we seemed confident enough in this decision that three other American tourists followed us. We all decided to stick together while we experienced what we have come to refer to as our “three hour tour” — that’s about how long we were lost on the Andean mountainside trails before we finally made our way back to Machu Picchu. It’s hilarious now, and completely in character for our hikes we’ll admit, but we highly recommend bringing way more water than you think you might need as a result of this experience.
During our little unintentional trip, we scaled quite a few ladders, seemed to go up and down the mountain several times (based on how close/far away the river below sounded), and we were definitely getting a great workout. Eventually, we stumbled across the Temple of the Moon, and finally found a guide who pointed us in the correct return direction. We will be very careful to follow all posted directions next time! Side note, if any of you are Machu Picchu experts and can tell us what wrong turn we made, let us know. We still have no idea, haha!
Machu Picchu
Once we made it back to Machu Picchu, we stopped into the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge where we had lunch. This is the only property on site at Machu Picchu, and the most luxurious option available in terms of lodging. If you are interested in this hotel, note that they do offer half board like the Sumaq Hotel we stayed at, so some meals are included in the price. The price for the buffet lunch was high, as one might anticipate, but the food was decent and we were getting pretty dehydrated at that point and didn’t have much of an option. While this buffet was open to non-guests, most other dining options at the hotel are available to guests only. Also, food isn’t supposed to be brought into Machu Picchu, which we think might contribute to the reason that many visitors stay for only three hours. We had a few protein bars in our backpacks, but we were extremely careful not to leave any litter behind.
After we’d rehydrated a bit, we headed back into Machu Picchu. Did you know that you can have your passport stamped with a special Machu Picchu stamp? We weren’t running out of passport pages and were nearing a renewal, so we did this and loved it as a souvenir! It’s more common for us to buy gifts for family than to buy ourselves souvenirs, so we thought this was a really fun option.
We almost feel like we would spoil Machu Picchu for you by describing it too vividly. Just go — it’s worth it. Read about it ahead of time, take a tour, watch a YouTube video about it — there are guided tours available for purchase. Perhaps surprisingly, the setting itself is just as beautiful as the ruins. Walking around the main areas of Machu Picchu (the ones you’ve seen in tons of photos) is not nearly as difficult to navigate as the hike to/from Wayna Picchu (even with our three hour tour). Further, it’s tiered which does add quite a bit of safety. We saw several more mature (~80s) groups navigating Machu Picchu without any concerns whatsoever. Life goals.
When we finally pried ourselves away from Machu Picchu, we hopped on a bus, headed back to our hotel to retrieve our luggage, and basically reversed the trip to Aguas Calientes with two differences. First, there were (train employee) performers on our train on the way back, and they did offer souvenirs for sale. Though a bit kitschy, they weren’t pushy, so it was not a big deal. Second, we decided to enjoy the next leg of our trip in Ollantaytambo before returning to Cusco…
View our other Peru adventures:
Part 2: Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes