Here for the travel advice and not to read my life story? Jump to Dos & Don’ts for the tl;dr [too long; didn’t read] to plan your trip from Cusco to Machu Picchu now!
Hiking the Inca Trail has been a bucket list item for me for decades. Imagine my chagrin at having traveled all the way to Peru for a second time, only to once again not accomplish this feat. This time, I came even closer. I went all the way to Cusco, and even Machu Picchu itself. I had always planned on doing the classic four-day three-night hiking experience. Instead, much to my chagrin and my husband’s delight (a staunch non-hiker), I found myself carried there in the lap of luxury as part of a day tour.
My husband and I decided on Machu Picchu as a last-minute trip. Flights were cheap and we both had time off of work, a rarity. After we had booked our flight, we quickly realized, as anybody could have guessed, that this world-famous destination and wonder of the world actually takes a significant amount of planning and foresight to visit successfully. After combing the internet we finally found a tour with availability for our dates. The price and reviews were both reasonable enough.
We paid for our nonrefundable tickets and began shaping the rest of our itinerary around this fact. We booked places to stay and had activities in place for the rest of our trip. Then, I received a WhatsApp message from the tour company. They informed us that circuits one and two were no longer available, and did we still want to continue with our booking? I had no idea what this person was talking about. After some serious independent research and serious debate with my husband, plus the realization that we just didn’t have any better options available given how soon our trip was and how inflexible are dates were, we decided to go ahead with it.
To share with you what I have learned after some frantic Googling that night, you must buy a ticket for a specific day and specific circuit, or path within Machu Picchu. There are four distinct circuits that divide the site. This is to help limit over-tourism. Circuits one and two are the best routes. You visit the Sun Gate, which offers a complete view of the site and is recognizable as the classic photo op of Machu Picchu. Circuits three and four, though shorter and less cool, go through the Sun Temple and Temple of the Condor, which is not possible with the other circuits.
We arrived at our hotel, which I highly recommend, in Cusco late on Christmas Day, and quickly headed out to the main square. The street vendors were packing up and we passed by touristy places, all with the same menu, all shutting down. We just happened to luck into a “farm-to-table” style restaurant. It ended up being quite possibly the best meal I had during the entire trip. It was an unlikely find, located on a side street just off of the main plaza. I was still feeling good. However, this was all about to change. The city of Cusco is located at an altitude of 11,152 feet (3,399 m). Compare that to Boulder, Colorado, clocking in at a mere 5,430 ft (1655 m).
I woke up in the middle of the night several times gasping for air, and everything went downhill from there. Each time, I was able to take a few deep breaths and go back to sleep. It may have been a combination of the altitude and the 20 alpaca blankets piled on the bed for warmth. In the morning I felt ok, but not great.
The intensity would ebb and flow but I was nauseous and nursing a constant headache. I wasn’t sleeping well. As a result, I was in a very bad mood most of the time. I was chugging water, a very inconvenient method of curing altitude sickness when you are taking full-day group tours with hours between destinations and no bathroom stops. The whole situation turned my normal resting bitch face into an active bitch face. I struggled through each day. I was not so sick that I needed to stay in bed, but I was not well enough to pretend to laugh as our tour guides told corny joke after well-worn corny joke.
The first day we visited some ruins within the city of Cusco. Then, we rented ATVs to view a few different sights in an area known as the Sacred Valley. We saw Moray, built by the Incas as an agricultural laboratory. They created it by cutting circular terraces into the mountain for planting crops at different altitudes. Next, we toured the Maras Salt Mines. This is a natural spring of salt water, cultivated for thousands of years. Lastly, I learned that for me, ATVs are stressful and not my preferred method of travel.
The following day it was time to finally get to Machu Picchu itself. To get there from Cusco turned out to be its own kind of adventure. We woke up at 5 am to take a private car from the hotel to catch the train leaving from Ollantaytambo, about a two-hour drive away. The train follows a scenic route along the river Vilcanota River for about 1.5 hours, arriving in Aguas Calientes. After disembarking the train we caught the bus that took us up to the actual site of Machu Picchu itself.
We met our guide at the train station in Aguas Calientes. To put it gently, he was not charismatic. He was a quiet and disgruntled. It seemed that our mere presence was a burden before we had even arrived at the site. But hey, I get it. I don’t always like my job either. His attitude was almost refreshing after some of the over-the-top tour guides we had come into contact with during our trip.
As we made our way through the site, I overheard these guides giving the typical, salacious version of the Incas. The King had multiple wives! The Incas would jump to their deaths as human sacrifices! I’ll admit, I was just as enticed as the next person. The skewed, colonial version of history that we all know and love. The one used to justify the genocide and exploitation of the Americas and has been passed down from generation to generation until it was accepted as truth.
Our guide was absolutely not that kind of guide. He patiently explained the famous architectural techniques of the Incas. How they created all manner of structures to withstand the intense earthquakes of the region. They carved huge stones into smooth singular pieces, creating a precise jigsaw. He showed us how their expertise in astronomy was conveyed in the precise planning of the buildings. They carved windows and pools into the floor that aligned perfectly with the equinox and the solstice.
He explained that the site is so well preserved because it was abandoned. This probably happened as a consequence of the Incan empire shrinking and citizens being called to fight. The city was then reclaimed by its true owner and was hidden from view by the jungle before the Spanish could get to it and destroy it. He explained that it is a common misconception that Machu Picchu was a sacred site or a vacation spot for royals. But this is unlikely. This idea comes from misinformation spread by the incompetent or lazy archeologists of the early 1900s who “discovered” the site. I can only assume they were looking for an easy explanation that would conveniently increase their own fame and fortune in the process.
According to our guide, the most likely explanation is that Machu Picchu was a common trading post. The Incas built it along one of the main trails to facilitate the exchange of goods between the coastal, mountainous, and jungle regions of the empire.
We didn’t get the famous Sun Gate photo, but our ticket did include access to Huchuy Picchu. Huchuy Picchu is a lesser-known neighboring mountain peak overlooking the site. The hiking trail to reach it starts right outside the back entrance to Machu Picchu. We hiked maybe 20 minutes and were rewarded with a stunning view of the entire citadel while suffering none of the crowd.
This was my second time in Peru, and while I struggled with being sick I still loved it. At the same time, I feel like I didn’t do it justice. There is so much to see and experience and learn. Not to mention eat, which I haven’t even touched on and is worthy of its own separate post. I could do it all again, which I know one day I will, these are my recommendations for what I would do differently.
Dos & Don’ts
Do know the different circuits before going to Machu Picchu. Circuit 2 is best if you want to take a picture at the Sun Gate.
Don’t go it alone. Go with a guide, and find a guide or tour company that you like early. You are going to get so much more out of any archeological site if you have someone there to explain the history. The guides at the entrance of the sites will do in a pinch but you will probably have a better experience if you find someone ahead of time.
Do Plan ahead. Getting to Machu Picchu without a tour company is difficult but it is possible. Make sure you book transportation from Cusco to the train station, buy your train ticket, and buy your bus ticket from Aguas Thermales to Machu Picchu, as well as your entrance ticket. These can all sell out way in advance, from weeks to months depending on the season.
Don’t buy individual entrance tickets. Every archeological site is going to require a ticket. You can save a lot of money by buying a group of tickets instead of paying each individual entrance fee.
Do give yourself at least a week in Cusco. Cusco has so much more to offer than Machu Picchu. Plus, adding an extra day or two to do nothing will help you adjust to the altitude.
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