Machu Picchu
It's hard to know where to even start with Machu Picchu. My sister lives in Lima, Peru, so it was definitely about time to get to Machu Picchu.
I scoured the web pages and honestly, it seemed difficult to get there for under $350 USD per person. Perhaps as a visitor I was seeing the tourist prices, but I had a hard time seeing how to do this "on our own" for less. For example, the ticket to MP is ~$45 USD, the bus ticket up and back from Aguas Calientes was ~$30 USD (x2) each way and the train each way was ~$120 USD (x2). The bus company has a virtual monopoly and the hike really didn't seem worth it. It is not a pretty hike, it is fairly steep and there is altitude (although not as high as Cusco).
We ended up booking a package through our hotel using their preferred travel agent, Venturia. Honestly, we were not very impressed with them. The initial few itineraries only left us two hrs at Machu Picchu. That seemed rather besides the point. I ended up suggesting an itinerary that allowed us a full five hours at MP if we wanted it.
We got on the train to Aguas Calientes a short walk from our hotel.
We were lucky enough to get the front seat for most of the train ride.
Our tour guide was wonderful. She was with us from about 10 AM through 6 PM leaving us to the trains by ourselves.
We headed up to the entrance of the park a little early. We had lunch at the Lodge. We were hoping to get a view of the hotel, but it did have a separate entrance. The buffet brunch was delicious. Multiple types of salads, main courses, "american" foods and even little mini desserts. The local salads were delicious. I will also point out that the bathrooms were very nice.
We headed in promptly at noon, which was the peak of rain. It slowly stopped as we spent more time in the park.
It did give us a number of dramatic pictures though with the weather moving in and out.
To prepare for the visit, we read the book, Turn Right at Machu Picchu. It gave us a great background to ask more intelligent questions and understand how Machu Picchu fit into the much larger Incan empire. It continues to be a mystery of
One of my favorite things was seeing all the llamas and alpacas! The park truly is a national park, so expect to see some wandering around! I am not used to such big animals walking around!
A few notes of warning:
We ended up booking a package through our hotel using their preferred travel agent, Venturia. Honestly, we were not very impressed with them. The initial few itineraries only left us two hrs at Machu Picchu. That seemed rather besides the point. I ended up suggesting an itinerary that allowed us a full five hours at MP if we wanted it.
We got on the train to Aguas Calientes a short walk from our hotel.
We were lucky enough to get the front seat for most of the train ride.
Our tour guide was wonderful. She was with us from about 10 AM through 6 PM leaving us to the trains by ourselves.
We headed up to the entrance of the park a little early. We had lunch at the Lodge. We were hoping to get a view of the hotel, but it did have a separate entrance. The buffet brunch was delicious. Multiple types of salads, main courses, "american" foods and even little mini desserts. The local salads were delicious. I will also point out that the bathrooms were very nice.
We headed in promptly at noon, which was the peak of rain. It slowly stopped as we spent more time in the park.
It did give us a number of dramatic pictures though with the weather moving in and out.
To prepare for the visit, we read the book, Turn Right at Machu Picchu. It gave us a great background to ask more intelligent questions and understand how Machu Picchu fit into the much larger Incan empire. It continues to be a mystery of
One of my favorite things was seeing all the llamas and alpacas! The park truly is a national park, so expect to see some wandering around! I am not used to such big animals walking around!
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| Literally no zoom used! |
A few notes of warning:
- No bathrooms within the park
- Take your passport -- you need it to get in, but you can also get it stamped while you are there.
- The ticket seems to have already changed; we had the choice of a morning or an afternoon session. I think it has changed now to slotted times.
Time at the historic place: 4 hrs
Overall: A
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