The Lure Of Macchu Picchu

Today I am talking about one of the seven wonders of the world, Machu Picchu.

There was this wonderful story about a month ago, of a Japanese tourist, who because of COVID had been stuck in the town of Aguas Calientes, which is directly underneath Machu Picchu. And he’d been, he’d not actually been stuck there, he’d been waiting there for over six months for Machu Picchu to reopen.

It was so high on his bucketlist that he couldn’t get so close and then take a repatriation flight and leave. He had to stay there because he really had to get it. He really had to achieve what he came to Peru to do. And he had to take Machu Picchu off his bucket list.

And when they reopened it last month, he was the first visitor there. He’d been waiting six, seven months. Wonderful story. And for me, it really represented the lure and the enchantment that Machu Picchu has. It is one of those things that is high, very high, perhaps the top of so many travellers’ bucketlists all around the world.

A Love-Hate Relationship

It was also really high on mine. And then when I was in Peru, I started having this love-hate relationship with Machu Picchu before I even got there.

I had always jumped about going there. And then as it got closer to the time, I was bombarded with all these selfies of people in these crowded ruins and tour agents trying to sell me a trip and plus, plus, plus, plus, plus. And this negativity and crowdedness that comes with being one of the seven wonders of the world. And I was in Peru and I almost didn’t go.

I’m like, can you believe that I almost spent three weeks in Peru and completely sacked off Machu Picchu. Fortunately I went, and I can say, regardless of if you’ve seen photos of it being overcrowded or even heard people say like, it wasn’t really that good, I can really recommend it. I can say to you Machu Picchu is a fabulous experience. It is a worthy bucketlist experience. It will not disappoint you, even if it’s been the top of your bucketlist for 15 years.

But I found that it’s easy to be mistaken or to misstep when you’re approaching or wanting to do something that is so touristic and so popular. Now, of course, we’re all tourists. We call ourselves travellers, but we are all tourists and we can’t expect to have Machu Picchu to ourselves. We can’t complain about it, that it is too touristic. I think that’s rather sad to be honest. And you know, we’re tourists going there. And we also want — all of us — pretty much that same incredible selfie or photo that everybody else has.

Going In The Morning

One of the things that was really big before I went was, you need to go in the morning. That’s what everybody says, go in the morning. You can have the best photos, you’re going to have the best experience. And what happens is everybody goes in the morning.

So at sunrise, when the park opens — the archeological park — Machu Picchu is crowded. It is incredibly crowded. You can’t really see the ruins for the amount of people, because everybody is going there in the morning, in this perfect time for their photos. Or also going there at this time to hike up Machu Picchu mountain or hike up Huayna Picchu, and the place is incredibly crowded. And with the ticket, you’re allowed to stay for five hours in the park and then you have to leave. So to avoid overcrowding, you have to leave.

Going In The Afternoon

And I didn’t follow the rules. I have to say, I stayed in the park beyond my four or five hours. It was too magical a place, and in the afternoon it was blissfully quiet. I was eating a picnic with llamas and alpacas on the field around me. I was gazing down on these incredible ruins. I was walking in the ruins without hearing another sound, without hearing footsteps, without hearing people.

Everyday, they limit the amount of tickets available. So there’s only so many people that can go in each day. And what happens is, everybody goes in the morning — because that’s when you’re supposed to go right? — and in the afternoon, it must’ve been only 10% of that volume of people in Machu Picchu.

And then as I was talking to more guides, the good guides, especially the guys working for the high-end hotels and tour companies, they were saying the same thing. They were saying, “Yeah, we love it that all the blogs tell people to go in the morning, because it’s easier for us to take our clients in the afternoon when there’s more space, when there’s more time to explain what was going on.”

So my big recommendation is, when you’re discussing a trip to Machu Picchu with your travel designer, with your guide, ask about going in the afternoon. Ask about going in the afternoon, soaking up the ruins, soaking up the lost city, hearing the stories, at a time when it’s going to be quieter.

And then my second recommendation — and this, I think everybody who goes to Machu Picchu needs to do — get a ticket for the next day as well. Because it’s hard to get to Machu Picchu, it’s a long way away. You can walk there, it’ll take you five days. You can go by train and it’s still a very long day. There are no roads to get there.

Go The Next Day Too

So after you go, what will happen is, you can either leave and take the train out, or you can stay in the town of Aguas Calientes, which is at the bottom of the hill — where this Japanese guy had been staying for six or seven months — and then the next morning you can take a train. But get a second ticket, get a ticket for the next day as well, because then you can go in the morning. And yes, it will be more crowded, but in the morning there were two other experiences that are available to you.

One is to climb Machu Picchu mountain, one is to climb Huayna Picchu. Now these are the mountains, either side of the lost city. They’re very limited on the number of tickets. I think it’s only 200 per day and you have to go to set time. So seven, eight or nine o’clock in the morning. In the afternoon, yes, there’s some mist that comes across, soo your photos aren’t as good. And that is some drawback. But if you’ve been in the afternoon, you can then go in the morning, hike one of the mountains, see more of the site, and then leave.

And if that sounds like too much, what you can do is sleep in the only hotel at Machu Picchu. So there is only one place you can stay that is actually at the ruins. All the other hotels are in Aguas Calientes, at the bottom of the hill. And then, there is Belmont Century Lodge, literally at the archeological park gate, a fabulous five-star hotel.

So you can go see the ruins. You can go see the lost city. You can stay right up to the minute it closes, because your hotel is 50 metres from the entrance. Then you can spend the night there. You can have, you can be enveloped in all these views and the mist and the mountains, have breakfast, go back into the ruins, take another look around and then leave.

And I think if Machu Picchu is really at the top of your bucketlist, if it’s really that thing that’s pushing you to travel — that is going to take you a long time to get there, and it is something, you know, the things that are top of our bucketlists are difficult to reach, difficult to achieve. So when you go, go twice, go in the afternoon, go in the morning, experience everything there is with it.

And then it’s going to be a fabulous experience. You know, there are reasons things have been voted in the top seven wonders of the world. And when you go to Machu Picchu and you see it and you experience it, you really realize why.