Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas

As I crossed the entrance of Machu Picchu, a wave of excitement engulfed me. I was at one of my dream destination!! It had taken quite an effort to reach to that place. First, I had to reach Lima which was on the other side of my country. I then had to travel to Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire. Having decided to travel on land route, it had taken me 3 days to reach Cusco from Lima visiting Paracas, Huacachina and Nazca on the way. I travelled further to Ollaytaytambo situated in the sacred valley. The remaining distance to Aguas Calientes (also called as Machupicchu pueblo) was covered on train as there were no road between Ollaytaytambo and Aguas Calientes.

 

The travel did not end at Aguas Calientes. Machu Picchu is standing on a steep and precarious section of the hill which can be reached by bus through series of switchbacks on the Andes jungles. That finally brought me to the entrance of Machu Picchu!!

About Machu Picchu

The Spanish conquest of South America led to the downfall of the mighty Inca Empire. While Spanish searched the every inch of the continent for gold and silver, one place continued to exist in isolation and unknown to the outside world. Its location on top of a hill in the remote jungles of Andes helped it to remain unknown for centuries. For some unknown reason, the place was either abandoned or the population would have been wiped out due to diseases like Smallpox. Outside world came to know about it when Hiram Bingham, an American Historian discovered the site in 1911.

 

Even today, it feels so remote and I wonder why Incas constructed the city in such remote area.

Planning the trip to Machu Picchu

While planning the trip to Machu Picchu, the first question was about the way to reach the place. There were three options available:

• Standard way of entering Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes. Most people come via this route.
• Inca trail, an extremely popular trekking trail that takes about 3-4 days. But it gets booked at the beginning of the year and is very expensive (Above 500$)
• Other treks. For example, Salkantey trek which takes about 5-7 days. Many agencies in Cusco organise this trek.

Tickets to Machu Picchu

I had no luxury of planning this trip a year ahead and hence Inca trail was out of question. So, I decided to follow the standard route to reach Machu Picchu. But one cannot just gate crash to Machu Picchu and have fun. It does not work that way. The entry tickets have to be booked in advance as there are only limited slots per day. So, my first action was to book the ticket online at official website. There were three types of tickets.

• Normal ticket to see only Machu Picchu ruins. Visit to Sungate is possible with this ticket.
• Machu Picchu ruins with Wayana Picchu mountain. This is only possible in the morning. Note that the climb to the Wayana Picchu is extremely steep with no guardrails.
• Machu Picchu ruins with Machu Picchu mountain. This is also only possible in the morning.

I went with the normal ticket. It was not an open ticket and I had to select a particular slot in the day. All my further planning was based on this time slot.

Booking trains

The next action was to book trains. Peru Rail and Inca Rail were the two companies that were running trains. I booked the onward train from Cusco to Aguas Calientes on Inca Rail and Aguas Calientes to Ollaytaytambo on Peru Rail. This was purely based on the price of the ticket and the timings.

 

At Aguas Calientes

I had some time at Aguas Calientes before taking the bus to Machu Picchu. I roamed around the town to find it very boring. It was only catering to the tourists of Machu Picchu. I congratulated myself for not staying in that town and choosing Ollaytaytambo instead. I had seen long queues to the bus when I had arrived in the town. But by the time I reached the bus stop, the queue was very short. It looked like the place gets crowded in the morning. The bus promptly dropped in front of Machu Picchu entrance.

Hire a guide or not?

I had to wait for few minutes as people were not allowed inside before the scheduled time in the ticket. Few guides reached me to offer their service. Hiring a guide was mandatory but it was still not enforced and hence I had options. I did not wanted to spend money on guide (it is expensive for a solo person) but at the same time there was absolutely no information inside Machu Picchu about the ruins. It is ok for 80% of tourists who only come to take some selfies and portraits. It is just a piece of stone buildings for them. Prior to the visit, I had spent some effort in collecting all possible information about the ruins and I planned to use it as a guide during my visit. I realised later that it worked very well.

 

Restrooms

It may sound trivial but it is an important thing to make a visit to restroom before entering the ruins. There are no toilets inside the ruins!! It normally takes about 3-4 hours in the ruins and I did not wanted to be disturbed by nature calls!! The tickets to Machu Picchu is valid for only one entry and it is not possible to enter again even if we come out for restrooms.

There are plans to limit the amount of time spent in the ruins to 4 (or even 2) hours but it is not yet enforced.

Sungate

As I Entered into the ruins, I saw the detour to Sungate (Inti Punku), which is the main entrance to Machu Picchu in olden days. This is also the entrance for the trekkers coming on Inca trail. I was wondering whether should I climb to Sungate or not. It looked far and I was not sure about the amount of time it takes to reach Sungate. The walk through Machu Picchu is one way and it was not possible to come back again to climb up to Sungate. So, I decided to first go to Sungate. The hike was moderately steep but I could reach it in 40 minutes. While the Sungate itself is a very ordinary structure, the views are simply awesome. Machu Picchu looks like a small patch in that wide frame. The surrounding mountains, valleys and the zig zag roads dominate the view.

The ruins of Machu Picchu

I entered Machu Picchu through the Guard’s Quarters. The route led to Caretaker’s Hut and Terrace of Ceremonial Rock. This is the best place to get the photo of the ruins. It is hard to miss as there are signs showing “photography” and the place will be filled with people taking photos!! A detour on the way leads to Machu Picchu hill but that requires a different ticket.

 

The path downhill took me to the Main Gate and the most important treasures of Machu Picchu – Temple of Sun, Intihuatana stone, Temple of three windows and finally leading to the entrance of Wayana Picchu. An extremely steep stairs of steps (Almost vertical with no guard rails) lead to the top of the mountain. That requires a different ticket. It looked very scary to me.

 

The ruins itself are divided into Agricultural sector and Urban sector and to lower town and Upper town.

 

I spent about 4 hours in Machu Picchu before I came out of the ruins. A very satisfying trip.

Final points

• Machu Picchu is a very expensive place. Everything related to it is costly. Prepare and plan accordingly.
• The place gets crowded in the morning. Afternoon is a good time to visit. It is also a nice time from photography perspective.
• It is possible to make it as a day trip from Cusco but it is going to be a very long day. Better to combine it with the visit to Sacred Valley.
• June to August is peak season in Machu Picchu. September-October and April-May is shoulder season but the weather generally remains good. It rains a lot during November to March.
• Machu Picchu requires a bit of advance planning especially in peak season. Don’t plan after coming to Cusco!!
• Rules keep changing in Machu Picchu. It is better to keep updated with the latest information if you are travelling on your own.
• It is one way walking inside Machu Picchu. Do not try to postpone seeing something inside ruins. It is not possible to come back to the same point again!!