Begin by planning your trip to Peru and booking arrival to Cusco.
Machu Picchu means old mountain or peak
About 4 months before your trip
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Research the various circuits of Machu Picchu and decide which one you are interested in doing.
- Circuit 1 and 2 provide more panoramic views of the ancient city as well as an option to go into different parts of the ruins as well. The rest of the circuits include other mountain hikes in the area such as Huyana Picchu (young mountain/peak) and Machu Picchu mountain. Circuit 1 includes the Inca bridge. Circuit 2 is the most expansive tour of the city including the panoramic views, without any of the mountains. That is the route we chose. It is possible to book more than one circuit in various time slots if you can make the time for it.
Tropical mountain ranges of the Andes around Machu Picchu.
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Decide what day you are going to be there and research what time of day you prefer to view the ruins.
- We often found people recommending getting up to Machu Picchu first thing in the morning at 6:30 am to see the sunrise. This may be problematic as this is the time most likely to be misty, cloudy or foggy. Additionally, if you are arriving all the way from Cusco, this entrance time means you need to have a 3:00 am start to your day (or sooner). Most people arriving on a day trip from Cusco arrive around 9:00 am. Hence, this time could get pretty crowded. Since the circuit takes about 2 hours to walk at a normal pace, the crowds lessen by 11:00 am. We decided to time our entrance at 11:00 am due to higher chances of clear weather, less crowds and giving us enough time to make it back on our train to Ollantytambo.
- We were lucky enough to have perfectly clear skies and not a whole lot of crowds. We had plenty of spots to ourselves during our circuit. This helps get better pictures as well as a better, more intimate experience.
- If you are staying in Aguas Calientes, an even later time like 1pm or 2 pm may have even fewer crowds.
Breathtaking views that have to be seen to be believed!
- Book Machu Picchu entrance time slot on preferred day from Peru’s Ministry of Culture site.
- The tickets cost is around 40 USD. This is the best place to purchase the tickets if you are touring the ruins independently. There are several companies that offer Machu Picchu all inclusive day trips from Cusco or Ollantytambo, if you prefer not to make so many separate reservations for yourself.
- They will send you the tickets via email with a link to create a log in to a portal. Here you can print or save your tickets.
- If you lose the tickets, you can contact the phone number or contact the Ministry of Culture office in Cusco or Aguas Calientes.
We got to see the classic scene of llamas 🦙 in Machu Picchu!
- Right after deciding which day and time you choose to visit, you need to figure out the origin point of your journey to Machu Picchu.
- Option 1 is from Cusco taking a bus to Ollantytambo on some routes or changing trains. The journey from Cusco to Ollantaytambo is about 90 minutes.
- Option 2 is to arrive in Ollataytambo the day before and begin your journey to Machu Picchu from here. This way you are only about 90 minutes away from Aguas Calientes (rather than ~3 hours from Cusco).
- Option 3 is to arrive in Aguas Calientes the day before from Cusco to have a closer starting point.
Every angle, a painting!
- Next, research the 🚂 rail company options in Inca Rail and Peru Rail.
- Both companies offer great options and use most of the same stations. The trains are comfortable, clean and incredibly scenic. Snacks and drinks are offered on most services. You can pick the best train option for your starting point, timing and price.
- You can pick regular coach, vista dome or various other class options.
- Vistadome is a great choice, if traveling during the day. After about 5 pm, when the sun goes down, the entire route is too dark for views. Hence, the regular service works just as well for after dark.
- The official websites occasionally offer a small (10%) discount at the time of booking for certain routes.
- For an uber luxurious experience with a price tag to match, try the Hiram Bingham train to Machu Picchu. This service generally begins from Cusco and includes multi-course meals.
Ride on Perurail to Machu Picchu was scenic, pensive and magical.
- Book your train tickets soon after booking the Machu Picchu entrance Tickets.
- Allow at least an hour and a half ⏳ time in Aguas Calientes, before the Machu Picchu entrance time.
- We did hear from our guide that sometimes they do allow about 45 minutes of a grace period after your time slot if you are late for some reason.
About 3 months before your trip
- Book your hotels based on the starting point of your train journey.
- We found that some of the popular and nicer hotels were smaller and may be full especially in high season.
One of our favorite hotel stays ever was at El Albergue Ollantaytambo hotel.
About 2 months before your trip
- Arrange transportation to and from the train station. Plan on arriving 30 minutes before the departure of the train.
Just an amazing setting to board the Perurail train for Machu Picchu!
About 1 month before your trip
- Verify all the bookings and print the Machu Picchu entrance tickets.
Every angle of the vistas are breathtaking.
On the day of Machu Picchu Visit
- Arrive at the train station at least 30 minutes before your departure time.
- Once in Aguas Calientes, walk out of the train station, cross the bridge and follow the signs for bus tickets. The bus office was empty when we arrived to buy our bus tickets at around 9:00 am. The tickets were $25 roundtrip per adult and a bit less for children.
- Highly recommend finding a guide. Many guides are walking around the train station and the bus station. You can negotiate a price for a group or private guide. We found that having a guide helped us learn the details of various parts of the archeological site. We learned about the history of the Incas, the purpose of Machu Picchu, its residents, their diets, culture lifestyle and so much more. Additionally, having a guide helped us get a ton of amazing photos of our family in the best locations. We paid around $80 for a private guide for the three of us.
The town has one primary purpose 😀. It’s small and busy, with places to shop and eat.
- Get some food before going up to the site.
- Make sure you have applied sunscreen and bug spray (there is not much shade on most circuits).
- If you do not have a guide follow the circuit in one direction looking for the color-coded signs.
- Line-up for the bus about 30 minutes before your designated time.
- Try to get a seat on the left side of the bus going up the mountain for the best views. The ride is about 25 minutes long.
View of the surrounding mountains with rooftops of the commerical buildings at the entrance.
- Once you disembark, you are at the entrance to Machu Picchu. You can start lining up about 5 minutes before your time slot.
- It took us about 2.5 hours to walk Circuit 2a at a leisurely pace, with many photo-taking stops.
- Enjoy your visit! 😀
- After your visit, you can take the bus back to town if you pre-purchased tickets on your way up or hike down the staircase path to town which take about 90 minutes.
- Ensure you arrive at the station about 30 minutes before your train again. The station was pretty crowded for the return journey. There was some confusion about where to line-up as all the different rail lines use the same 2 platforms. We recommend being aware and talking around to the people wearing the uniform of your particular train company.
- Congratulations, you just experienced one of the most magnificent places on earth! 🙌🏽
Among the top most magical places we have visited.
Tips for having a great visit
- Keep change of 2 soles to use the restroom before the entrance to the site. There are no restrooms inside the archeological site, only at the entrance to the site.
- Bring cash in Soles in order to pay the guide and buy any hats or water etc… required items in town.
- Machu Picchu is a sacred site, please be respectful by keeping it clean, leaving the site as it was found and keeping voices quiet.
- There is a cafe at the entrance for snacks. Many locals sell water and snacks close to the stairs to the left as you exit the site.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes. Hiking boots are not necessarily required unless it is rainy season.
- Consider checking the weather for the day prior to arriving. Bring a rain jacket or sunscreen as needed per the weather.
- Bring plenty of water. There is not much shade along the walk, hence we got thirsty pretty often.
- On circuit 2, the first 30 minutes or so of the walk (until we reached the panoramic photo spot) involved a lot of climbing. After this point there were many stairs and slopes but all downhill.
- Machu Picchu (7972 feet) is at a much lower elevation compared to Cusco (11,152 feet). Hence if you arrive from Cusco, breathing will get easier. If you arrive from sea level (Lima), then you might experience some effects of the altitude. It is recommended to acclimatize in the area around the sacred valley for at least a day or so, in order to avoid feeling unwell during your visit to Machu Picchu.
Checking out the details of the place guided by our tour guide.