Machu Piccu
SEE Huayna Picchu
DO Buy your tickets to the summit in advance
christina
I have long dreamed of hiking the Inca Trail since college and climbing to its zenith citadel at Machu Picchu; apparently, I’m not the only one who has had this idea especially as the Internet has come of age and its beauty has been shared across the planet. What was once a “lost city” that supposedly only had ~1,000 residents is lost no more with tourist numbers reaching well over 1.5 million visitors per year. UNESCO is actually considering putting Machu Picchu on the its List of World Heritage in Danger due to the crushing amount of people visiting. As the most touristed site in Peru, it is a huge revenue generator – tickets start around $50 and go up from there depending on which peaks you want to visit while you’re there. Trekking groups are sold out months, and sometimes years, in advance. The infrastructure at the base town of Aguas Calientes, though charming, is totally unprepared for the daily onslaught of people. I had no idea what we were in for before we arrived and had imagined a very different experience (ah expectations!). Since we have been traveling with a flexible itinerary we didn’t plan anything in advance. What we found, being there in July or high-season, was that the hiking trips were basically sold out and even getting an entrance ticket onsite would be a major undertaking of patience, patience, patience.
We first tried to buy our tickets when we were in Pisac more than a week in advance. We made phone calls, we asked around at the guesthouses we stayed in, and we ultimately tried to buy online a few days in advance while in Ollantaytambo – sold out. Then, we made our way to a tourist information center where a staff member assured us that even though the website was sold out, they release day tickets every morning and there would be more than enough… not to worry, he said. We packed a day pack and left our bigger luggage with the guesthouse where we were staying in order to go out on the first train in the morning, visit the site in the afternoon, sleep over there and then return the following day. Right before we arrived in Peru, the government put limitations on visits in order to control tourist flow to this place that was never meant to hold all these people – you can now either enter in the morning (6am-noon) or the afternoon (noon-5:30pm), and if you want to linger longer you have to buy 2 tickets. Here's information on how to actually get your tickets in advance. The tourist limits are really a great thing, but it certainly wasn’t how I was expecting to take in this majestic place.
When we arrived in Aguas Calientes on the first train we went straight to the office that hadn’t even opened yet to buy our tickets… there was a line of maybe 75 people already there. The anxiety began - what if we didn’t get tickets for today? We stood there for an hour and a half before the office even opened and once it did the Westerner in me started to really lose it. The line moved at a snail’s pace and I started to wonder why. It turns out that most of the people on the line before us were “fixers” hired to stand there early so that they could buy group tickets for tourists that would come later with other “fixers.” The line in front of us basically never moved because there were groups of people that would keep cutting. I was furious and really confronted with my control issues at this point. 3 hours later we reached the desk and bought some of the last remaining tickets for the afternoon slot that day – I was beside myself. Why had this taken 4+ hours and why was I so angry… It was about noon – we had arrived around 7:30/8:00am.
With tickets in hand we thought to go check in at the hotel and drop off our backpacks so that we could head over to the bus that goes up the mountain to the citadel. We had just been through a stressful time so I was feeling more relaxed until the desk attendant at the hotel basically told us to just drop the bags and get on the bus line asap… I thought how long could this bus line really be? Well, lets just say it far surpassed my expectations. As we turned the corner out of the square to get on the line we saw that it extended about a mile… ok, maybe half a mile – but it was the longest line I’ve ever seen.
The busses were regularly coming and going so that felt hopeful but after the long wait that we had just endured I was ready to crack. Julio went to the kiosk to buy the tickets and I started out up the hill for the end of the line. We were basically part of the very last grouping trying to get up there for the afternoon visiting slot. We were in this line probably another hour, hour and a half – slowly inching down the hill. I was so uptight about the cutting and the “fixer system” at this point that I had worked myself into a frenzy of justice. It was ridiculous on my part – but I had really been triggered by my deep issues around fairness. I was having a difficult time relaxing until we boarded the bus around 2pm… The relief was palpable for me and honestly, the lesson I learned this day was profound. I need to trust and have patience; things will work out and sometimes for the best. I say this because even though we waited in lines most of the day, when we arrived at the top of the mountain, most of the people ahead of us were actually that, ahead of us. It gave us much more space and time to explore without the throngs of people on the same circuit of walkable paths coming up behind us. Once up there, my mood completely shifted – a dream was coming true, even though I had to deal with some of my personal issues in order to actually be there.
As the most familiar icon of Incan civilization, Machu Picchu truly is a phenomenal place set in the most beautiful landscape. Aside from the sheer engineering and architectural genius of it, the mountains that surround the citadel are stunning and truly energized me. The river flowing below and the 360-degree view of this back end of the Sacred Valley was purely magical and did not disappoint. Since we were on our own and at the back of the crowds, we slowly explored each and every section that was available. The fitted stones mirroring perfection, the sheer size and magnitude of the place raising our spirits and connecting us to the heavens. You cannot come here without feeling that connection – it is very strong (and I think why everyone wants to come!). We were enchanted by the roaming llamas and alpacas - turns out they are actually put there by the Tourism Agency to encourage photographs of the site. It worked, I was in love with them and it was so great to get up close and personal with these beautiful creatures.
Machu Picchu was never found by the Spanish and therefore spared destruction and plundering that happened at many other important Incan sites throughout the Andes. Although it was always known locally, the jungle grew over it and it was left uninhabited. In the late 1800s, explorers of the region started to take note. By 1911, the site came to international attention through the lens of an American lecturer from Yale, Hiram Bingham. Actually, this “discovery” began a very long argument between Yale and the Peruvian Government as many artifacts were taken to Yale for study and preservation. It wasn’t until 2012 (!) that all of these artifacts were rightfully returned to Peru; they can now be seen in Cusco at the Museo Machu Picchu.
The grandeur of Machu Picchu and its impact on my imagination and the cultural diaspora of the planet cannot be overstated. It is a true treasure of the Earth, a place that really gets under your skin and takes you to other realms. After all the roadblocks to get there, we were deeply rewarded with a late afternoon visit with very few people and the most perfect setting sunlight. The tours had left and there was just us and the mysterious land. Right before leaving, we climbed to the top of the peak beside the citadel and just sat there staring out into this beautiful abyss – such a testament to humanity, to nature and to the heavens. It was not lost on me that in order to experience such a deep and profound connection to this place, I had to humbly experience my own shadow and really deal with it. Taking inventory of myself in this moment, as a human, as a global citizen and as a traveler, was actually the very gift that Machu Picchu gave me. I am forever grateful and will always remember the sensation of touching the sky there.
The train from Ollantaytambo winds through the Andes to Aquas Calientes where you then board a bus to Machu Picchu.
The ticket line to get our entrance tickets to Machu Picchu. They closed the line a few people after us after we stood in line for 4 hours.
The line for busses on the left stretches up the hill under that bridge and beyond - pretty insane! We waiting about an hour and half here.
The brief ride up to Machu Picchu is awe inspiring and reveals the impressive Andean landscape.
The Peruvian government has brought local animals to roam the site for a more "authentic" experience.
The temple of the sun
Aguas Calientes seen from our hotel balcony - not a huge infrastructure for big tourist crowds.
Agues Calientes by night.
Statue of Pachacutec in the center of Aguas Calientes - he is said to have built Machu Picchu.
FOOD FACTS: The incas were master food preservers and would have giant silos to store foods called qollqas for up to two years. Dried meat (jerky), freeze-dried potatoes (chuno), maize, and quinoa were among the crops stored in large quantities for the provisioning of the Inca army and as a hedge against poor crop years.