Peru:
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All the pictures on this page are from Peru, that were taken from our 2017 trip to the Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. We started our trip in Bogota, Colombia, in an attempt to acclimate ourselves to the altitude that we were going to be experiencing when arriving in Cusco, Peru. Cusco is at about 11,200 feet and some people get altitude sickness in Cusco. Bogota is at about 8600 feet so we figured this would help as a first stop. We live and work at altitudes of 5000-6000 feet and we do a lot of skiing and snowboarding at 7000 to 9000 feet. We felt fairly confident we weren't going to have to much trouble, but we wanted to be sure, so going to Bogota first was to ensure we didn't have any issues. Some people arrive in Cusco, then immediately head to Machu Picchu, or somewhere else in the Sacred Valley in order to avoid altitude sickness. Machu Picchu is at about 8000 feet, same with a lot of the places in the Sacred Valley. We wanted to spend a lot of time in Cusco before we headed to Machu Picchu, so we made sure to acclimate, BUT we didn't follow all the recommendations when we arrived in Cusco. People (the internet) says don't exert yourselves and don't have any alcohol when first arriving in Cusco, and so what did we do?.....we walked all over the city and had a drink with dinner when we arrived.....duh, but we did pretty good regarding altitude sickness. We both did have a headache shortly after we arrived, but nothing too bad. So the pictures below are going to start with Machu Picchu because it was the highlight of our trip, but the whole trip was great. Every place we visited was fantastic.
Machu Picchu, Peru
We took the train from Cusco (actually Poroy, which is the closet train station to Cusco) to Machu Picchu. We booked the train tickets well in advance just to be sure we had tickets. This can be done online and is fairly easy. There are a number of different trains that you can take so research all schedules and prices before making your purchase. Some of the train tickets are fairly expensive. Also, they have limits on luggage. So be sure to look into that if you want to bring luggage. We didn't bring all our luggage. We just had backpacks with a change of clothes and some other small items. We left most of our stuff in Cusco. Hopefully someday we will make it back to this area and have time to do the Inca trail, which is usually about 4 days of hiking, but the number of days can vary depending on where you start.
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For each of the Machu Picchu pictures below I will include some tips on traveling to, and visiting, Machu Picchu. One thing I recommend is doing a lot of research prior to leaving in order to get the most out of your trip.
Tip #1: book your tickets to Machu Picchu well in advance, and book the tickets on the official Peru government website for Machu Picchu. This website is a little hard to navigate and understand, but there are some other websites out there that give step by step instructions on how to order tickets on the government website. The total number of tickets sold for each day is limited. The current (2017) limit is 2500 tickets a day. So don't expect to get tickets right before you go, unless you want to pay a higher price through a travel company.
Tip #2: We took an early morning train from Cusco (actually Poroy) to the town of Aguas Calientes (aka Macchu Picchu Pueblo). Then took the bus up to Machu Picchu in the afternoon. We had read that Machu Picchu is less crowded in the afternoon due to people leaving and trying to catch the train back to Cusco in the afternoon, and it did seem less crowded in the afternoon. We spent the night in Aguas Calientes, then visited Machu Picchu again the next day.
Tip #3: There can be long lines to catch the bus to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes, and also back from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes. So if you have to be in Machu Picchu at a certain time, or have to be back to Agual Calientes to catch a train at a certain time, be sure to plan for possible long bus lines. The lines seem to be longest early in the morning for buses going to Machu Picchu and mid afternoon for buses going from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes. You can hike to/from Aguas Calientes to/from Machu Picchu, but it's not a real scenic hike. Doing the hike can save you money that you would get charged for the bus. The bus is a little pricey for a 20 minute ride.
Tip #4: Remember to bring you passport. Our passport was required to take the bus to/from Machu Picchu, also to get into Machu Picchu, and to take the hike to Wayna Picchu (details/pictures for the hike to Wayna Picchu are shown below in the next section).
Tip #5: You might want to consider spending a couple days in the Machu Picchu area (Aguas Calientes town). We were extremely lucky that we hit great weather and got 2 great days in Machu Picchu, but if you travel all the way to see Machu Picchu, you might want to have at least a couple days there in case the weather isn't that great. Hopefully you will get good weather for at least one of the days.
Tip #6: Once you pass through the visitor center and enter Machu Picchu there aren't any bathrooms and there isn't any food or beverages to purchase. So when passing through the visitor center you might want to go to the bathroom and/or get some food or beverages. Also, you are not suppose to bring food/beverages into Machu Picchu, but they don't check your backpack and it looked like there were a number of people who did bring in snacks.
Tip #7: Research the different day hikes around Machu Picchu that you might be interested in taking. There are a couple hikes that require permits/tickets prior to arriving. You might need to book these hikes weeks or months in advance. There is the Wayna (Huayna) Picchu hike that is detailed on this page (see below) and there is the Machu Picchu Mountain hike. You might want to do some research on these hikes to determine if you want to get tickets in advance. There are also some other hikes around Machu Picchu that don't require permits/tickets.
Tip #8: When entering Machu Picchu, if you want to get to the Watchman's Hut first, you enter through the visitor center, then go left and head up. The Watchman's Hut is the area where most of the familiar pictures of Machu Picchu are taken from. Similar to the picture above.
Tip #9: When buying your Machu Picchu ticket(s) be sure to fully understand all the different options. There are tickets to just enter Machu Picchu, there are combo tickets that are entry into Machu Picchu and include hikes, such as: Wayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountain. There are tickets that are afternoon entry into Machu Picchu. I printed our Machu Picchu tickets before we left on our trip, actually a couple sets of tickets as backups that we kept in different places, and also had the tickets downloaded to my phone and tablet. Yes, I am kind of freak. I need multiple backups.
Tip #10: Machu Picchu is in the mountains, so the weather can change quickly. Remember to be prepared for quickly changing weather. Even if it is suppose to be a nice day, it doesn't hurt to have a couple extra things in your backpack, such as: a light rain jacket, sweatshirt, etc, and if it is a nice day it is good to have sunscreen, hat, etc.
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Tip #11: If you are going to be taking the bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu the lines to buy bus tickets in the morning can be long. So if you arrive in Aguas Calientes the afternoon prior to heading up to Machu Picchu you might want to purchase your bus tickets then. You will still have to wait in line to get on the bus in the morning, but you will be able to skip the line to purchase the bus ticket.
Tip #12: When leaving Machu Picchu be sure to get your passport stamped. After you exit Machu Picchu there is a little stand on the left to get a stamp in your passport. The stamp is free.
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Hike to Wayna (aka Huayna) Picchu
Wayna Picchu hike is a lot of steps up/down. If you are afraid of heights I wouldn't recommend the hike. Wayna Picchu is a hike to the top of the mountain shown in the picture below. It is the mountain that is the backdrop for a lot of the Machu Picchu pictures.
They only allow 2 groups of 200 people to take the hike each day. If I remember correctly, the first group of 200 start the hike between 7am and 8am, then the 2nd group of 200 start the hike between 10am and 11am.
If you want to get tickets for the the Wayna Picchu hike you should buy them well in advance. We bought our tickets months in advance.
The hike is about a 1000 feet in elevation gain with lots of steps. In a lot of areas there are cables to hold onto, but not in all steep areas. You can see the cables on the left side of the picture above.
For these steps there weren't any cables to hold onto, but you can just hug the wall. We were very lucky with the weather when we did our hike and our whole trip to Machu Picchu. The hike would probably be a little sketchy in the rain with all the steps being wet. You would just have to be very careful.
This is pretty much at the top. It took a little over an hour to get to the top. About 2 hours for the entire hike. We were going at a pretty clip, but we did take a number of breaks on the way and spent some time on top.
If you can, it's good to be early in your group in order to avoid being in the middle of a bunch of people. We were 2nd in our group so we were able to keep ahead of the group of people and pretty much be on our own, but like I said earlier we were going at a pretty good clip to keep in front of everyone. We arrived at the gate at about 9:30 and waited until 10:00 when the opened the gate.
Check into the advantages and disadvantages to the early group of 200 vs. the later group of 200. Some people have said that in some cases the early group might get to the top and it will still be cloudy/foggy, but in the later group when hiking up the trail you will run into to the people hiking down from the first group. People (the internet) have a number of advantages and disadvantages described. So read up on this if you planning on doing the hike.
When we did our hike to Wayna Picchu we were very lucky that we had great weather. But like I mentioned above in Tip #10, be prepared for bad weather with a rain jacket, poncho, or whatever else you need in case you hit bad weather. We brought water proof shells in our backpacks due to them being light weight.
The picture above shows the road that the buses use to get up/down to Machu Picchu. How should I say this.....hmmmm.....the bus ride is very interesting. You might not want to look our the windows during the drive.
This is on the way down. Once again you can see the cables on the right. After finishing the hike we still had plenty of time to catch the bus back down to Aguas Calientes, get some food, pick up some of our luggage at the hotel and then catch a late train back to Cusco.
Aguas Calientes (aka Macchu Picchu Pueblo)
This is the little town that is close to Machu Picchu were the train stops. From Aguas Calientes you just take a bus about 20 minutes up the hill to Machu Picchu, or you can hike. The town is mainly there to service Machu Picchu. There are hotels and restaurants, but nothing really special except that it is close to Machu Picchu. Below are a couple pictures of the town so you can get an idea of the town.
Town center.
Another picture of the Aguas Calientes town.
Cusco
Cusco is a wonderful city. It is definitely worth visiting for at least a couple days. A lot of people just pass through the city on their way to Machu Picchu. We spent 4 full days in Cusco and there was more than enough to do and see. We had a great time in Cusco.
One of the locals in Plaza De Armas
Here we are in the evening at the Plaza De Armas.
We were so lucky. We were in Cusco when they had an amazing festival.
Another picture from the festival. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of people marching in traditional clothes, lots of music, and it went on for a couple days. There are a number of different festivals in Cusco each year and we were lucky be there when one was taking place.
Myself with some of the festival goers. It was a great fun party atmosphere.
Even though I had to pay, I needed to have a picture with some lamas.
And a picture with Megan with a baby lama.
Awesome restaurant in Cusco. The Fallen Angel restaurant. DON'T MISS IT! The atmosphere is great and the food is great. Our table was a bath tub filled with live gold fish with a big piece of glass on top.
Another picture from the Fallen Angel restaurant.
Sacsayhuaman. We did the walk from Cusco up to Sacsayhuaman ruins. Now I say walk, but it is going from about 11,200 feet in elevation to over 12,000 feet in elevation, so we did have to take some breaks trying to catch our breath. The air is pretty thin at 12,000 feet.
Inca slide at Sasayhuaman.
Pre Columbian Art Museum. No lines, no crowds and a great museum, plus it is right next to the Fallen Angel restaurant.
Another picture from the Pre Columbian Art Museum.
Qorikancha Sun Temple (also called: Coricancha)
Inside the Qorikancha Sun Temple
Having a little Helado in Cusco during the festival.
Some of the streets in Cusco are very narrow and you need to keep alert and sometimes hug the wall when cars are coming.