💎 Hidden gems remaining: 5
Built by the Incas, Machu Picchu is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. That makes it a must-to-visit destination or even the single most important reason to visit Peru in the first place. But do not expect it to run cheap. Even locals will sigh upon the sight of the prices, leave alone the gringos.
There are two main ways Machu Picchu can be accessed. They very much vary in time and cost. The first option is to take a train (Inca Rail or Peru Rail) from Ollutaytambo to Aguas Calientes. Companies offer combined tickets as well, where along with the train you also get a bus connection from Cusco to Ollutaytambo. This is an expensive but short option (~ 130 € round trip per person).
The alternative is an all-day journey that will take you to rural areas and finish with a relaxing 10 km walk. It takes you from Cusco to Santa Maria (over a 4300 m high mountain pass) and then from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa and furthermore to Hydroelectric station. The best way to service this route is via a single bus connection, offered by many tour operators in Cusco for 15 € per person. Another option is doing each leg with separate buses, but you willl not save anything doing this. From Hydroelectric you can either walk 10 km along the train rails to Aguas Calientes (just be sure to bring mosquito repellent) or pay for a train (not recommended, very expensive). This way you can save a lot of money, compared to the first option. Guess which option we chose.
There are two options of reaching the top of Machu Picchu: a student-friendly and a leg-friendly version. The former utilises your legs to climb an uncountable number of stairs and elevate yourself for 550 metres. Sadly, long legs are of no benefit here. The second option is to pay for a bus to wiggle up the winding road. Of course, cheapity over legity, so we walked.
The walking takes a good hour. Take enough water and food with you. Keep in mind you will have to walk the whole hilltop afterwards! Nevertheless, Machu Picchu will not disappoint you.
Machu Picchu is a historical site and one of the seven wonders of the world. It is located in the Andes mountains, 2430 m above sea level. It was built by the Incas in the 15th century and abandoned a century later. It was rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. The site is divided into two parts: the agricultural and the urban part. The agricultural part is located on the lower deck of the mountain and is divided into terraces. Thanks to lazy conquistadores not discovering it, it remained untouched until its second discovery. To retain the authenticity, the site is protected and strictly controlled. No restrooms, bins or other new man-made structures are present, with guards striclty observing your every move. Should you miss a thing, there's no way back. It is a one-way ticket.
Following the reputation, mass tourism entered the picture. When it became too overcrowded for UNESCO standards, new system was applied. Since then the site is divided into 5 loops, each with limited capacity and strict entrance time, specified by the purchased ticket. When you buy your ticket (better do it few months in advance), you need to choose which loop you will follow and decide, whether you want to climb any of the two mountains. Each topping comes at a steep price, of course. The most recommended and visited is loop 2, giving you the best insight into the historical site, while offering the classic view from the top. However, it is also possible to visit the Bamboo Bridge besides the ruins – inspect the tickets carefully! ("+" means you will visit both, while "o" means you will only be able to visit one).
The famous viewpoint, always overcrowded and useless if there's fog. But it's worth it to wait for the fog to diminish. This is the highest populated point of Machu Picchu. The guardian had a good view over the whole complex.
Come early to enjoy the morning light and avoid bigger crowds.
Click to remove the fog!
Incas were known to be one of the best climbers in the world, almost as good as Janja Garnbret! Jokes aside, this place could easily be transformed into an outside bouldering gym. If ever needed. RedBull, sponsor us!
If you ever wondered how they brought all these stones for the buildings to the top, here's the answer: they planted some rocks, danced for the rain, then waited for them to grow and prosper. The climate was right, the top-most cultural terraces were meant for this.
Don't step into boulder-garden!
The best example of ultra-high-quality stonework. Incas were expert masons. Although the rest of the site seems to be poorly executed (stones just thrown on top of each other), they did their best when building sacred buildings.
These temples show exceptional precision of co-aligning stones. As shown in the picture, you don't even know where one stone ends and the other one starts! In 600 years, not even moss managed to crack the cracks!
Their moto: "One stone ends, another stone starts."
Not only stone, the Incas knew about straw as well. They collected wood in the neighbourhood to make the structure for the roof, then lined it with straw. Don't be fooled by the preserved houses – they were rebuilt for demonstrational purposes.
This area represents half of Machu Picchu area, namely the middle part. Multiple different-sized buildings were connected into a thight neighbourhood with small stone stairs winding between them. They even had a water canalisation system!
Marko eating a sandwich in front of the straw house.
If you wish to climb the highest mountains, the entrance is just around the corner! There's a control station, so you need appropriate tickets. They are said to check if you had spent enough money to go there.
In this place, the majority of people lived. It is of no surprise that a temple had to be built here. The Condor Temple is special: it uses curved rocks. They represent its hands embracing the central altar.
While walking through, you can satisfy your voyeurism needs and stuck your head through the windows!
Who's there?
This is where the majority of crops were grown. After having determined the best altitude for each crop in the Moray laboratory, the seeds were carefully put into earth at the appropriate terrace level. There was enough food to provide for all the Incas living here and beyond.
At one end, there are three distinct huts. The top one differs from the other two greatly. The reason is once again altitude: there's a climate dividing line between them, requiring the Incas to use the Alpine-style roof for the upper house.
One house was made of straw and the wolf blew it away.
The cuy, or the guinea pig, as known in the rest of the world, is a local speciality of Peru. How do you know that you were really sereved a cuy? Well, if it looks like a cuy, fries like a cuy and tastes like a duck, then it probably is a cuy.
It has a duck-like taste.
