Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu
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We booked our 2 day trip to Machu Picchu with SAS. It cost US$200 which included the train return, 1 nights accommodation, 1 breakfast, lunch & dinner, admission into Machu Picchu and guided tour and all transfers. You could do it all yourself but with Cusco being such a party place it was nice to be held by the hand (in our fragile state). Just kidding!

The train ride took about 4 hours and brought us to Aquas Calientes, the town you begin or end your experience of Machu Picchu. There are famous Hot Springs here which is great for the legs or just to chill out for the afternoon. The main reason we're visiting Machu Picchu over 2 days is to get up early tomorrow morning (first bus at 5.30am) and see the place before it is swarming with tourists. And it was a good thing we did. Not only do the bus loads arrive around 11am (on one day trips; waste of time) but the weather worked out unbelievably perfectly for us. It rains 80% of the time in Machu Picchu so sometimes for alot of people they don't actually get to enjoy this place in all its glory. When we arrived in the morning, the sun was shining and we were able to get some nice photos and see the ruins. We were told to climb Wayna Picchu as early as we could as only a certain amount of people can do it each day and yes, back to all those tourists wanting to do likewise (which I don't grudge as for me it was the highlight). The climb is quite tough (I would imagine even more so if you've just done 4 days of trekking) and they say takes about 45-60 minutes (I powered my way up it in 20 mins, maybe the fitness isn't soo bad after 10 months of travelling :o). We got some cool photos including wearing our new 'headgear'. The look on peoples faces as they reached the top sweating to see us 3 nutbags (Tyson from Canada our third member).

2 day trip to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu
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Soon after we got to the top the rain started pouring and the clouds came down. We felt really bad for anyone arriving around 11am. Their experience and photos would have been less than ours. So my advice, do the 2 day trip at least and get there as early as possible.

I have to say I wasn't blown away by Machu Picchu as I thought I would have been. Maybe if you've worked your way towards it doing the Inca Trail then it makes more of an impression on you. The architecture is amazing; the way the buildings & rocks have stood the test of time brings even more respect to the Inca's, who were pure geniuses. Don't get me wrong I still very much enjoyed going there and visiting and I'd recommend for anyone to do likewise. The positive from not being able to do the Inca Trail - a weekend in Cusco partying :o)