A Guide to Visiting Machu Picchu
In all honesty, I traveled to Peru to see the New Wonder of the World, Macchu Picchu! Since I was young, I dreamed of visiting this ancient ruin built by the Incas. This lost city of Peru is one of the preserved ancient ruins that the Spanish conquistadores never found.
Now, it’s one of the most visited places in Peru and the world. It’s believed that Machu Picchu was built in 1540 A.D but not found until the early 1900s.
This is because it is nestled high in the Andes mountains. Since its discovery, it has become one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It is an absolute beauty and a place worth visiting. I was very happy to finally make it and to visit with my friend Fernando. Here is a guide to visiting Machu Picchu.
Guide to Visiting Machu Picchu
Table of Contents
how to Get There
Machu Picchu is next to Aguascalientes town (often referred to as Machu Picchu town), in the region of Cusco. To get there, most travelers will fly into the city of Lima from abroad and then take a short flight to the city of Cusco. Machu Picchu is 80km (50mi) from Cusco. Arriving at Machu Picchu can be done in various ways.
To make it less confusing, here are the steps to getting there:
- First, go on a 6-hour drive from Cusco to Hidroelectrica (train station).
- At Hidrolectrica, you have a choice to walk 2 hours to Aguascalientes town or take the train.
- When you arrive at Aguascalientes, you sleep there.
- Wake up, go to Machu Picchu. You have two options again. Walk 2 hours up a long trail of stairs to the entrance of Machu Picchu or take the 20-minute bus for $12.
- Arrive to Machu Picchu. Enjoy!
- Do steps 1-4 in reverse order.
There are other ways to get there. We went on a 2-day tour with a company. However, I think it would have been nice to stay an extra day in the town of Aguascalientes.
So, that’s another choice you have. Various hikes are 4-5 days long that end in Machu Picchu, such as the Inca Trail Hike and the Salkantay Trail Hike. However, this is a guide to visiting Machu Picchu on a two-day hiking tour.
The tour cost was 355 soles ($86) with the $60 ticket entrance included. So really, I only paid $26 to the tour company and it included everything I will mention below. My friend being an Andean National, paid less. The cost for him was 277 soles ($67) with his $31 ticket entrance included.
2 Day Tour To Aguascalientes
Getting to Hidroelectrica
Excited for our trip to Machu Picchu, we woke up early, got dressed, and drank some Coca Tea to help with the altitude. By 6:30 a.m, someone from the tour company was at our hostel to pick us up and take us to our shuttle. The shuttle driver also picked up other people, so we didn’t depart until about 7 a.m.
Be ready. The road to the hydroelectric station is one of the curviest roads I’ve been on. Of course, it doesn’t help that our driver seemed to be Toretto from Fast and the Furious, taking every curve at the car’s highest speed. Don’t be surprised, though. Everyone drives like this in South America.
After about four hours of paved curves in the mountain, we arrived at a dirt road. We drove about 2 hours on this dirt road. It was surprising because I never imagined that the road to one of the New World Wonders would be so terrible.
Arriving at the Hydroelectric Station
After two hours on that bumpy dirt road, we finally arrived at the hydroelectric station around 1 p.m., where we had to register our names in a book. The hydroelectric station isn’t this fancy train station with a building. Not at all. It’s just a place in the middle of nowhere with many little huts of vendors selling snacks to everyone who arrives. These huts sit in front of the train tracks where mainly local people are waiting for their train.
Upon our arrival, someone connected to our tour company was waiting for us. So we left those vendors behind, crossed the train tracks, and went up a hill for about 7 minutes to a restaurant sitting in front of another set of train tracks.
At this point, we were starving. We had a menu with about seven different food options. We ordered and waited for our food. Fueling ourselves with energy before starting our 2-hour hike to Aguascalientes (Machu Picchu town) was necessary.
The meal started with their daily soup, which is common to get before a meal in Peru. It was followed by the main course: chicken, rice, potatoes, salad, and a drink. It tasted pretty good.
2-Hour Via the Hydroelectric Tracks to Aguascalientes
Once we were done eating, we bought some water for our hike. The day was hot, and it was about 2 p.m. We were a bit worried about walking during the hottest time of the day. However, it turned out to be just fine. Almost the whole path had shade.
The terrain is flat to Aguascalientes. Perhaps the easiest hike I did in all of Cusco. It’s also straightforward to follow. All you need to do is follow the train tracks, and the trail is marked. So there is no getting lost. A few times, you walk on the tracks themselves when crossing a bridge, but nothing long.
Along the way, the shade from the trees protected us. There were also a few homes that sold water, snacks, and even lunch. We only stopped for ice cream after about an hour and a half into our hike.
We had also taken Anis with us. Anis is a popular drink in Peru that helps with altitude sickness. We took a couple of “shots” of it. We weren’t feeling sick, but in Peru, we always drank something for the altitude before feeling it.
Along the way, there is a river and beautiful views. We kept stopping for pictures, and that’s why it took us longer to arrive.
After walking the trail, I realized that I would have felt safe walking it alone too. So all my solo travelers, you should be fine walking alone. Plus, you will find other hikers and local people along the way.
Arriving at Aguascalientes
Finally, after two hours of walking, we arrived at the charming town of Aguascalientes. By now, it was about 5 p.m. The mountains surrounding it are stunning. All we wanted to do was explore the town. However, we called our tour lady, told her we arrived, and she gave us instructions to wait at the town plaza.
Someone connected to our tour company at the town plaza came to pick us up by calling out our names. You’ll see a lot of people doing this. The person who picked us up walked us to our hotel for the night. It was decent, and they gave us two beds as we had asked for.
We rested for about an hour because we were exhausted. Then we went back to the center to see the town a bit and buy the bus ticket for the following morning. My friend wanted to walk up to Machu Picchu, but I wanted to ride the bus up and walk it down. So an option is to walk it up and down or to ride the bus up and down.
At 7:30 p.m., we were picked up from our hotel and taken to the restaurant next door. Our dinner was included in our tour price. So we had dinner and then went back to the hotel to sleep or tried to.
Morning of Machu Picchu
Our tour included breakfast. Since we were leaving extra early at 3:30 a.m. and breakfast time didn’t begin until later, the hotel staff set up bread, coffee, banana, and snacks to eat on our own. This was quite kind of them!
I didn’t mention that I had not bought Machu Picchu tickets ahead of time, and unfortunately, those were sold out when we arrived in Peru. That’s the reason we woke up at 3:30 a.m. to stand at the ticket office buy some. The tickets were not guaranteed, but we needed to be in line early.
The office opened at 5:30 a.m., and like us, many other people arrived without tickets and were in line to purchase them. We sat in line for two hours until they finally opened. Thankfully, we were able to get some tickets with a 7:30 a.m. entrance. However, we could use the tickets at other times during the morning with our group.
At 7 a.m, we were at the plaza waiting for our guide, who we communicated with through Whats App. Once our group was together, we headed to the bus, where they stamped our ticket.
This is where you can ask for them also to stamp your passport, which they usually do. But the person in charge that day didn’t want to stamp ours, which made us a little upset because we didn’t understand why he said no to us. We didn’t make a big deal about it but later regretted not asking twice for it.
Anyhow, the bus ride was about 20 minutes. Because of the pandemic, we had to wear a face shield as all public transportation in Peru asks for.
Once we arrived at the top, we got worried because the sky was very foggy. All we could do was laugh off the situation and say, “my money.” We could not go home without seeing Machu Picchu.
Exploring Machu Picchu
If you guys could see our expression when we got in and saw all that fog. All we could see was a piece of Machu Picchu, so our faces expressed worry. All we could think of was to pray for the fog to leave. We walked in with our group guide, who would give us some information. We waited around for a bit, hoping that the sky would clear.
Guide to Visiting Machu Picchu
Fortunately, some of it went away, and we got glimpses of the giant hill, Huayna Picchu. We would stop for pictures and then sit around waiting for it to clear more.
However, we had to keep walking through the trail. We had to be down before 10:30 a.m so we could make the hike back to Hidroelectrica and make it there by 2 pm. Our tour van would be waiting for us there to go back to Cusco.
So, we kept advancing, a little sad that it wasn’t as clear as we wanted it to be, but it wasn’t too bad. By 9:30 a.m., we were close to the bottom ruins. That’s when the sky had completely cleared from the fog.
But, unfortunately, in Machu Picchu, you must keep advancing, and you’re not allowed to go back on the trail. We asked a few times, but the security people said no.
There was nothing we could do. So we just decided to enjoy the view and to take pictures along the way. Everywhere we turned was beautiful!
We couldn’t stop taking photos of the ruins, the mountains, the views, all of it. We even lost our guide because we were taking pictures and ended up exploring alone. Oops!
The total time we spent in the ruins was about two and a half hours. It was a fantastic experience, and we were so happy to have seen this World Wonder.
A little confession, somehow, we both fell in love with the view of the other mountains that surround Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu. It must be a nature lover thing, but we were left in awe!
Getting Back to Hydroelectric Station
Our guides told us to be back at the Hydroelectric station by 2 pm. So, by 10:30 a.m, we decided to head back. We chose to walk our way down Machu Picchu this time instead of paying the $12 bus ride.
I thought going down would be easy, and it was. But it was a lot of stairs. After a while, I was over it. I just wanted to be at the bottom already. It took us about 40 minutes to go down the stairs and get to Aguascalientes.
The people we saw going up would ask us if they were almost there, and they looked exhausted. I was so glad we had chosen to ride up!
Finally, after what felt like a million stairs, we arrived at the road that passes next to Aguascalientes. It doesn’t head straight to the town. To go back to the town you must walk 20 minutes more.
Instead, we refilled with water, got a snack, and kept going on the trail that we had arrived at. This time, we only took an hour and a half instead of two back to the restaurant we ate at before at the hydroelectric station.
Also, we weren’t distracted taking pictures, nor did we stop for ice cream. We only took a few breaks because our legs were tired.
We arrived back earlier than expected. So, we took an hour to eat at the same restaurant and then went to the lower train tracks where the shuttles were waiting for people. Unfortunately, the tour didn’t include this meal, so we paid for our own.
We waited around a bit for the rest of the people to arrive. By 3 p.m., we were headed back to Cusco on another 7-hour curvy ride back to where our hostel bed would be waiting for us.
The shuttle made a stop along the way, and we got some food, drinks and used the restroom. This time, we fell asleep the majority of the way back. We were dead tired.
What to Pack for Machu Picchu
You don’t want to take all your luggage with you. You can ask your hotel or hostel to hold your stuff. I recommend taking a smaller day pack with just the things you need for two days.
First off, you need hiking shoes if you do the 2 hour hike. If you take the train, any simple and comfortable walking shoes are fine.
You can take an extra set of clothes, pack a few snacks, a change of socks and underwear, and any small bottles of toiletries you may need.
You can take it all in a day pack. Don’t forget your water bottle, power bank, and sunglasses.
Things to Know Before Visiting Machu Picchu
I highly recommend you buy the tickets ahead of time. They sell out weeks and sometimes months ahead. They mainly sell out quickly during the high season.
With the pandemic, the amount of daily visitors has been limited. This is good for visiting and enjoying it with fewer people, but bad because the tickets sell out faster.
Foreigner tickets cost $60, while foreigners from the Andean Community (Colombia, Ecuador, and Bolivia) pay $31, and Peruvian nationals pay $26. If you decided to also visit Huayna Picchu once it opens back up, the prices rise.
If you don’t buy tickets and decide to show up at Aguascalientes without them, you can go to their ticket office in the morning. However, you are not guaranteed a spot, and you must get in line at 3:30 a.m to be one of the first.
Unfortunately, I can’t assure you this will continue happening because we heard that they would stop allowing that.
We only got tickets because Peruvians and local guides protested to the ticket offices and government since many tourists are arriving last minute because of the uncertainty with flights and Covid and situations involving the pandemic.
During August, many people got to do what we did. Show up at the office in Aguascalientes.
However, the news is that visitors will rise from 2,500 to 3,000 this month of September. So, slowly, Machu Picchu is allowing the number of visitors it used to pre-pandemic.
They were strict. We were not allowed to take off our face masks at all for pictures. The guides would call you out right away, taking people out if they broke the rules. To ride the bus to Machu Picchu or any public transportation in Peru, you must wear face shields.
Recently, Cusco has been loosening Covid restrictions and curfew times. But read what the situation is like before going to Peru or anywhere.
Guide to Visiting Machu Picchu
Travel Booking Resources
Book Your Flight:
To find cheap flights, check Skyscanner and Google Flights. These search engines check airlines to find you the best deals. The more flexibility you have, the better flight deals available.
Book Your Accommodation:
Booking.com is my favorite booking site for hotels but it also shows great deals on hostels and apartments. Plus, when you reach Genius Level, you get special discounts, included breakfasts, and upgrades on some hotel rooms. Hostelworld is specifically for budget travelers who enjoy hostels. This is the best place for finding great options.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance and Visa Applications:
Travel insurance will protect you against theft, injury, illness, and cancellations. Sometimes unexpected things happen during a trip and protections will keep you covered. Two great options are: Safety Wing and World Nomads. Also, iVisa can help you get a visa if you need one.
Book Tours:
Sometimes the best way to see a place is through tours. I recommend checking out Get Your Guide for some fun and unique adventures wherever you go.
Check out my other travel resources to help you book your trip!
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Guide to Visiting Machu Picchu
It was a great pleasure to visit this Wonder of the Modern World. One of the best experiences of my life that I hope many people can live 🙂
I agree! Such a beautiful place. I’m glad you got to experience it too.