My Head is in the Clouds (Literally): Visiting Machu Picchu

It´s no easy task getting there without a tour guide, but walking in the gates of such an ancient wonder, while the sun is just starting to peek over the mountains, makes it all worth it.

It all began back in Cusco, where we hopped a glorified passenger van for a two-hour ride to Ollantaytambo. O-Town is the closest place to Macchu Picchu which can be reached via motor transport, as there are no roads to the ancient site. From there you have to either pay hundreds of dollars for a guided 4-day trek down the Inca Trail, walk (illegally) down the tracks for 9 hours, or take the train which, as mentioned in the previous blog, is controlled by a monopoly, thus allowing Peru Rail to gouge tourists on the prices. By driving to O-Town, and not taking the train directly from Cusco, we saved more than $100, and got to stay in this groovy little town (where we are, once again, as I write this blog). After spending a night here we took the cheapest tourist train to Aguas Calientes, also known as Machu Picchu Pueblo, to the tune of about $65/pp round-trip. (Peru Rail also provides a, presumably, much cheaper train available only to locals. If you board that puppy and the policia see you they will give you the boot. After all, Westerners all have oodles of cash, right?)

We were supposed to be greeted by a representative from our hostel at the train station upon arriving in town, but they were nowhere to be found. (I should add here that we were in the train station for about an extra 15 minutes after disembarking, as Montezuma had come to visit my tummy that day...so our greeter probably got sick of waiting and went back to the hostel.) So, we walked to the information center and got quick directions to our hostel. After walking uphill for 6 blocks we arrived to the least impressive lodging we´ve had thus far. As this town is geared towards touristas, prices are considerably higher, so I convinced Heidi to stay in a dorm with bunks for a significant savings. The dorm had five beds, consisting of two bunks and a single, and nothing else. The two available bathrooms were unimpressive, if not downright dirty, although hot water was abundant (and this is very important to the weary & stinky wanderer). Our stay there only got worse, as I rubbed my fleece against a wall with wet paint (which wasn´t labeled in any language). Thankfully, Heidi helped me get some of the yellow paint off my sleeve.

As you walk up the main street (which is eerily free from cars, as the only ones in town are buses to Machu Picchu and cops) you are inundated by people hounding you to try their restaurant, or get a massage from them. We chose a nice looking restaurant which proudly advertised meals for 15 soles outside. Well, it was another bait and switch. Upon sitting down we were given the other menus, with mains ranging from 25-50 soles. When I asked for the menu economico the server´s mood quickly soured, despite us being the only people in the joint. Nonetheless, we had very nice two course meals for 15 soles. We would´ve returned too, had it not been for the attitude of our server.

We grabbed groceries for breakfast and lunch (having read that the only options at Machu Picchu are quite expensive) and turned in just after 8pm, as we planned to wake up at 4:30am, in order to get on one of the first buses to MP. (If you ever do this be sure to buy your bus and MP admission tickets the day before, as the bus line is quite long in the morning and MP tickets are available only in town and not at the site itself.) We munched on our breakfast while in a rather long line, especially considering it was only 5am and still dark outside. The buses started loading at 5:30am and we boarded about the fourth to leave. (Some people choose to walk to the site from Aguas Calientes, but it is a 1-3 hour trek up a very steep trail, so we decided it was worth forking out $7/pp one-way, with the hopes of walking the trail back down from the site. In fact, one woman who made it about halfway up gave up and tried flagging down our bus from the side of the road, to no avail.

Before entering the gates a man asked if we wanted to climb Huayna Picchu, the peak often seen in the background of Machu Picchu in photos. It´s about 1,200 feet higher than MP, and only 400 people are allowed to scale it per day. We said we wanted to go at 7am, and got our tickets stamped as such.

Once inside I was in such a tizzy about getting to the gates of Huayna Picchu that I didn´t really even stop to enjoy the site or take it in. We arrived at the gates to Huayna Picchu about 20 minutes early and just chilled out. As soon as the gates opened we lined up, showed our stamps and signed in with our name, nationality, and time in (so they could come looking if we didn´t sign out later in the day). The hike up Huayna Picchu is said to be possible by anyone moderately fit, and is also said to take about an hour. The first part is certainly true, although it can be challenging at times, as the stone steps can be steep and wet, and there are a few rock formations at the top you have to really squeeze through. As for an hour, that´s probably only possible if you are in tip-top shape. For us, it took about 90 minutes, but we weren´t in a race at all. Getting to the top of Huayna Picchu, tears began to swell up in my eyes. I´m not sure if it was the result of our accomplishment, sinuses, or something mystical. Nonetheless, if was quite a sight to behold: looking down on MP among the clouds. Sadly, the peak is rather small and gets cramped quite quickly, with people vying for specific spots for their Facebook photos (myself included). We stayed at the top only long enough to catch our breath, snap some photos and chomp down on some cardboard-like granola bars.

The way down is, obviously, much easier, although the first 15 minutes is quite steep and a number of people, Heidi included, were a little nervous and went down very methodically. (Again, it wasn´t a race so I didn´t care about anything more than the two of us making it down to the bottom in one piece.)

By the time we made it down it was 9:30am so, naturally, we left the ruins for some lunch. (Food is, technically, prohibited at the site, although this rule didn´t appear to be enforced. I suspect it´s just a means of getting people to pick up after themselves and not act like pigs amongst centuries-old ruins.)

After grubbing on some tuna fish sammys, oranges, peanuts, water and chips we went back to explore the ruins a bit. We walked around, shot some photos and then started for the Inca Bridge, which we knew little about. (It should be noted here that we were blessed with a beautiful day. It rained the three days prior to our visit and I heard a guide say she has only seen the ruins half of the time she has been there, as the result of cloud cover and showers. We got nothing but sun, and our skin even got a tad bit burnt as a result.) Little did I know that the bridge was so far from everything else. It took about 45 minutes to get there and wasn´t all that great once we arrived, but the walk did get us away from the throngs of tourists which were beginning to overtake the site.

Upon returning to the main portion of the ruins, we were both getting a bit tired, so we just walked around a little more and shot a couple more photos before calling it a day at 1pm. Seven hours is probably more than enough for anyone at MP. I didn´t feel we were there too long, but it was certainly time to go. We stopped on a bench to rest a bit, and then got our passports stamped in order to prove we´ve been to the sacred Inca city. We had planned to hike back down to Aguas Calientes, but Heidi desperately wanted to take the bus, as the day had taken its toll on each of us. So we forked out another $14 and took a comfy ride back down to the city.

I thoroughly enjoyed MP, despite the multiple ways in which they jack the tourist who chooses to visit the place. That being said, if you plan to go I highly suggest: (a) you go early and (b) you climb Huayna Picchu (if you are physically able). Getting to the top is so rewarding, even if there are a bunch of Israeli jackasses up there hogging all of the picturesque viewpoints.

After a rather unimpressive dinner (at 4pm) we soaked our weary bones in the town´s hot springs. As Heidi put it, they certainly aren´t Sandals´caliber. In fact, they are a bit nasty and a shower afterwards is imperative. (And, watch your step as they serve beer in glass bottles and shards on the ground aren´t unheard of.) That being said, it was rather relaxing and we had a really nice chat with a couple from Australia that has spent the past five months touring South America on their bicycles. As they put it: there´s always time for work later on.

From here we head back to Cusco, and then to Arequipa. I don´t know much about that area, except that some of the people see themselves as altogether separate from Peru, even carrying Arequipian passports. It is also not far from Colca Canyon, which is more than twice the size of the great fissure in Arizona, so that should be something to see...

Time for a side note: Heidi came across a great little spot to eat here in Ollantaytambo called Hearts Cafe. It´s run by a British lady and she funnels 100% of the proceeds to sustainable projects for the local communities, such as clean water and birth control. Beyond the great things she is doing the food is really tasty too, although prices are closer to western standards. Anyways, if you have a little room in your heart, and some spare pocket change, consider making a donation here and tell them a gringo (named Heidi) who was passing through suggested it.