Machu Picchu is certainly the most famous landmark in Peru and one of the most famous in the world; before the pandemic it reached 1,500,000 visitors in a single year and is now recovering close to those numbers. With its incredible and unique location this has caused some conversational issues though which has lead many of the tour guides to believe the site will be shut within 10-15 years. What many people don’t know though is that there are several different ways to get there and they are just as amazing as the day f seeing the site itself.
Our group chose to get to Machu Picchu by completing the Inca jungle trek.This is the most action packed route to Machu Picchu and so it is another early start. we were picked up from our hostel at 4:30am and taken 2 hours down the road by minibus to the Abra Malaga Pass where our first activity began. Mountain Biking the Andes!
While this was not the off road biking through the jungle I first thought it might be it is certainly great fun and you get some incredible views of the mountains and valleys below. The bike is 60 kilometers long with a decent of 3000m in altitude and takes you along the winding roads down toward the valley. While it takes a little while to get used to the bikes once I did I had some great fun flying around corners, over bridges and though streams (you will get wet!).
A quick pit stop for lunch later and we had the second activity of the day; white water rafting! This was so much fun and a lot more intense that we thought it would be which the photos and videos don’t do justice whatsoever. In these rafts it feels as though you’re being thrown around left to right forwards and backwards, battered by water and flying down the rapids at some speed. In the videos it looks as though we are cruising along at 2 miles per hour. To top off the activity we even got to stop for a cliff jump and dive out of the boat to swim down the last set of rapids before getting out of the water. The guys at the Peruvian rafting company made us feel very safe throughout and it was one of the highlights of the trip for sure.
After this its back in the minibus for a short journey to Santa Teresa for dinner and a relaxing visit to the hot springs. This was something we were really looking forward to after a long day but they were rather underwhelming as even the hottest pool was luke warm at best.
Day 2 is a less packed day but starts off with the same adrenaline rush as the first day as we started the day with zip lining. There are no warm ups for this as all 5 of the zip lines are over 500m long across the top of the valley hundred of meters above the river and rocks below. To top it off there are several flocks of parrots flying through the valley as you go. Again the guides for this were great and showed us the best ways to enjoy the zip lines in different positions; from superman to upside down.
After the last zip line you end on the other side of the valley with one way of getting back; the suspension bridge. Picture something straight out of pirates of the Caribbean as we attempted running across with no hands singing the theme tune as we went. Just be careful to communicate with the others in your group as there were a few which weren’t so happy with how violently we shook the bridge side to side and jumped sending shock waves along the bridge.
Then its one last minibus journey before the hike to Machu Picchu. You’re dropped off at Hidroelectrika town and walk 3 hours along the railway lines to Aguas Calientes. This sounds like one of the more boring parts of the trip but it is such a scenic route along the railways lines surrounded by jungle and the river beside you. Its also just enough to wear you out to get to bed early as the next morning is another 4am start if you want the best views of Machu Picchu.
We had tickets for the first tours of the day at 6am which meant we had to hike the 1300 stairs up the mountain in the dark before most had even got out of bed. This is not an easy hike by any means as these are steep stairs and even in the early morning the heat and humidity takes its toll.
Of course there is the option to take the first bus up at 5:30 but we felt this takes away from the experience of arriving to the ruins in a similar way to how they would have hundreds of years ago.
Once at Machu Picchu there are different queues for the different routes around the site which you can take. It is crucial you make sure you have the right ticket as some of the routes are much better than others. We had route 2 tickets and these are the best as they include both the iconic view of Machu Picchu from above as well as the tour through the ruins themselves. All of the other routes only have one of these two things so if you can book well in advance and aim for route 2 tickets.
The tour itself isn’t that long so we probably spent around an 2 hours in the site. An hour for the tour and talks about the history and well over an hour of photo taking at ALL the different spots.
What are the other ways of getting to Machu Picchu?
The most expensive and in my opinion most boring way of visiting the site is by panoramic train from Cusco. This can be done on a single day tour but will cost you a Kidney to complete. If you can’t hike for any reason this is great because combined with the bus you can get all the way to the entrance and still get to view this wonder of the world but it just lacks the immersion of the other multi day tours.
The most restricted way of getting to Machu Picchu is the Inca trail with only 200 people allowed to enter the site through this trail each day. What it is best for is getting the most authentic experience as you trek over the top of the mountain behind Machu Picchu and straight into the site in the same way that the Inca did all those years ago. This means you get the best view and don’t have to go through or even see the main entrance. This is great because it makes it feel like you are seeing the site in its original form without all of the the tourist infrastructure.
One of the most popular ways is the Salkantay trek. This is more accessible than the Inca Trek as number of visitors is not limited and so it can be booked quite last minute. It lacks the activities involved in the inca jungle but is very affordable and has some incredible views along the way.
