Visiting Machu Picchu is on the bucket list of many travelers to Peru. I know it was for us! We are so thankful that we could sneak in a visit to Machu Picchu, just days before the 2022 Peru political protests and transportation disruptions made this more challenging. But these disruptions won’t last forever! And we know that many of you have questions about how we pulled this off last December.
The process of visiting Machu Picchu is not exactly simple, but it is well worth the effort.
And here is how we did it. Hopefully, our experiences will be a useful guide for your Machu Picchu travel plans.
And many others feel the same way. Machu Picchu was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
But why do so many people consider Machu Picchu so special?
Machu Picchu is among the greatest pre-modern structural achievements and is arguably the most recognizable legacy of the Inca civilization. Recognized for its cultural and natural value, the site spans 32,592 hectares of rugged mountain slopes, peaks, and valleys which surround the famous archaeological complex of “La Ciudadela” – more than 2,400 meters above sea level. Approximately 200 structures make up this religious, ceremonial, astronomical, and agricultural complex, and are set on a steep ridge, crisscrossed by stone terraces.
Built in the 1400s, Machu Picchu was abandoned when the Inca Empire was conquered by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. And it was not until 1911 that this archaeological complex was discovered by the outside world. To this day, many of Machu Picchu’s functions remain unknown, including the exact role it played in the Incas’ sophisticated understanding of astronomy and the domestication of wild plant species.
Organizing a Visit To Machu Picchu
Arranging transportation is actually the hardest part of visiting Machu Picchu. It is a multi-step process, and you have to make sure you have everything lined up in advance for things to proceed smoothly.
This is what we did:
Step 1: Get to Cusco, Peru
There are lots of ways to do this, but flying is probably going to be best.
Because we are super frugal, we recommend leveraging credit card travel points to score free airline tickets. Check out our CheapFlight Travel Hacks to see how Two Travel Turtles travels internationally for pennies on the dollar.
NOTE: If you are using our travel hack method, you will probably have an easier time scheduling your travel points flight to Lima, Peru, instead of Cusco, directly. And then from Lima, we would book flights to Cusco, Peru on one of several possible discount airlines. Viva Airlines, JetSMART, and LATAM all do the job for reasonable rates.
We were able to get flights from Lima to Cusco for around $60 per one-way ticket, so we just paid out of pocket
Depending on how much travel you did leading up to this point, you’ll likely want to spend at least 1 night in Cusco to recover. Perhaps more if you plan on exploring the Cusco area!
Step 2: Get to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town) from Cusco, Peru
Aguas Calientes is the closest settlement to Machu Picchu, so it will be your base of operations during your Machu Picchu visit. And its entire economy is centered around Machu Picchu tourism, so brace yourselves for some price hikes.
Unless you feel like hiking the challenging Inca Trail, you’ll likely be taking the train to Aguas Calientes.
You have 2 choices for rail transport to Aguas Calientes from Cusco: Peru Rail and Inca Rail. We chose Peru Rail, but really, both companies look fine.
Our friends from New York, Krista and Rich, went with us to Aguas Calientes!
We booked one-way tickets from Cusco (San Pedrostation in town) to Aguas Calientes on a Vistadomeclass train so we could catch really sweet views on our daytime journey through panoramic windows. Tickets were $86 USD each, and snacks and a drink are included.
Mountain views wherever you look!
A banquet fit for a king was included with the Vistadome ticket price.
We made it!
On the return trip to Cusco (San Pedro station), we took the cheaper Expedition class train. Our train left close to dusk, so there was no point in paying for a panoramic view you couldn’t see. Tickets were $65 USD each, and there are no amenities included.
STEP 3: Staying In Aguas Calientes
We recommend staying at least 1 night in Aguas Calientes, or you’ll really risk travel burnout. We stayed two nights, and that was a good call. There are lots of hotels and hostels to choose from, so find something that fits your needs and budget. We stayed at Hotel Taypikala Machupicchu, in case you are curious.
It was quite nice! Be prepared to buy drinking water though, regardless of where you stay.
PRO-TIP: the markets furthest away from the town center (on the south side) have the best prices on supplies. And there are night street food opportunities in front of the football/soccer field at the Institución Educativa Kanchay Ñan, which is also where some of the cheaper markets are found.
If you look around, many restaurants have solid “Menu del Dia” deals. Not as sweet as you might find in Lima or Cusco, Peru but 20 Soles(~$5 USD) for a multi-course lunch is pretty good for a tourist trap. Explore the restaurants along Avenida Pachacutec for some of the best values in town.
Step 4: Buying Machu Picchu Admission Tickets
Once you commit to visiting Machu Picchu, you should get your tickets as soon as possible. Ideally, months in advance! To help preserve the archaeological site, only a limited number of tourists are allowed per day. So there are only so many tickets to go around!
And there is only one way that you can buy tickets from outside Peru: The Peruvian government’s Machu Picchu reservation website. If reserving tickets from outside Peru, we recommend using a good credit card that waives international transaction fees, like the Capital One Venture Card (affiliate link) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (affiliate link). Otherwise, your credit card will likely tack on an additional fee for that transaction.
If you are interested in either of these credit cards and want to simultaneously support Two Travel Turtles, it would be great if you used the affiliate links above to apply! Two Travel Turtles get a handful of travel points as a kickback, at no cost to you, which helps support our travels. Much appreciated!
We purchased tickets that allowed us access to circuits 1 – 4, and each ticket was $40.86 USD (158.31 Peruvian Soles). And when you purchase your tickets you’ll need to declare an entry time that permits you to explore the ruins for a 4-hour block of time. We chose a 9 am entry as we suspected cloud cover would prohibit sunrise/sunset viewings during early December weather. Your mileage may vary depending on what time of year you decide to visit.
Step 5: Getting to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes
You have two options: walk or take a shuttle bus.
Unless you are quite fit, walking is not going to be an option.
But if walking up extremely steep stairways up a mountainside is your thing, then you can walk from Aguas Calientes to the Camino peatonal a Machu Picchu, which is where an extremely steep stone stairway leading up the mountain to Machu Picchu begins. The Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu hike is about 3.4 kilometers, but the elevation change is brutal.
You have been warned.
Take the path that leads off to the right of this sign.
The light green route (right side) is what you will walk. The black windy route is what buses take. The footpath actually cuts off quite a bit of distance.
The clench-inducing bus route to Machu Picchu.
Google Maps doesn’t show the path, but Maps.me does. So be sure to download that to your phone so you know what you are getting yourselves into before you commit! Remember, you want to have the energy to explore Machu Picchu, and then get back to Aguas Calientes afterward!
This brings us to the shuttle bus option. You can wait until you get to Aguas Calientes to buy these tickets, presuming you don’t plan on going to Machu Picchu the same day you arrive. We bought them at the official shuttle bus ticket vendor Consettur the day before we needed them without issue. Round trip tickets cost us $23.88 USD (92.42 Peruvian Soles) each, so they aren’t cheap.
When the day to visit Machu Picchu comes, be sure to line up at the bus station in Aguas Calientesat least 1 hour before your ticket arrival time. Lines to get on the bus can be quite long!
Standing in line for the green bus in the distance.
We visited during the rainy season, so we got round-trip tickets as insurance against the weather. But if we were going during the dry season, we would have saved some money, bought 1-way tickets, and taken the bus only to the top. Then when we were done visiting Machu Picchu, we’d take the long stairway down and enjoy the views on our walk back to Aguas Calientes.
Step 6: Explore Machu Picchu!
We recommend following Circuit 2 first, as that covers all of the most iconically scenic areas around Machu Picchu. And then if time permits, give Circuit 3 or 4 a whirl as it takes you deeper into the more terraced areas.
The signage makes picking a circuit easy.
Our decision to arrive at 9 am was a good one for early December. Clouds opened up just as we arrived and the weather was great for most of the next 4 hours.
The views of Machu Picchu were spectacular!
But rain did start to fall at around noon.
Totally prepared for the change in the weather!
Our 9 am entry time was policed when we entered, but honestly, no one cared how long we stayed. We could have stayed for 8 hours and no one would have objected.
Step 7: Getting from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes
See STEP 5 above.
Or do what we did: waste our return shuttle tickets and walk down the mountain back to Aguas Calientes! A break in the weather at 1 pm allowed for this, and the views down the steep mountainside looked fantastic.
And they were!
Sure we wasted about $12/shuttle ticket, but we knew that we might not ever be able to see views like this again.
So we got a fantastic, gravity-assisted hike with spectacular views for our money.
If you have at least moderate hiking fitness, we absolutely recommend taking the shuttle to the top of Machu Picchu and walking back to Aguas Calientes when you are done.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED…But are you really finished with Aguas Calientes?
So that was our basic process for visiting Machu Picchu.
But there is so much more that you can do if you are staying at least two nights! Here are some additional side trips you can do while in Aguas Calientes to juice your Machu Picchu experience.
SIDE TRIP 1: Explore Aguas Calientes
Although a town made for tourists, the streets of Aguas Calientes are fun to wander. And it is about as safe a location in Latin America as we have encountered so far. You can really explore the side alleys, buildings, tiendas, and tourist marketplace without worrying about anything other than possibly a pickpocket.
There are even many culturally relevant sculptures made by local artisans scattered throughout the town.
So just use normal traveling common sense and you’ll be fine.
Really, the only thing you have to worry about are the prices for souvenirs if you don’t haggle!
SIDE TRIP 2: Hit the Thermal Springs
We were pretty tired after our hikes in the area, and one afternoon we decided to take advantage of the thermal springs that were really close to our hotel. Named Baños Termales, they are public thermal springs that cost tourists 20 Peruvian Soles ($5.27 USD) per person to enjoy.
And you can rent towels and swim trunks for a reasonable fee at several stores just outside the entrance gate.
It’s a great place to relax and rub elbows with the locals (literally). There are lockers to store your belongings securely, and a bar on site that delivers libations to the pools so you don’t have to get out!
Bottom line, it is a relaxing way to spend a couple of hours after a hike.
SIDE TRIP 3: Los Jardines de Mandor (Mandor Gardens)
LosJardines de Mandor are private lands, belonging to a family in the area since the 1960s. But it was only at the end of the 1990s that they enabled access to hikers. The garden is a love letter to the environment by the original owners, whose sons have carried on the tradition.
The garden itself is on ancient Incan farmland and is characterized by a wide range of plants, wildlife, and waterfalls to please the senses of nature-loving visitors.
The place is definitely worth a look at, especially if you enjoy a good hike!
How do you get there?
It isn’t straightforward, and that might put off some people.
Basically, find the railroad tracks on the north side of town and follow them in the direction of the hydroelectric plant until you get there! Jardines de Mandor is around 7.7 kilometers away from Aguas Calientes and has a level grade, so the walk is actually pretty easy.
This seemed prophetic.
Oh boy. Sadly, there was no Plan B that we were aware of. And there are a number of tunnels to deal with.
But you might have train-related obstacles to contend with, so make sure you keep your senses sharp for oncoming trains!
Of course, this train snuck up on us just as we were about to enter the tunnel!
You might pick up a hiking buddy or two along the way!
Alpha dog followed us for hours!
We had to dodge several slow-moving trains on our hike.
TRAIN TUNNELS AND SAFETY TIP:
We only found this out on our way back to Aguas Calientes, but there is a way to access the railroad tracks AFTER the series of dangerous tunnels. Simply walk out of Aguas Calientes by road toward Machu Picchu, until you reach the RED FLAG on the map below (click on the flag):
This is what that point on the map looks like. Just take the fork off to the right, and you’ll pick up the train tracks toward Los Jardines de Mandor!
It really is much safer.
You’ll eventually reach Los Jardines de Mandor. The entrance fee for non-Peruvians is 20 Soles ($5.34 USD) and allows you a free run of the garden area and grounds. There supposedly is camping offered here as well as a restaurant featuring organic ingredients, but we didn’t explore those.
The main campus of Los Jardines de Mandor. The train tracks really do take you right to it! And no, there is no other road.
A very descriptive trail map.
We came to check out the gardens and waterfalls!
The gardens themselves were quite well kept and constructed, which is doubly impressive considering this place wasn’t open to the public for decades for its first 30ish years of existence.
They unlock the gate once you pay the entrance fee.
Into the rainforest.
The path took us across a stream…
Past randomly constructed water features…
Past plants in various states of bloom…
And eventually along the stream itself.
Alpha dog and Beta.
We eventually reached a fork in the path, each fork leading to its own waterfall.
Waterfall #1.
Waterfall #2.
We easily spent 2 – 3 hours exploring the grounds. And in our group, the botany-oriented people really appreciated the classification and diversity of plant species maintained here.
Closing Thoughts on Visiting Machu Picchu
Hopefully, potential travelers to Machu Picchu and Aguas Calientes will find this information useful. Visiting Machu Picchu may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be if you get some good advice from those who have been there!
There are plenty of things to do in the area, so we recommend spending two or three days exploring! That way you get the most out of the considerable amount of money you need to spend to come here.
It absolutely is worth the effort and expense! But by the time you are done visiting Machu Picchu, you might be exhausted.
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
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One thought on “A Beginner’s How To Guide For Visiting Machu Picchu”
Great!!