Machu Picchu

Awake at 4:30 to hike up to Machu Picchu in time for the opening at 6am. Dark sweaty hike up and got in at opening time to avoid the crowds. It was cool to go in early with barely any people and fog swirling through the ruins. Slowly followed along the path (you can’t explore at all by yourself), and then hike up Huaynapicchu, the mountain to the north of the ruins. Steep hike up but worth it for some awesome views, especially as the clouds cleared and sun shone on the city. Then hiked down and got jostled along the rest of the path to the exit by the by-now-huge crowds. Hiked back down and that was it! Felt kind of fast.

Not sure how I feel all in all about Machu Picchu. It was really impressive, the ruins and old buildings, the mysterious history, the beautiful location and surroundings, etc. But I guess it was just soooo touristy that diminished it for me. You can’t explore at all by yourself. You have to buy a (expensive) ticket for a specific circuit, so you can only go on that path through one part of the city. Employees blow a whistle at you if you try to go backwards at all or even stop for too long in some places. The crowds were fine in the morning but pretty huge in the later morning/afternoon, it kinda just felt like you were filing past in a queue. I did the hike up the mountain which was really cool and great views which I’m happy with, but with that ticket you can’t visit the Inca gate or Inca bridge or famous viewpoint from the front of the city, or a huge chunk of the ruins at all. So it feels a bit incomplete to be honest. But I guess that’s how it is, the experience is the experience, and I think i did it about as well as you can without spending tons of money.

Took the train back which was pretty nice, winding along the river. There was a funny/bizarre performance where the employees dressed up like Incas and lip-synced along to a strange love story thing. Kind of odd.

Back to cusco for a recovery day before heading to Lima.Read more