A place exists in the imagination before we go there. If the reality is different, we may carry two impressions of the place around in our heads – imagined and real. Machu Picchu is not such a place, it was exactly the place I wanted it to be.
The mountain-top site sits at just under 8,000ft so is literally breathtaking. However, well organised tours prepare you for it. We acclimatised in Arequipa (7,600) then Lake Titicata (12,500) and the Sacred Valley at just under 10,000ft so counter-intuitively the mountain top was one of the lowest parts of the tour. After a week at altitude, we were ready for highlight.
The impression is given of this lost city as the ultimate backpacker destination, and indeed the town at the foot of the mountain has that vibe. However, reality is different. The idea you can hike your way along the Inca Trail then rock up at the Sun Gate at dawn is a bit of a myth. The Inca Trail is highly organised, with designated camping spots, and porters to carry your rucksacks. We didn’t do the Inca Trail – and in fact for a few days while we were there it was closed due to poor weather.
And the weather is something to watch. All those cheerful Instagrammers posing in shorts and crop-tops hide the truth that Peru is mountainous. The temperature swung from 5 degrees to 26 and despite it being the dry season it rained a couple of times and snow fell on the mountain-tops overnight. Peru is largely desert to the west of the Andes, but Machu Picchu is on the eastern side where the jungle is. Once the sun comes out, so do the insects and tourist legs make tasty targets.
A big worry about visiting such a famous site is the crowds. The authorities have already closed the temple pyramid to protect it and there’s a rumour the restricted areas will increase – tourist traffic and vibration from buses is taking its toll. See it while you can!
Daily numbers are limited and there are timed entry tickets from 6am to 3pm. It is reached by a convoy of buses from the town and the queues start about an hour before the designated time-slot. No option for turning up on spec. Tickets are assigned to one of three basic routes. Route 2 is the Classic, leading through the main part of the site while Route 1 just offers panoramic views, but there are variations to add confusion. Route 3 is a shorter one that leads through the lower town, again with three variations, including climbing the formidable Huayna Picchu the sugarloaf hill that forms the background in the typical photo.
We were scheduled for a guided tour around Route 2 on a 2pm ticket which gave us a leisurely experience in the afternoon as the crowds thinned out. There were bottlenecks on the initial stairs as people stopped to get the iconic view. Here the Instagrammers became tiresome, posing in their costumes and make-up, this way and that; sitting, standing, pouting, then swapping camera for the next in the group. Two dozen photos later and I might get chance to take a decent shot, or do a bit of posing of my own.
Tour guides tended to whisk their groups around, so it was increasingly possible to enjoy both the architectural detail and the atmosphere as the afternoon wore on. The general guide visit time is two hours. There’s no timed exit but there are no toilets inside the site and food and drink is prohibited beyond a water flask and the odd snack and this serves to police the numbers. Our guide eked out our first visit to three hours and we managed the same the next day. With a little patience and luck with the weather you can get the iconic photographs and with a little more patience can explore the site for as long as your energy and bladder holds out.
No picnicking, no litter, no smoking, no big backpacks, no spike-tipped hiking poles and no going off your designated route! It is not a laid-back hippy paradise, but the site is clean and orderly.
A second visit is the thing to do, so we bagged a 7am ticket for the next day without a guide, albeit on Route 2 again but we found directions and alleyways we hadn’t been down before. It’ has a different feel in the morning with the sun rising through the gaps in the mountains and shining directly into the Sun Temple. The sun also caught the peaks and valleys further to the west, which were shrouded in haze the previous afternoon. The crowds were different too – building up rather than thinning out.
Although the Incas were a bronze-age civilisation, Machu Picchu was built in our Middle Ages – while we English were fighting the Wars of the Roses. It was abandoned within a century of its construction and never found by the Spanish Conquistadors. Its is the archetypical Lost City, only identified by archaeologists in 1912, the stuff of countless pulp adventures. It is an utterly fantastic place that lives up to its own reputation. It does not disappoint.
Tour Note. I travelled with Explore on their 14-day ‘Classic Peru’ itinerary in August 2026. There were six others on my trip.
I’ve refreshed my Newsletter as there is exciting book news coming up, so you may want to sign up below.
Leave a Reply