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 by schlumpf
If you want to enjoy at 100% the place, you gotta come here very early (first bus leaves Aguas caliente at 06AM), so there won't be here too many people....
You can spend here a full day...just chill around....
There is no word more to say..just..hang around and discover! Leave a Comment
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 On the path to the
Caretaker's Hut by toonsarah
Take a hat and sun screen, even if the weather's overcast - in those mountains it can change very quickly (it was cloudy all morning when we were there but clear and bright in the afternoon)
Take bottled water - there are no facilities inside the site. The same applies to food as well of course [there are places to eat just outside - a snack bar or in the nearby hotel]
Do think about having a guide, especially if you only have the one day to see the place. OK it can be a bit of a hassle going round in a group, but a guide will make sure you see all the essentials and tell you some of the history, and there should still be time to explore by yourself in the afternoon.
If you don't think you have the stamina to climb to Huayna Picchu try the path up to and beyond the Caretaker's Hut which will get you high enough for some great photos - but even that will take some effort at this altitude!
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 Better in real life than any
photo by mad4travel
It takes 4 hours from Cuzco but only 2 from Ollantaytambo.
The train stops in the one train town of Aqua Caliente (see separate tip).
To get up to the ruins you then have to take a bus. It takes about 15 mins to wind its way up a road containing 13 hairpin bends!. If you are agoraphobic, shut your eyes!
The road is of reasonable width but it gets a bit exciting when you meet a bus coming the other way!
Luckily these drivers do it all the time and can inch past on the edge of the precipice without tumbling over (mind you , I did'nt stop to ask if any buses HAD gone over!)
The most fantastic thing is that you can't see the ruins for most of the way up, then when you get to about the 10th hairpin-there they are! you can't believe how perched on the side they really are.
Before you know it you are there, through the gates and roaming the ruins you've been dreaming about all this time.... Leave a Comment
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 Hitching post of the sun by mad4travel
The Intihuatana stone (meaning 'Hitching Post of the Sun') has been shown to be a precise indicator of the date of the two equinoxes and other significant celestial periods.
The Intihuatana is designed to hitch the sun at the two equinoxes.
At midday on March 21st and September 21st, the sun stands almost directly above the pillar, creating no shadow at all. At this precise moment the sun is "tied" to the rock.
At these periods, the Incas held ceremonies at the stone in which they "tied the sun" to halt its northward movement in the sky. Leave a Comment
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 A view of Huayna Picchu
from the Royal Patio by AKtravelers
The residence appears to have a foyer, a main living area, a bedroom and a bathroom. The bathroom is located adjacent to the acqueduct, with a hole in the floor draining out of the house and into the stream. This explains why the top of the acqueduct is prime real estate.
The interior would not have been furnished in the western manner, but most likely would have been covered in furs for sitting or lying. This would have added a warmth not apparent from the naked stonework.
Outside of the residence is a broad patio with a commanding view of the city and mountains. Leave a Comment
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 Artisan's Wall warms Machu
Picchu on a rainy day by AKtravelersLeave a Comment
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The ruins of Macchu Picchu must be visited in person in order to absorb the sheer magnitude and beauty of the place. The structures are every bit as spectacular as photos indicate, particularly in the quiet and peaceful dawn hours.
However, buses begin dropping tourists by the busload at the ruins, making the trek up and down the hill every 15 minutes or so. The ruins acquire a Disney-esque feel with this onslaught of people, and the newly designed entry way, consisting of a visitor center with jewelry shops and concession stands, only contributes to the theme park atmosphere.
However, it is still possible to traverse the ruins in quiet, meditative solitude. Several “trails” are recommended in the map to the ruins, and I “hiked” the blue, red, and yellow trails. The blue and red trails traverse the plaza and steep stone steps of the ruins, taking visitors to a tower, chambers, and sun dial overlooking the main plaza. They also cross the various granaries and meeting rooms in the massive complex and end in the steep amphitheater, the hallmark of the ruins. Sleepy llamas bask in the sunshine on the grass lawns of one part of the plaza, and the trapezoidal windows decorating each stone room and the steep amphitheater steps create excellent photo opportunities.
The yellow trail skirts the steep edges and steps of the complex and is hiked by very few. I traversed the trail, at one point sitting on a terrace overlooking one portion of the ruins which had fallen into decay, accompanied only by fluffy, wild chinchillas scampering happily among the steps. A portion of the trail leads to a series of steps going downhill to another entryway into the complex. I encountered no other people along this path. Several parts of the trail skirt dangerously along the edge of the ruins, and the hill surrounding the complex drops precipitously to the valley and river below.
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 Machu Picchu by darthmilmoLeave a Comment
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 by chancay
Try to imagine Inca life 500 years and more ago. Try to hear their voices, try to smell it.....there´s so much energy between these old walls.
Try to imagine the mystic cults that happenend on that place.....and never forget to remember the incredible tragedy that happened to the Inca civilisation because of the colonialism.
I don´t want to put that southamerican tragedy on an upper level than all the other changes until destructions of other cultural zones all over the world because of the wolrdwide colonial development, but what happened all around Peru was for my understanding very special because of this very high social level that has been already reached here....much higher than it did exist in Europe at the same time, they could have learned so much from each other, but there was only destruction.
This is my personal idea. Leave a Comment
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This is why your here, right? To walk wher the Inka walked, to see there work untuched by Spanish colonialism. It really is a spectacular place, a city of huge stones on top of a mountian. you are actually at a lower altitude than Cuzco but you feel like you are on the top of the world, surounded by the Andies, rainforests below, those Inka sure could pick a location. Truely one of Life's must do's.,
To get in to the Sanctuary 69 Son, about $34.50. If you have a student ID use it, the price falls to 36 Son, $18. Leave a Comment
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- Inkaterra Machu Picchu
Aguas Calientes s/n, Via Ferrera De Cusco A Quillabamba (formerly Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel), Machu Picchu
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