Wanderlust to Machu Picchu

This Wednesday’s Wanderlust to Machu Picchu has me researching flights to Peru (about $4,500pp return in the right season!). Read more about this travel wanderlust below and tell me, do you want to go?

Machu Picchu, the 15th Century Inca site in Peru was originally built for an Emporer and after only 100 years -ish it was abandoned at the time of the Spanish conquest and wasn’t re-discovered, by international standards, until 1911. Now tourists flock here by the thousands which is unfortunatley adding to the environmental pressure placed on the ruins.

That being said, I would still love to go here. You no longer need to do an arduous hike to get there, although you can still choose this option. You can now do a hike of varying levels of difficulty and days or you can take the easy option and catch the train (I’d probably choose Inca Rail as the money stays in Peru rather than to the international investors who run Peru Rail). So you can do it as a day trip but I would love to do a couple of days hiking and sleep in a tent. If you are aiming on doing this trip quickly just to tick it off your list be sure to allow yourself a couple of days in Cuzco before heading off to the main attraction so you can adjust to the altitude.

For obvious reasons I would try to avoid the wet season (Nov-Mar) and the high season (Jun-Aug), which means that about May or September would be a good option.

Only 2500 people are allowed access to the site in any one day making it busy all of the time and often sold out during peak times so be sure to do lots of planning ahead for this bucket list item. By planning ahead I mean book months in advance!

What would I pack – warm jacket for the cold nights, awesome hiking boots, water and snacks and a basic first aid kit. Oh and a camera with an empty memory card!

If you were going to visit Machu Picchu would you hike and camp under the stars or take the train?

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