Machu Picchu

Didn't read entire thread cause I'm lazy and working but the general theme is to do the trek, it's fun, but it does take 3-4 days(official one) and not sure about the others.

If you don't have that time, don't want to hike, or whatever other reason.....

Then technically the "best bang for your buck" is to go there on your own, no tour or guide at all. Obviously you miss out on the lectures, but if you like to read you can probably walk around there freely all day with a guide book off Amazon and learn the same thing. All depends on your personality.

Anyway there is a town at the bottom called Aguas Calientes, if memory serves. Which ironically, has this spa/hot springs type place you can go sit in. It's a 100% tourist town, and that's it. Locals do not hang or go out there because things are x3 as expensive. That being said it's still dirt cheap compared to any place in the US. Do not be afraid of "hostels", it's not like the movie, most are more like hotels there. You do not actually have to share a room.

Best method for getting there is to get yourself to Cusco(plane typically). Once there you can take a bus/train combo all the way to Aguas. If you have time stop in Ollantaytambo. Another small town on the way. I personally liked it there more. Still strong tourist vibe but not quite as bad. Once you are in Aguas you are literally at the foot of Machu Picchu. You can take this huge tourist bus up to the entrance or hoof if it you are so inclined. It opens early, get there when it opens. It gets insanely crowded and FAST. You'll feel like cattle being led to slaughter as you walk through it there. Inside the park you can get a separate ticket to hike up Wayna Picchu(also called Huayna Picchu). It is another mountain that over looks Machu Picchu with an amazing view. The climb is pretty much straight up, it's hard but I did see old and fat people doing it so just take your time. Your ticket to go up there is for a set time window. They will block you so make sure to show up on-time. There are chains and steps and shit, so you don't need rock climbing skills but it's like walking up 100 flights of stairs or some shit. You'll sweat. Wear comfortable clothes.

In general I loved the area, I hated Cusco but I tend to hate cities just because of the crowds, filth, and scum that are there. "MASSAGE MASSAGE" every time you step out of the fucking door. Anyway, try to get out to the smaller nearby towns. The culture and food are great, prices reasonable(off the main path and even on the main path not that bad), and the nature is beautiful. My favorite little town was Pisac

Rangoth said:

Didn't read entire thread cause I'm lazy and working but the general theme is to do the trek, it's fun, but it does take 3-4 days(official one) and not sure about the others.

If you don't have that time, don't want to hike, or whatever other reason.....

Then technically the "best bang for your buck" is to go there on your own, no tour or guide at all. Obviously you miss out on the lectures, but if you like to read you can probably walk around there freely all day with a guide book off Amazon and learn the same thing. All depends on your personality.

Anyway there is a town at the bottom called Aguas Calientes, if memory serves. Which ironically, has this spa/hot springs type place you can go sit in. It's a 100% tourist town, and that's it. Locals do not hang or go out there because things are x3 as expensive. That being said it's still dirt cheap compared to any place in the US. Do not be afraid of "hostels", it's not like the movie, most are more like hotels there. You do not actually have to share a room.

Best method for getting there is to get yourself to Cusco(plane typically). Once there you can take a bus/train combo all the way to Aguas. If you have time stop in Ollantaytambo. Another small town on the way. I personally liked it there more. Still strong tourist vibe but not quite as bad. Once you are in Aguas you are literally at the foot of Machu Picchu. You can take this huge tourist bus up to the entrance or hoof if it you are so inclined. It opens early, get there when it opens. It gets insanely crowded and FAST. You'll feel like cattle being led to slaughter as you walk through it there. Inside the park you can get a separate ticket to hike up Wayna Picchu(also called Huayna Picchu). It is another mountain that over looks Machu Picchu with an amazing view. The climb is pretty much straight up, it's hard but I did see old and fat people doing it so just take your time. Your ticket to go up there is for a set time window. They will block you so make sure to show up on-time. There are chains and steps and shit, so you don't need rock climbing skills but it's like walking up 100 flights of stairs or some shit. You'll sweat. Wear comfortable clothes.

In general I loved the area, I hated Cusco but I tend to hate cities just because of the crowds, filth, and scum that are there. "MASSAGE MASSAGE" every time you step out of the fucking door. Anyway, try to get out to the smaller nearby towns. The culture and food are great, prices reasonable(off the main path and even on the main path not that bad), and the nature is beautiful. My favorite little town was Pisac

Click to expand...

Yes that was horribly annoying.

We ended up getting stuck in Aguas Calientes seven hours longer than we wanted to because a landslide fell onto the train tracks. It sucked. Didn't get back to Cusco until after 5am. That town isn't exciting enough for seven hours of downtime. We actually didn't get up to Machu Picchu until the afternoon and I loved it. People always talk about the crowds and it's the people who get there at like 6am or some shit to watch the sunrise. No one is there after 2pm. You have the whole place to yourself. It was great.

Denver won't prepare you at all. Cusco is over twice the elevation of Denver. You seriously run out of breath just talking when you first land. Give yourself a day or two to adjust and you'll be fine.

Coincidence that post was made at 4:20?