Iceland travel tips
28 November 2018
Salkantay Trek
27 June 2019
Located at 75 km from Cusco, the Machu Picchu is one of the most well-known place in South America and also in the world. According to The Daily Telegraph, this world famous site has welcomed nearly 1.4 millions of tourist in 2017, 1.6 millions in 2018 and these figures will continue to increase (see full article).
Various ways can bring you to the Machu Picchu, depending on your financial budget and how much time you have. You have different options: going directly, or getting there with few days trek.
Going directly to the bottom
It is not really complicated to go directly to the Machu Picchu. From the city where you’re staying, you need to catch a bus or a van to join the city Aguas Calientes, the nearest town. Once you make it, you probably have to stay there for a night. Aguas Calientes is cute and offers different activities such as bars, restaurants, hostels, etc… As the name suggests (Aguas Calientes means Hot Water in Spanish), you can enjoy a sweet moment at the hot springs to prepare you for the next day. Be careful, This place is very touristic and locals won’t hesitate to ask a small fortune for every little things. However, as often in Peru, you can negotiate and lower the price. Once you wake up, you still have 2 possibilities to join the site :
-By foot : After a 20 minutes walk downhill to join the site’s bottom entrance, you have between 30 minutes and 75 minutes walking up depending on your pace. After showing your passport and crossing the river through the bridge, it is simple: you have to go up not less than 1700 stairs to join the Machu Picchu’s entrance. Don’t forget water bottles, because this is what I like to call “Incas Stairs”, sometimes huge and irregular. Prepare yourself, take your time and it will be a piece of cake !
-By bus : The terminal is located close to the center. One ticket will cost you approximately 50 soles per person (15 US $) for the round trip. For the way up, you can find a ticket from 5.00 AM which allows you to see the sky clearing up. If you need more information about the bus, feel free to go to the official site : https://www.ticketmachupicchu.com
Going through trekking
There are two different well-known ways to go to Machu Picchu. The Salkantay Trek (4-5 days), and the Inca Trail (from 2 to 5 days). However, a third one also exists, called the Choquequirao (4-5 days), which allows you to join the Salkantay trek halfway. If you do this combo, you will enjoy a walk of 9 days ! Take care because this one is a bit more complicated and requires you to be more used to hiking.
Explore the trek you want by clicking up above !
