The Mysteries of Machu Picchu

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The Mysteries of Machu Picchu
Trip Planner
Peru's international telephone code is 51; from the U.S., dial 011-51 before the Peru numbers listed here.

Information Please
The Peru Tourism Board is on the web at http://www.peruonline.net. These are in English. There is no general Peru tourism contact in the U.S., but the Peruvian Embassy is at 1700 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washing-ton, DC 20036, telephone (202) 833-9860, fax (202) 785-0933, and the Peruvian Consulate is at 444 Brickell Ave., Suite M-135, Miami, FL 33131, telephone (305) 374-1407 or 374-1305, fax (305) 381-6027.

Getting There
Machu Picchu is in southern Peru near Cuzco and is open from sunrise to sunset daily. Numerous airlines serve the Peruvian capital of Lima from Miami, Houston and Los Angeles. There are several flights per day from Lima to Cuzco, the regional Andean capital, and it is a four-hour train excursion from there to Machu Picchu. Many U.S. travel agencies and airlines offer package tours.

Getting Around
Travelers can buy their own tickets to Machu Picchu at the Cuzco train station or at the many travel agencies in the city's main square. You have a choice of luxurious one-way travel in the Autovagon or more economical tickets in the Pullman (semi-private) and Tourist classes. The cheaper the ticket, the less comfortable, more crowded and more adventurous the ride. Cuzco travel agencies offer package tours that cover either Machu Picchu alone or include the entire Sacred Valley region. Packages often include hotel pick-up and drop-off.

The Inca ruins of the Sacred Valley are well worth seeing and include Sacsayhuaman, the monolithic fortress above Cuzco; Pisac, the expansive terraced farm of the royals (the town's flea market is a tourist favorite); and Ollantaytambo, a royal retreat above a rustic, unspoiled town.

From Machu Picchu's depot town of Aguas Calientes, roundtrip bus fare takes you on the 6-mile, 2000-vertical-foot journey to Machu Picchu. There is a very steep hiking trail that avoids the 20-minute bus trip, but give yourself an extra hour and a half in each direction.

Lodging and Dining
Make hotel reservations well in advance and get written confirmation (via fax). Mail is unreliable, so call or fax ahead. Many people visit Machu Picchu in one day, leaving Cuzco at dawn and returning at night. However, Aguas Calientes, the small town below Machu Picchu, has good accommodations at a fair price. (Aguas Calientes has no addresses as such; ask for directions at the train station.) Gringo Bill's, 84-21-1046 (phone and fax), offers basic, clean rooms. Grab the "Americano" breakfast at Gringo Bill's at 5:30 a.m., then the first bus of the day at 6:30 a.m. in order to catch the magic of morning at the ruins. Gringo Bill's also offers box lunches to take up to the ruins to avoid hefty prices at the ruins' cafe. Numerous other hotels offer less expensive though less attractive lodging (shared bathrooms, bare bulbs and bare rooms). More affluent travelers can stay at the Machu Picchu Pueblo, down the tracks from the Puente Ruinas station, or at Machu Picchu's only on-site hotel, the Ruinas Hotel. Inka's Pizza bakes in a hearth oven as does Chez Maggi--try the fresh Andean trout in garlic sauce straight from the hearth! Urubamba Restaurant has great fruit pancakes for breakfast.

Like Aguas Calientes, Cuzco offers a full range of hotels, from luxurious to modest. In the city square next to the main cathedral are dozens of restaurants and cafes. If stopping over at Ollantaytambo, you'll find El Albergue, a charming inn run by an American expatriot, right on the train platform, 84-204014.

Insiders' Tips
The language of Peru is Spanish. Take along an English-Spanish dictionary.

Bottled water, the safest kind to drink in Peru, can be ordered by the liter and half-liter in all restaurants and hotels. Try Inca Kola. It tastes like a banana popsicle!

Time to travel: November-April is rainy season; May-August has clear weather but heavy foreign tourism; September-October has clear skies and fewer foreigners, but Peruvian high schoolers invade on graduation trips.

Altitude sickness (soroche) is more bark than bite; at 11,000 feet, Cuzco is the only spot to worry about (coca-leaf tea's alleged relief is minimal).

No visa or shots are required.

High altitude + equatorial latitudes = fast sunburn; use hat and sunscreen!

Bring rain gear. Machu Picchu is in a cloud forest and rain is always likely.

Aguas Calientes has delightful hot baths; water is changed every 3-4 days, so check the schedule with the baths attendant if you're picky.

Change your money at the Lima airport; rates are good, lines are short and the counter is open 24 hours a day (Cuzco banks are a hassle).

The unit of currency is the sole. At press time, one sole equalled about 40¢ U.S.

Cuzco-Machu Picchu train tickets are full price even if you stop midway at the Ollantaytambo ruins for a day, so you must purchase another full-fare ticket the next day to go the second half of the way to Machu Picchu.

Reading Up
Machu Picchu, by John Hemming (Newsweek Book Division's Wonders of Man series, 1981): scholarly, entertaining text about the ruins and Inca history.

Lost City of the Incas by Hiram Bingham (Greenwood Press, 1948): Bingham's own story of the discovery and excavation of Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu: The Sacred Center by Johan Reinhard (Nuevas Imagenas; available in Cuzco bookstores): discussion of the so-called sacred geography of the ruins.

A Walking Tour of Machu Picchu by Pedro Suel do Nava (Ecosetur; available in Cuzco bookstores): step-by-step tour of the ruins with explanations of each site.

1997 South American Handbook, 73rd Edi-tion, by Ben Box (NTC Publishing Group, 1996).

Peru Travel Guide, 3rd Edition, by Rob Rachowiecki (Lonely Planet Publications, 1996).