Our visit to Machu Picchu, a glimpse

“You can’t come to South America and not go to Machu Picchu”. Our friends made this very clear and convinced us to apply for our visa to Peru.

We hadn’t intended to visit Peru initially, during our maiden travels in South America. We weren’t sure about the visa situation. But the persuasion of our friends – “What’s the harm in trying?” – worked. In Buenos Aires, Peru became a part of our itinerary for South America.

Machu Picchu is the undisputed king of tourism in South America. A sort of a rite of passage, to say you have been to that part of the world. A multi-million dollar industry.

The journey began at our hostel in Cusco. After several pickups through the city, we were soon on the outskirts of Cusco, amid the colourful corn and potato fields. A drive of over six hours, up and down through several mountain ranges took us to a place called Hidroelectric. A 3-hour walk through the railway tracks and we were at Aguas Calientes, a village at the foothills of Machu Picchu. An early morning start the next day, and we were at the gates of the fabled Machu Picchu.

This is a quick glimpse of our visit to Machu Picchu; from the winding lanes of Cusco to the top of Montana, the Machu Picchu mountain.

There is something magnetic about sites that are as famous as Machu Picchu. A sense of awe grips you. This thing that you are seeing in real life, with your own eyes, is something you have seen in hundreds or thousands of photographs before. Millions of eyes have craved for this sight that your eyes see right now. That right there is the star of the show and it leaves you mesmerised.

We will forever remember the moment we first laid our eyes on the ruins of the fabled Machu Picchu. The sun had just reached the sky, and the rays of the sun were beaming through the small openings in the clouds.

Lamas were taking their morning walks on the Machu Picchu grounds. People were just entering in, so the ruins were more or less empty, light just brushing their tops!

We will write a detailed “how-to” for Machu Picchu soon. Till then, you can have a look at the photos of our visit to Machu Picchu.

MachuPichu_collage_thin

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When to places like the Machu Picchu, it is important to book your flights early to get a good deal. Cusco is the closest international airport to Machu Picchu.

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61 thoughts on “Our visit to Machu Picchu, a glimpse”

  1. Pingback: Did travel teach us to be better, responsible people? · SandeepaChetan's Travel Blog

  2. Thank you for your experiences. I am planning to go next month to Peru with my family and already contracted a travel agency “Green Peru Adventures”. I hope my trip will memorable forever

  3. WanderLust Adventures

    wow. I loved the video and Sandeepa exhilarating a victory sign as she made it to the top was best! Awesome. just superb.

  4. charlesjamerlan

    Incredible photos! I recently went to Machu Picchu myself – how did you guys enjoy the hike up Machu Picchu Mountain? The views up there are absolutely stunning!

    1. Hey Charles, the Machu Picchu mountain had us wanting for breath towards the end. But like everyone said, “It is worth the view at the top”, it was spectacular! The 360-degree view from the top – no words! Probably enjoyed this more than Machu Picchu itself! Did you enjoy your visit to Machu Picchu?

  5. wow that’s a great writeup and beautifully shot video. Awaiting the Machu picchu details 🙂 Might help me in my travel plans.

    1. Hello Manish, we did apply for our Peru visa from Buenos Aires. But they processed our visa application as an exception. The visa officer made it very clear that we should have applied from India itself, since that is where we stay. Wish you all the best for your trip. Happy travels! Keep in touch!

  6. All the photos of Machu Picchu are excellent- true to your high standards of photography. However three photos are lterally “heavenly”- Houses and farming terraces at Machu Picchu, Peru (2 photos) and Machu Picchu looking like a miniature set from atop Montana. The photos have beautufully captured even the Sun rays falling on those houses.

    One small curious query is why did you need to take a long walk on the train tracks- was the train cancelled on that particular day or is the walk an inherent part of journey -may be becasue trains no more ply on the route?

    1. It is a regular track, still in use by the trains that take passengers from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu. But the cost of the train ticket was prohibitively expensive for us. Since we had the luxury of time, we chose this cheaper and a more absorbing (also a popular) option. Thank you so much for you generous comment on the photographs!

  7. Long time back had seen documentary in Discovery Channel. Beautiful scenes here. One of the eternal engineering marvel on earth. Did you happen to visit Peruvian Amazon rainforest?

    1. Thank you, Nandkumar! We did visit the Peruvian Amazon. also traveled over the Amazon river for a week. It was an experience like never before! Will be writing about that in the coming days. Hope to hear from you again 🙂

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