December 30 – January 2: Machu Picchu and Return to Cusco

Aguas Calientes is a charming tourist town nestled at the foot of Peru’s most iconic attraction, Machu Picchu. Surrounded by lush green mountains and the rushing Urubamba River, the town offers a tranquil base for visitors. Isolated from the outside world, it can only be accessed by train from Ollantaytambo or by hiking the Inca Trail or the Salkantay Trail. Despite its small size, Aguas Calientes is bustling with shops, restaurants, and accommodations, providing everything a traveler might need before or after embarking on their Machu Picchu adventure.

I don’t think Machu Picchu needs much of an introduction, but here is one anyway: often called the “Lost City of the Incas,” Machu Picchu (meaning “old mountain” in Quechua, the language of the Inca) is a 15th-century Incan citadel located high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, on the border of the Andean highlands and the Amazon rainforest. Believed to have been built by Emperor Pachacuti around 1450, it served as a royal estate and religious site. During the Spanish conquest, it was abandoned and never discovered by the invaders. It remained largely unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham rediscovered it in 1911.

Renowned for its stunning stone architecture, agricultural terraces, and integration with its natural surroundings, Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It exemplifies the engineering brilliance and spiritual significance of the Inca civilization.

Back in 2017, when I visited Machu Picchu for the first time, things were easier. You simply bought a day-ticket, which granted you access to the entire site for the whole day.

Since then, the Peruvian government has implemented measures to protect Machu Picchu and manage the flow of daily visitors. The site is now divided into several circuits, each with designated time slots.

There are three main circuits:

• Circuit 1 offers panoramic views and has optional sub-circuits such as the Inka bridge or the Sun gate.
• Circuit 2 is the most popular, offering great views along with an extensive walk through the ruins. It is sub-divided into lower and upper terraces, though it seems to make little difference, as you can roam freely around the terraces. This is also where you’ll get the iconic “Postcard” picture.
• Circuit 3 provides access only to the lower buildings and leads to the climb up Huayna Picchu, the iconic mountain featured in the background of the famous photos. Optionally, you can include the Great Cavern on this circuit, which is a 2 km hike from Huayna Picchu. I never did this. Well, let’s see in 7 years or so.

Tickets for each circuit and time are limited, often selling out months in advance. “But Steve! You said you only decided to visit Peru two days before! So how did you do it?” is what you’re probably thinking now. Well, luckily, there is a small contingent of tickets sold daily in Aguas Calientes for the following day. The procedure, however, is a bit of a hassle:

• First, you need to be at the office of the Peruvian Ministry of Culture by 6 a.m. (ideally) to get a number ticket.
• Later in the day, starting at 3 p.m., you return with your number and can then buy ONE single ticket from those available.
• There are 100 to 200 tickets available per circuit, so popular circuits and time slots sell out fast.
• A ticket allows you to stay inside for 3 hours, although I didn’t feel this time limit was enforced as nobody ever checks your tickets again once you are inside.

I arrived in Aguas Calientes at 9 pm on December 29 and headed straight to the ticket office, knowing they stayed open until 10 pm. Unsurprisingly, all tickets for Circuit 2 the next day were sold out – with only a few Circuit 3 tickets left at odd time slots. It was worth a shot, though I hadn’t expected to secure tickets so late in the evening. My plan all along was to get two consecutive tickets – one for Circuit 2 and one for Circuit 1 – to make the most of the experience.

I was up at 4:30 am the next morning to ensure I was early in line before the ticket office opened at 6:00 am. My effort paid off – I was the first in line and secured ticket number 1! By 6:15, I was happily back in bed, relieved that the first hurdle was behind me.

Shortly before 3 pm, I returned to the ticket sales office, where, right on time, the doors opened, and people were called by their ticket numbers to the sales desks. With ticket number 1, I was first in line and had all the options available. It was only then, that I learned that only one purchase at a time was allowed.. What a nonsense… So I bought a ticket for Circuit 2 at 7 am and joined the other queue again to get another numbered ticket, ending up with number 337 (thankfully, New Year’s Eve seemed to be a rather quiet day at Machu Picchu)

By 5 pm, I returned with my new ticket and managed to buy a second entrance, this time for Circuit 1 at 10 am. Btw, Circuit 2 was sold out by then. After I finally had secured the exact entrance tickets I wanted, I went on to also buy a bus ticket to get from Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu, as well as a return train ticket to Cusco. After that, I spent the rest of the day relaxing in Aguas Calientes, praying to Pachamama for good weather. After all, I had taken a risk by visiting Machu Picchu in the middle of the rainy season – but it all turned out fine enough.

After having spent all morning and noon at Machu Picchu, I caught the 4 pm train back to Ollantaytambo and from there a bus to Cusco, where I arrived around 9 pm. It was New Year’s Eve, and the central plaza was crowded with people. It was fun to celebrate New Year’s in a different environment, and doing so in a place and country I like so much was certainly a special pleasure!

I spent the next two days just relaxing in Cusco, visiting several museums, eating more alpaca, and drinking piscos, before my journey eventually continued.

I you read all that you may reward yourself now with pictures of the magnificent Machu Picchu (and if you didn’t, well that’s ok too) :