August 2017
Machu Picchu is one of those bucket list type places and we agreed we couldn’t be in South America and not visit it.
Andrew writes: Machu Picchu as a set of ruins is really quite fascinating, and picturesque. It definitely delivered on all of my expectations. There was just such a sense of serenity about the place as I walked around, and I kept imagining it filled with a few hundred or thousand Incans wandering around, performing their daily tasks or rituals.
As a tourist destination, I would rate it a 10/10 on the touristy-scale. Everything in the town of Machu Picchu Puebla (formerly Aguas Calientes) is over-priced. We did manage to find a decent place to eat cake over in the area where the locals live.
Amanda writes: After taking a vomit inducing bus ride to get to Cusco we settled into an awesome apartment that we had reserved, and quickly booked our tickets to Machu Picchu. There are less expensive ways to get there which also involve windy puking roads and hiking and instead we opted for the super expensive gringo version, by rail. The cost to get to there was worth about a months budget of travel and worth every penny.
A luxurious train ride, a nice hotel, a glorious bus ride up the mountain, and incredible views. I’d do it again.