I visited Peru and Machu Picchu for the first time in late August and early September. I was at Machu Picchu on August 28th, 2024. It was a perfect day. Perfect weather, and we had a very informative tour guide. It was a lot of walking and climbing stairs (no handicap accessibility).
To get there we had to take a van, then a train, then another van/bus, and that was all before we reached Machu Picchu. Our tour of Machu Picchu started around 11am. So it wasn’t too hot or too cool. Perfect weather, although I carried a jacket and a rain jacket in a small day backpack. In most of my photos, I have the jacket around my waist and am in my short-sleeved t-shirt. I’m ashamed to admit how many layers of clothes I had on (including a thermal base layer top and pants), which I took off in the restroom after I got there and realized it was not going to be this freezing cold experience I had been warned about. I did have on hiking pants. Again, until this trip, to be honest, I didn’t know there was such a thing as ‘hiking pants’. I also had hiking boots and brought a hiking stick with me on this trip. I didn’t bring my hiking stick to Machu Picchu, since they don’t allow them at Machu Picchu (unless you need it for medical reasons).
I enjoyed the long and very scenic train ride getting there and slowly walking around the massive view of ancient ruins at Machu Picchu.
There was an very friendly older lady in our tour group, so that slowed the pace so that I could get all the pictures and didn’t feel like I was running an obstacle course. At the beginning of it is very crowded with several groups trying to get by the same areas. But once you get the more open parts, you can wonder off to explore area at your own pace. I opted to stay with my guide, I didn’t want to get lost from my group, especially since there were so many people there. We were told that we had great weather and it is not always as clear as when we were there. They say that if you get there too early you may experience cloudy weather or rain. I’ll add another article later, to give advice on how to plan your perfect Machu Picchu day.
I call the above photo, ‘The window of opportunities.’
Oh, I also did well with keeping my shopping in check when I got back to the town where we had to catch the train back to Cusco. I just bought two purses, a T-shirt, and a lapel pin. I took pictures of hats and other stuff that I thought looked cute, but knew I didn’t need.
I’ll add another article later, to advise on how to plan your perfect Machu Picchu day.
This ticks off another UNESCO World Heritage site for me. And I believe it is listed as one of the seven wonders of the world. My aunt asks me, why I went to Machu Picchu. I told her because I had never been there before. She said, “Oh.”
Machu Picchu has even been recognized as one of the best UNESCO World Heritage sites in South America, and has been included as one of the 7 Wonders of the World. I learned from our tour guide that the translation of the words ‘Machu Picchu’, means ‘Old Mountain’ or ‘Old Peak’. Looking at the ruins, they pointed out where there was a girls school was and a boys school, and where the religious buildings were. It was amazing! I encourage everyone to go there at least once, if you can. Especially if you are interested in history, different religions, etc.