Machu Picchu Excursion -- Tourism & Hiking

When we got off the train in Aguas Calientes, I was immediately drawn to the surrounding river and suspenseful mountains that gave me the impression that the town would be one of my favorites of the entire month. However, after exploring Aguas Calientes over the next 24 hours, I found the town to be more of a tourist trap for passing visitors of Machu Picchu. For such a small and remote town, I was shocked by the expensive prices of goods. Similar to Cusco, there were many stray dogs and there was a large, open market selling Peruvian souvenirs. Aguas Calientes was fine because we only stayed there for a night and it enabled our group to get an early departure to Machu Picchu, which was the most important part of our excursion.  

Our visit to Machu Picchu was breathtakingly beautiful. The day started off with a bus departure, which provided us with incredible views as we went up the mountain and reached higher altitude. When we got to the entrance of Machu Picchu, I was surprised by the number of tourists waiting in line. I have always read in the news that Machu Picchu has grown in popularity in the past few years, but I never knew the extent of this growth and I was shocked at how many people waited in line at 7AM on a Tuesday. Before the trip, Falconi explained to our class that tourism has greatly changed the visiting landscape of Machu Picchu. Before, there were less tourists and the site seemed more peaceful since it was quieter. Now, the local government has taken over control of tourism and there are certain rules in place that restrict certain things such as reversing down the mountain to already explored areas.

It was a special moment when we reached the picture-esque sites of Machu Picchu. Group morale was also extremely high due to the sunny weather. One thing that I found interesting was that most people take pictures of the mountain opposite from Machu Picchu, which is Huayna Picchu. In Quechua, Machu Picchu translates to “old mountain” and Huayna Picchu translates to “young peak.” Moreover, our class decided to take the ~1 mile side hike to Puerto del Sol. On this hike, the difference in altitude between Machu Picchu and Cusco became very apparent. I noticed that I was not running out of breath as easily and that I did not need to take breaks. We eventually reached the end of the hike and the views were incredible. I was able to sit on some rocks and observe the ruins at Huayna Picchu. From this spot, it felt more quiet and there were less tourists. Because of this, I was able to clear my mind and think about the historical significance of the site.

Eventually, we hiked back and checked out the main ruins of the village. These reminded me of the ruins that we saw in some of the towns outside of Cusco. My favorite part was running into the alpacas and seeing the sacred rock, which is in the formation of the mountain and its peaks. After five hours of hiking and exploring, we exited Machu Picchu and received a stamp in our passport. I was very surprised by how much we saw in the morning and I thought that Machu Picchu lived up to its hype.