After our 2 days at Machu Picchu it was time to head back to Cusco and to do that, you have to head back down the mountain to the little town of Aguas Calientes where you catch your train back to Cusco.  We wanted some time to explore the town so we decided to head in early and spend a few hours in Aguas Calientes wandering around.

The amazing thing about Aguas Calientes is its location, surrounded by huge mountains rising up around it.  And while we ended up with a little too much time there, it’s definitely a worth stop to enjoy and take in the markets and local shops for an hour or so!

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Machu Picchu might be an ancient land that you dream of visiting and if that’s so, here’s my advice: just go!  It’s an amazing place but not without some pretty strict rules you need to follow to get there.  So here are my tips for visiting Machu Picchu Sanctuary so you know everything before going.

Entering Machu Picchu

The gates open at 6am everyday and close at 5pm.  Once at the gates, it’s only about a 50 foot walk to the citadel itself.  Mid-day is packed, as that’s when most tourists are there (many people do it as a day trip from Cusco so they arrive around 11:30 and leave around 2:30 to catch their trains).

For the best times to go inside the citadel, we found it was 2 different times of day as follows:

Morning – Be in line at the gate before they open at 6am.  We stayed right outside the gates at the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge specifically for this reason, because the line gets really long.  We were about 4th in line and we were there at 5:40am.  The first busses arrive around 5:50am but there were lots of hikers already there when we arrived, so be sure you time it right to be there early as they only let the first 50 people in at 6am and then space it out after that.

One note on the morning at Machu Picchu, it’s often very foggy and you should expect that if you enter when they open.  We were in at 6am, hiked to the top of the Guard’s House (where the best views are) right away but had to wait until about 6:45am for the fog to clear a bit for photos.  And within 15 minutes of us shooting photos, the fog had rolled back in and stayed pretty thick until we left at 8:30am.  So give yourself time for weather.

Late afternoon – We had heard that between 3 and 5pm was the best time in the day to see Machu Picchu and that was totally right.  Most people are leaving by 2:30 or 3pm to head back to catch their trains to Cusco, or they’ve been up there all day exploring and are tired by that time.  We entered around 3pm and stayed until they closed at 5pm and had huge areas of Machu Picchu all to ourselves.  Plus the afternoon shadows and light at this time are beautiful for photos.

Food, Water and Restrooms

Restrooms are outside the gates and require coins to use, so keep some Soles coins.  You are not allowed to bring food inside the citadel and the guides are very strict about this and watch for it.  So just don’t do it.  You can and should bring water though, just be mindful of the bottle when you’re done and make sure to put it in the trash cans outside the entrance when you leave.

Bugs

While we didn’t have much of a problem with bugs during our visit to Machu Picchu, I’ve heard horror stories of people’s limbs swelling severely after being bitten.  Knowing this beforehand, I ordered heavy duty bug spray and lotion on Amazon before we left and used that heavily during our time there.  After that, I had no issue.  But just be sure to cover yourself before visiting Machu Picchu and be especially careful in the surrounding jungles.

Bring your Passport and Stamp It

Outside the gates at Machu Picchu they have a passport stamp that you can stamp in your passport.  While it’s not an official passport stamp, it’s a great memory nonetheless!

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We visited Machu Picchu twice while there, once the day before at Twilight and the second time the following morning at Dawn.  To be honest with you, it’s hard for me to pick which I liked better as they were both so magical and so different.  Our second morning there, we were in line to enter the Machu Picchu gates at 5:35am.  The first buses up from Aguas Calientes arrive about 5:55am and even though we were there earlier, within 10 minutes after we arrived there was a huge line behind us full of hikers and people from the buses.  They only let the first 50 people in at 6am and then stagger it out after that, so we wanted to make sure we were first inside for the sunrise.

Nick had scoped out where he wanted to shoot his photos that morning from the day before, so we immediately headed up to the Guard’s House at the top of the mountain above Machu Picchu when we went in the gates.  It was dense fog all around us, so dense it was hard to see in front of us at some points.  And the climb was hard!  Not only the altitude but at 6 in the morning and the steep ancient stairs, I had a hard time and had to take quite a few breaks.  I would recommend not rushing this climb as much as we did and taking your time.

Finally we made it to the top where you see that typical view of Machu Picchu.  The fog began to clear, actually it looked like it was almost tearing away, a stunning experience in itself, and the view opened up over this ancient place.  It was a surreal moment, seeing Machu Picchu in the dawn light, in the fog and staring around at this magical place from high above.

After the fog soon enveloped the view again, we climbed even further up to find a whole field of llamas wandering around.  I immediately headed out to make friends with them (how could you not!?!) and spent the next hour petting and talking to Lucy (they had name tags on them).  I told Nick later that while that climb was hard to get up to the top, they should have a sign at the bottom that reads “This climb is really hard but there are llamas at the top so it’s worth it.”  No doubt, that would make it a whole lot easier!

Finally we headed back down, meandering through the ruins on our way and taking in the sweeping views of the surrounding mountains.  Upon leaving, I took one last look back, knowing that this amazing place will be a place we return to someday again.  Machu Picchu was an experience I’ll never forget, a place that truly stands the test of time and exudes an ancient magic all its own.

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Upon arriving at our hotel at Machu Picchu, the Belmond Sanctuary Lodge, we decided to rest a bit and wait to enter Machu Picchu around 3pm.  I had read a lot before our trip that between 3 and 5pm was one of the quietest times of day there as most of the tourists have gone back down the mountain to either Aguas Calientes or back to Cusco.  Sure enough, we entered the citadel around 3pm and were immediately blown away by the beauty of Machu Picchu and at how empty it was.  At one point after entering, I had to just sit down and take it all in.  Machu Picchu is one of those places we’ve all seen photos of, but to see it in person, it blew me away.  And to be wandering through the ruins which we had almost to ourselves made it even more special.

We spent the 2 hours before the sanctuary closes at 5pm just taking it all in, wandering through the ruins and processing the place we were wandering through.  It all seemed quite surreal.  If you’re going to Machu Picchu, this is the time to explore it, in the late afternoon just before twilight!  The shadows were long and the evening light magical in this ancient place.  Exploring Machu Picchu at Twilight was truly an experience I’ll never forget!

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