Julie Dolan’s Guide to Machu Picchu

Satellite Sister Julie Dolan at Machu Picchu. Go now, she says.

Satellite Sister  Julie Dolan’s Trip to Peru– Do it now. Machu Picchu (MP) was not on my bucket list, but I was game to go because I was travelling with my Satellite Sister, Suzy. She’s my partner in adventure trips to Uzbekistan, Iraq, Jordan, and of course, North Korea. Peru seemed like a piece of cake after some of these other countries. Peru has an excellent international airport, good connections to Cusco and other in-country points, a great train to Machu Picchu and very friendly people. Peru and Machu Picchu exceeded my expectations. You should go and you should go sooner rather than later.  It’s an unforgettable combination of fascinating ruins in a spectacular setting. Machu Picchu’s popularity is only going to increase and I fear more tourists may ruin the experience. Visiting Machu Picchu is rigorous so don’t wait until your 80.

How did we do it?

We organized a seven-day trip for the second week in May. It was an excellent time to visit: just after the rainy season and before the bigger crush of summer tourists.   We used PeruTourism.com (www.perutourism.com) for booking hotels, transportation and guides. Condor Travel (www.condortravel.com) was our in-country tour operator. Condor was excellent—extremely organized, punctual, dressed in easy-to-find-in-a-crowd uniforms, knowledgeable, pleasant, and English-speaking guides, safe drivers in good cars and very responsive to any question or concern. They were also very cute about repeating multiple times each day where we needed to be and at what time. My guess is some guests go off the rails when they go on vacation and miss connections.

Our itinerary: 

Lima

We decided to do one day in Lima. One day gave us time to see the colonial areas, several cathedrals and eat ceviche. Our favorite church was the Jesuit cathedral in Lima. The mash-up between the Inca culture and Catholicism was fascinating. We had a spectacular lunch at Maido, a Peruvian/Japanese fusion restaurant in the Miraflores area. It’s pricey, so lunch was the way to go. Two good shops with edited collections of Peruvian handicrafts are Las Pallas and Dedalo Arte y Artesania. Both are located in the very pleasant Barranco neighborhood.

Okay, I’m just going to say this about Lima: if you decide to spend more time in other spots in Peru and skip Lima, that’s fine, too.

Urubamba Valley

If I was going back to MP, which I definitely plan to do, I would fly to Cusco, but go immediately to the Urubamba Valley. Known as the Incas’ Sacred Valley, spend some time there, see MP and then visit Cusco on the end of the trip. The altitude is a little lower in the Urubamba Valley and MP than Cusco, so I think it would be easier to adjust.  We went to Cusco first. Cusco is at 11,000 feet. I drank the cocoa tea –to no effect- kept hydrated, stayed away from Pisco Sours, took a couple of aspirin and my only symptom was difficulty sleeping the first night.

 The Urubamba Valley is gorgeous. We stayed at the Casa Andina Private Collection Sacred Valley hotel. It was very nice and a good location for day hikes and visiting Inca ruins. We went to the Sunday Pisaq market. I recommend it. You are going to love the train to MP/ Agua Calientes.

Cusco

Cusco is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and extremely charming. The city is chock full of fascinating history, wonderful shops, hotels and restaurants. I am glad we had two days in Cusco. We had great meals at the Inka Grill and Chicha’s.

Agua Calientes

Agua Calientes is a dump. We nicknamed it Dumpville. Agua Calientes is where you get the shuttle bus up to MP. Everyone goes through Dumpville! The train lets you off in Dumpville and then you transfer to shuttle buses for 30. minute drive to top of mp   Or you can walk. It’s literally a shanty town with hostels, bars, cheap B&Bs and cafes, trekking outfits, a train station and market. It’s the staging point for treks and the shuttle buses that run you up the mountain to MP. Our hotel, Casa del Sol was clean with a cute restaurant and exactly THREE FEET from the railroad tracks. Believe me, we’ve been in worse places. It served our purpose and we laughed about our basement room that shook every time the train went by. If you plan to spend the night near MP your options are a hotel on top of MP that resembles a souped-up Courtyard Marriott and charges $1300 a night or a room in Dumpville. For me, a night in Dumpville is worth it for two days at Machu Picchu.

Magnificent Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

I’m happy we had two days to explore MP. We went on a guided tour the first day and hiked to the Sun Gate . The second day we were up early and climbed Huyana Picchu for a breath-taking look down on MP.

What else?

Be smart and read the State Department warnings on safety.

Check out Mark Adams’, Turn Right at Machu Picchu. It’s a fun read with just the right amount of historical detail.

Be sure to bring rain gear, hiking shoes or boots, plenty of sunblock and insect repellent with DEET. Prepare for every kind of weather-rain gear, fleece, layers of clothing and hiking shoes or boots. I wish I had brought climbing gloves. Its a jungle so don’t forget bug spray with DEET and sunscreen.

I can’t wait to go back. Safe travels!  Julie

Listen to the podcasts where Julie discusses this trip and others: 

Julie in Machu Picchu, part 1

Julie in Machu Picchu, part 2

Julie in North Korea