Just about every traveler that we have ever met has a bucket list. You know, a sort of index of all of the places they want to visit before kicking the bucket. And we would also say that almost every one of those lists includes Machu Picchu.
And for good reason, it is absolutely every bit as astounding as you can possibly imagine. This is one of those places that photos can’t fully capture, you really need to see it in person to absorb the entire ambiance.
That’s one reason why we say if you are going to take all of the time and effort to visit one of the world’s greatest bucket list items, and one of the world’s most incredible historic sites, then we feel like it is most certainly worth it to spring for one of the Machu Picchu Tours.
Having an expert to guide you is an invaluable benefit when exploring the expansive ruins. There are several reasons for this, not the least of which is that you don’t want to miss any of the most essential aspects of the ancient city.
For example, without a guide we never would have found an amazing pair of carved boulders, one that is aligned with the constellation The Southern Cross, and the other, called Intihuatana, that is orientated with the sun and often referred to as the hitching post for the sun.
We also would have almost certainly missed the small reflecting pools on the floor of one of the rooms. These two carved stone basins perfectly reflect the sky through a window when the viewer stands on some small rocks that mark the proper spot. It is believed that these were used for star gazing.
Another big advantage of a tour is that you don’t want to waste any time. Your guide knows right where to go so there is no wandering aimlessly around and ultimately missing something that might be very important, like those wonderful star gazing pools.
And of course, even with a tour, there is always the chance to explore a bit on your own. We found that just being still and absorbing the atmosphere of our surroundings was one of the most memorable experiences of our visit. Oh, that and cavorting with the llamas.
But we think that perhaps the best part of taking a tour is that there is so much more to see in the Sacred Valley than just the Machu Picchu site. With that in mind, you may want to look into a Machu Picchu Tour Package that includes some of the other major attractions in the area.
We highly recommend taking the marvelous narrow gauge train to the town of Aguas Calientes that sits just below Machu Picchu. This can be included in many of the tours. Or, for the more adventurous, hiking the Inca Trail is also an option.
The town of Ollantaytambo is along the train route and certainly worth a visit. It was built as a royal estate, it became a bustling agricultural center and then, during the Spanish conquest, served as a fortress for the Inca resistance. It was here that we learned about the remarkable farming innovations of the Inca, such as cutting tiers into the mountainsides for planting and developing multiple types of crops for growing at various altitudes.
One more ruin that we feel you shouldn’t miss is Sacsayhuaman. The odd name is pronounced very much like “sexy woman,” and we love it for the amazing stone work. It was built as a citadel, starting in the year 1100, to serve as as a refuge for the Inca in case of attack.
But as we said, the stones are the stars here. Some of the expertly carved and placed blocks weigh in at as much as 200 tons. Our guide gave us an excellent explanation on how the builders used the force of gravity to set the stones into each other and strengthen the structure.
Seeing all of these sites gave us such a better understanding of Machu Picchu and boy are we glad we had an expert guide to show it all to us.
So now our question is, can somewhere we’ve already been still be on our bucket list?
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
