Machu Picchu! The Lost City of the Incas! The ancient Inca stronghold located high up in the Andes! Undoubtedly, the most iconic structure of the Inca empire! The myths, the legends, the mystery – capital city, a religious site or simply a summer retreat? The Incas leave no written records – and centuries later, Machu Picchu’s secrets remain undiscovered! The site was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007 – and its popularity has skyrocketed since – with almost 1.5 million visitors annually! It is this fabled city that the Kulkarnis hope to see this May Day – waking up at the crack of dawn to catch one of the first buses up – for that glorious view of the sun’s first rays illuminating the ancient stone walls. Machu Picchu at Sunrise – eagerly anticipated – and then, just as quickly, anticipation turning into disappointment at the sight of the entire valley swirling with thick clouds. Having come so far, Machu Picchu STILL does not smile upon us!

The crazy thing is, we almost didn’t make it here! Of course, Machu Picchu has been in our sights for several years now – more importantly, hiking the legendary Inca Trail to the Sun Gate is what we always planned for! Then on one of those bitterly cold mid-western February nights, when it seems like the sun will never shine again – what better way to beat the winter blues than to plan a vacation! Ajey found a great deal for flights to Lima, and then onwards to Cusco – perfect timing, at the end of May, as soon as Manasi was done with finals!! We checked and double-checked the dates, confirming Manasi’s schedule – and as we have done countless times before, booked our flights first, before planning anything else. Sensible thing to do, right? Well, we were in for a nasty shock – first of all, the Inca Trail needs a permit to hike. Second, the government only allows 500 permits per day, and that number includes porters, cooks and guides, which further drops the availability for hikers. And then the knockout, all permits for all days were booked for the season – with bookings now open for next year.

Of course, the knee-jerk reaction to this was to call the whole thing off – we’ll go back with a better plan! Alas, the ‘deal’ Ajey had found us did not allow for cancellations or reschedules! So, no matter what, we were Peru bound. Then followed a week of scouring travel websites – GetYourGuide, Viator, Travelocity!, talking to travel agents and tour operators – possibly every single one in Peru, and few here in the US, whatever it takes – but more bad news followed. Forget the Inca Trail, it was doubtful we would even get tickets to see Machu Picchu – sorry, peak season, all tickets are sold out. How is this possible??!! In all our years of travel, this was the first time we had run up against something like this. Oh, we’ve had to get permits at National Parks before – most recently, at Angels Landing – but Machu Picchu!! An international tourist destination – and we’re 3 months out – how can this be SOLD OUT!! And before the fact-checkers tell me I must be mistaken – sure enough, there’s lot of sites showing availability even now – hold your horses! Most of these ‘available’ slots mysteriously become unavailable at checkout – or worse, they’ll let you book, and then come back 2 days later with a refund and an apology – believe me, I went through it ALL!!

We were a whisper away from accepting that we were about to visit Peru, and then totally miss the main attraction – when there was a ray of hope! I stumbled upon the fact that there were 1000 tickets that were sold daily on-site at Machu Picchu!! 1000 tickets!! Every day!! Why is no one telling me about this?? I went back to the travel agents asking about this option – and finally, finally! I got a 3-day itinerary from Inca Soul for a last-minute Machu Picchu tour! Day 1 – pickup at Cusco, and take the train to Aguas Calientes, Day 2 – stand in line for tickets for the next day, Day 3 – tour of Machu Picchu and take the train back to Cusco! Boom – we’re back in business!! It was a little more expensive than I was expecting – but it literally was the only option we had!! So went ahead and made the booking with my friend, Fredy – and then moved on with all the other details – hotels and plans for the remaining days in Cusco. Although the Inca Trail hike was no longer an option, we were still hoping to get at least some hiking done during this vacation.

During my research, I also discovered alternate hiking trails to Machu Picchu- the Salkantay Trek and the Lares trek, in particular. The Salkantay Trek was very intriguing – Fredy sent me all the information, a 4 day rugged trek which would take us through the Salkantay Pass at above 15,000 feet, and bring us up close to the magnificent Salkantay Peak, no permits needed. This seemed like a great alternative to the Inca Trail!! The catch? The Inca Trail permit includes the entrance to Machu Picchu, and is the only one to actually get to the Sun Gate – all other treks would bring us to Aguas Calientes, to test our luck at the daily ticket lottery. So could we fit this in the 7 days we had in Cusco? Days 1 and 2 to acclimatize – Cusco is at 3400m, the same altitude as Namche! Days 3 to 6 on the trail – which would leave us just 1 day for Machu Picchu – and no buffer at all. So we took the executive decision of getting Machu Picchu done first – and keeping other plans flexible, in case we had to wait a day or two longer for tickets! The package we got from Fredy included a tour of the Sacred Valley, transfer to the train station at Ollantaytambo (I still don’t understand why the train wasn’t all the way to Cusco!), 2 nights stay at Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu entrance, the bus tickets from Aguas Calientes to the actual site, and the train and transfer back to our hotel in Cusco.

And it was a good thing we decided to give ourselves the time! We had the 360 Vistadome train from Cusco – and the hour ride was scenic enough. At the Aguas Calientes station, we were met by a representative from our hotel – trying hard to communicate with broken English (on her end) and very broken Spanish (on ours) – she finally gave up, and took off at breakneck speed with our bag, yelling ‘Tickets, tickets!’ – ok, that we understood!! The ticket office is a brisk 5 minute walk from the station, and to our relief, we were the first in line when it re-opened at 3pm! This was 19th May, and we were expecting to buy tickets for the 21st – fortunately for us, although the 21st was all sold out – the 22nd was wide open – all circuits, all times! A quick word about the circuits – this was another detail I just could not get clarity on!! There’s 3 circuits, and each one is further broken down – so 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B and so on. All of the Circuit 1 routes, circle high above the citadel, you only get a bird’s eye view, but no exploring the ruins. Circuit 3 routes only take you to the lower terraces, but not to the classic postcard viewpoint. Circuit 2 offers best of both worlds – the viewpoint as well as getting down to the ruins. The As, Bs and Cs? I asked at the ticket window – 2A or 2B – and the answer, ‘Same, same – – Circuit 2’. I had a sneaking suspicion that this ‘unavailability’ was a way for agents to make more money – selling tickets in ‘black’, as we say! But no, this was all very official – they needed our passports to buy tickets – so there’s no way anyone could buy a block of tickets to hoard!

So all’s well that ends well – we did have an extra night in Aguas Calientes – but 6am! Circuit 2!! We had to meet our Inca Soul guide at the bus depot at 5:15am, and even at that early hour, there were several people queuing up, and several buses as well – each one leaving as it filled up. Disappointingly, it was very cloudy – but our guide assured us it would soon clear up. So we waited. And waited. And waited some more. It grew lighter, but this was no ordinary fog, to be burned away by the rising sun. The clouds were here to stay – occasionally, a patch of blue sky would show tantalizingly, raising our hopes – but would soon vanish! It did add an extra layer of mysticism, the citadel showing itself, and then disappearing again! Eventually, a couple of hours later, by 8am, it started to clear a little – barely enough to take pictures. We could have explored the ruins while we waited for the cloud cover to retreat – but the circuits are laid out as a one-way route – so we wouldn’t be able to get back for our touristy picture! The delay meant we had a very short time – barely saw the Temple of the Sun, and the main grassy courtyard – and we had to head back, to catch our train back to Cusco!

Yes, we did get our pictures – but I wish we had spent more time here – the Inca stonework, the massive granite walls laid together with no mortar, the layout of the sun-dial, the architecture are very impressive! Whether this was a summer retreat for the Inca King, or a religious center – Machu Picchu certainly is a true wonder of the world! The worship of nature – with the Sun as their main deity, Pachamama or Mother Earth, the lofty peaks or life-giving Apus – once again, this is the common thread in all ancient cultures! It’s also a little sobering – the Incas, the architects of this magnificent city – have vanished without a trace, leaving only their stonework to speak for them. A footnote in history, another peace-loving, indigenous culture, language and religion crushed under the heel of European colonization – their very existence reduced to the records of Spanish conquistadors! It was heartening to hear that the Peruvians are reintroducing their children to Quechua, the ancient Inca language, along with the commonly spoken Spanish!! Ok, I’m done with the philosophical thoughts now – back to the real world! To be honest, the visit was so quick – it did feel like a tiny bit of a let-down – this is what I had been obsessed with for the past couple of months? But look, so pretty….

On the other hand, after we had the tickets in hand – it felt like our vacation had truly started, and we had a great couple of days in Aguas Calientes, or Machu Picchu Pueblo, as it is also known. The town has a very touristy feel, all colorful restaurants and hotels dotting its uphill-downhill streets with the cascading Urubamba river providing a background soundtrack! Also at 2000m elevation, it is so much more comfortable to breathe here compared to Cusco! It may seem at first glance, that there’s not much to do here – but we figured, it’s still in the Andes, there’s got to be some day-hikes in the area? We kept hearing about the Hot Springs – that’s where the town gets its name! – and the Butterfly Garden, which was a conservatory. The hot springs were our first stop, they’re located right in town – but the thought of renting swimsuits wasn’t too appealing – I mean, towels? – sure! – but swimsuits, that seems a little icky. The one hike that came up was the Putucusi trek – this sounded a bit scary, there are several cliffs with only rickety wooden ladders, and it seemed foolhardy to take this one on without the right climbing equipment. Have to say, it was a relief that this trek was currently closed! That left the Butterfly Garden, and then onwards to Los Jardin de Mandor – incorrectly translated as the Lost Garden of Mandor.

It was a strange kind of hike – the first half, almost to the Butterfly Garden followed the road to Machu Picchu – it was a bit disconcerting to have the buses roar up and down the road as we were walking. The churning dust did not help!! Then right before the road climbed into the mountain, the trail turned sharply, and much to our surprise, we were now walking along the railway track!! Ajey, of course, was in high heaven!! It was a very beautiful walk, with a train chugging past once in a while, the engine drivers waving cheerfully! At one point, we even caught a glimpse of Machu Picchu, high up in the mountains! At the entrance to the Mandor Gardens, is a gorgeous little cafe – right by the river, with a garden patio that was home to several dozen hummingbirds!! These little jeweled birds flitting about had us spellbound! There is a 20 soles entrance to Mandor – and there were 2 trails we could take – a waterfall, or a 1 mile hike to a Machu Picchu viewpoint. Since the whole point was to hike, we decided to tackle both!

The walk to the waterfall was quite pleasant, and the cool waterfall a refreshing break for the hot day!! The hike up to the viewpoint was – well, a hike! We were joined by a delightful companion – any guesses? When I was reading about this trail, there was a curious comment – ‘Don’t be surprised if one of the guide dogs decides to join you’ – I didn’t think too much about it, guide dogs? What guide dogs? Well sure enough, a little black dog bounded out of the underbrush and escorted us all the way to the top and back – running ahead and back to us, flopping to the ground if we took a break – it was literally like having our own guide dog!! Charmed? – absolutely!!! The viewpoint wasn’t anything to write home about – far in the distance there were some stone walls – we could claim that was our first glimpse of Machu Picchu!! Next day, we retraced our footsteps, this time following the railway tracks past Mandor – before deciding that the Hydroelectric plant was a little too far to get to. Honest opinion? These were mainly fillers before the main attraction – I wouldn’t say anything here was must-see.

And after a few hours of walking, Aguas Calientes was the perfect place to relax! We had a blast all 3 evenings here – trying out different restaurants, settling for a game of chess (the chess pieces were Incas vs the Conquistadors!) or Jenga at one of the outdoor cafes, sampling the pisco sours!! And an unexpected find – there was a HUGE market here – for all kinds of souvenirs – alpaca wool garments, magnets, hats, shot glasses – fake Patagonia sweatshirts – it was so much fun to browse and bargain!! My favorite was a poncho that I wore to Machu Picchu! Our best dinner was at a place called Mistura – right by the train station, so we could see trains chugging in and out! Manasi was also happy to find a bench with a statue of a famous Peruvian – none other than Paddington Bear!! Oh, and of course, the Instagram photo ops with the name of the town – in the town center, and then by the river – no visit would be complete without these!! It was 2 days of unstructured activity – absolutely loved it!

Machu Picchu was undoubtedly the highlight of our Peru trip!! I’m disappointed to file away the Inca Trail as ‘The One that Got Away’ – but so grateful for this experience anyway! Of course, there’s more to be seen and done – Cusco and Lima beckon – our Peruvian adventures continue in the next post!!