Machu Picchu

Travel Tip:  If you want the best view of Machu Picchu, and the opportunity to hike Huayna Picchu: 

DON'T stay in a hostel in Aguas Calientes.

DON'T get up at 3 am to stand in line for a bus.

DON'T board the bus at 5 am to be transported to MP, where you will stand in line until 7 am to get your ticket stamped and even then barely make it as #365 out of 400 that get to do the hike.  

INSTEAD:DO save up your money.

DO make reservations well in advance to stay in the lovely hotel right at the entrance to MP park.  

DO get to sleep in until 6 am and still be able to make it to the line on time to get your ticket stamped, from which you can then go back to the hotel and sleep some more until you feel rested enough to fully experience and appreciate MP.  (Although I must admit, watching the sun rise above the mountains in front of MP was pretty glorious.)

But whatever you do, you must be one of the 400 that get to hike Huayna Picchu (the mountain directly behind me in the above picture).  The view from the top is breathtakingly amazing.

View of Machu Picchu from the top of Huayna Picchu

Tips for hiking Huayna Picchu:

1. Wear sunscreen

2. Bring lots of water

3. Don't be afraid to talk to whomever you might meet up there.  We met some really cool Israeli guys and spent a long time talking with them about Judaism and Christianity (on top of Huayna Piacchu and also back in a cute little coffee shop in Aguas Calientes).

4. If you are good at hiking it shouldn't take you very long to get to the top... maybe 20-30 minutes?  I'm horrible at hiking and have horrible asthma and it took me almost an hour, but it was sooooo worth it!  Hiking back down is the easy part, except in some places the stairs were so steep we went down on our bums...

Click on photos to see larger picture