Travel to Machu Picchu
Prepare your soul for an idyllic dream

Machu Picchu. © Guillaume Audureau

If you are planing to travel to Machu Picchu, "The Lost City of the Incas", probably the best time to go is between May and October, the dry season. The ancient inca city looks like a dream, reality surpasses the imagination and this beautiful historical monument will make your holidays unforgettable.

Intihuatana (solar clock) at Machu Picchu, Peru. © Jordan Klein

During your Machu Picchu vacations you will discover how the incas built this city in a rugged and isolated corner of Peru. The great citadel is located high in the Andes Mountains, 43 miles northwest of Cuzco at the top of a ridge. The Urubamba River bends around it and the area is covered in dense bush.

Machu Picchu Temple of the Sun. © Fabricio Guzmán

Roads, steps, fountains, temples and spectacular views are just a sample of what you will find when travelling to Machu Picchu. Even if you dreamed about it for a lifetime, when you have it before you, it is greater than anything you might have imagine. Explore the sacred valleys, mountains, temples, ruins and trails. Try to find answers to the enigma around The lost city of the Incas, a misterious city.

Terraced Fields in Machu Picchu. © Christophe Meneboeuf

Machu Picchu Discovery

I can´t believe Machu Picchu was not rediscovered until 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an american explorer and politician. Only then, the world was aware of this magnificent place. Bingham was searching for Vilcabamba, the undiscovered last stronghold of the Incan empire but he found Machu Picchu instead.

The spanish conquistadors never found the city (they were in Peru for centuries) and no one ever led them there. That suggest to me that the ancient city was abandoned long time before that.

Travel to Machu Picchu, The Lost City of the Incas Machu Picchu - Bingham, photo 1911 "In the variety of its charms and the power of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can compare with it. Not only has it great snow peaks looming above the clouds more than two miles overhead, gigantic precipices of many-colored granite rising sheer for thousands of feet above the foaming, glistening, roaring rapids; it has also, in striking contrast, orchids and tree ferns, the delectable beauty of luxurious vegetation, and the mysterious witchery of the jungle." Hiram Bingham

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Weather tips for your Travel to Machu Picchu

Residential section of Machu Picchu. © Christophe Meneboeuf

Machu Picchu has a subtropical weather. It is hot during the day, however it gets cold overnight, with temperatures dropping to around 7ºC (46ºF).

Before you plan your travel to Machu Pichu, let me tell you a bit more about the weather and the best months to visit it. The dry season starts in May and last until October, it is considered the best time to visit the Inca city, however, nights get very cold during this period, particularly in July and August.

November to April is the rainy season, usually with heavy rains, specially in January and February. This period is ideal to enjoy a mystic atmosphere around the majestic city.

Machu Picchu Cusco Travel

Guided Trips to Machu Picchu
Choosing one of the tours of Machu Picchu will make you marvel with the Lost city of the Incas, the Sacsaywaman fortress, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of Wiracocha, Cusco Cathedral, Lares and its lost comunities, etc.

Inca Trail Holiday Tours
An inca trail holiday will impress you with great lakes, snow-capped mountains, vast valleys and Inca ruins.

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Visiting Machu Picchu

If you are planing to travel to Machu Picchu, "The Lost City of the Incas", prepare your soul for an idyllic dream.
Explore the sacred valleys, mountains, temples, ruins and trails. Try to find answers to the enigma around The lost city of the Incas, a misterious city. Roads, steps, fountains, temples and spectacular views are just a sample of what you will find when travelling to Machu Picchu.

Travel to Machu Picchu

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Facts Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas, is nestled 7,500 feet above sea level in the Andean mountain range above the Urubamba valley.
Many questions remain unanswered but here are a few generally accepted ideas about this ancient city on a mountain peak. Like the pyramids of Egypt, it was created using massive stones hauled over great distances. Inca structures were highly resistant to earthquakes and it’s one of the reasons Machu Picchu is still standing today.

Facts Machu Picchu

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The Inca Trail

The Inca Trail is a mountainous jungle hike that take you to the Lost City of the Incas. It is usually covered in 4 days (about 45 Kilometers) arriving at Machu Picchu on the final day before returning to Cusco.
You will reach altitudes of 4200m and enjoy spectacular views along the way. It is rated moderate so any person reasonably fit will be able to cover the route. Probably one of the most significant features of Machu Picchu history is the architecture.

Machu Picchu Trail

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Ancient Machu Picchu

The site of Machu Picchu has been described as an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization. It is without a doubt one of the most worthy and possibly life changing sites there is in the world.

Ancient Machu Picchu

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Machu Picchu Architecture

The sprawling complex of Machu Picchu architecture, at an elevation of nearly 8,000 feet above sea level, often appears to merge with the surrounding hillside.

Machu Picchu Architecture

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Machu Picchu Inca

Based on evidence, it has been suggested that the Machu Picchu Inca Citadel was built for the Inca emperor Pachacuti, however there are other various theories on the purpose of the site including one that suggests it was a settlement built to control the economy of the Inca regions.

Machu Picchu Inca

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Hiram Bingham, Machu Picchu founder

Hiram Bingham was born on the 19th of November, 1875. He went on to become an academic, working in Universities such as Princeton and later Yale, where he was appointed lecturer in South American history.

Bingham Machu Picchu

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Huayna Picchu

Huayna Picchu or Wayna Picchu is one of the famous mountain images in the world. With a height of 2667 meters above sea level, it beautifully raises over Machu Picchu.
The most interesting thing here is the view of the Lost City of the Incas and the Urubamba river to the bottom of the Canyon, you can even hear its turbulent waters from such a high altitude.


Huayna Picchu

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Machu Picchu Weather

Machu Picchu weather is divided between dry and wet seasons. Most of the annual rainfall occurs from October to April, although it is not unusual for the summertime Machu Picchu weather to include rainstorms.

Machu Picchu Weather

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Cusco to Machu Picchu Train

Many people choose to hike the Inca Trail to get to Machu Picchu, but many more are limited by time so they choose to take the train (It's a 70 mile-112 km ride). The train sets out for Machu Picchu and arrives in Aguas Calientes. There is a shorter route that also leads to the lost city of the Incas, it is the Ollanta route, and begins in the main intermediate station, Ollanta.

Machu Picchu Train

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