Machu Picchu, a dream come true. A great moment for the whole family, despite the difficulty to discover it. We tell you everything you need to see this incredible site without getting too excited.
Machu Picchu, we dreamt of it! Yes, it's the INCONTOURNABLE website of South America. We discovered it at 7 and we were all unanimous, it is worth the detour this Inca site, it even looks like it is OUF! A short return on a busy day to admire the most famous Inca site in the world.
Steps to get to this unique place
Take note, because it's complicated! Yes, Machu Picchu is earned.
Before embarking on this great journey, we have done a great deal of research and consulted with travelers in pairs and families. It is possible to proceed in another way, it is usually the choice of travelers in couple or solo, walking along the rails for many kilometers and many hours. Or to multiply local transport with trips of more than 16 hours before reaching the site. In view of all these elements, we chose the train option which seemed to us to be the most expensive, but above all the most accessible with children.
1/ The minivan
First, we took a minivan from Cuzco. A 2-hour drive on a road that is good enough to take us to the town of Ollantaytambo. This small village is the starting point of the train that goes to the site. This city is extremely touristic and therefore very expensive for the country. There are many restaurants and hotels, all of them of very poor quality.
We stayed in Hospedaje el Pisonay and we do not recommend this establishment! We waited an hour on the side of the road before the owners arrived. The rooms are very simple, we were used to that, but it is especially because the bedding was not good, the bathroom catastrophic and the broken windows that let in the cold! The not at all pleasant welcome and an inner courtyard that smelled of urine, in short not at all wrapped up at the sight of the very high prices for such service.
We arrived the evening before to be on time to catch our train. We booked 2 nights because we came back late from Machu Picchu.
2/ The train
After a capricious night, mixed with back pain and excitement, we had breakfast in a restaurant around the main square. We went to get our bread that we had reserved the old bread at the village bakery and we made our sandwiches to save us the meals on the site. Then headed to the station where 2 train companies monopolize the market. We chose Inca Rail, the cheapest train, but it is already too expensive for our family and our budget! After 1h30 of travel, some twists and turns, clogged toilets that flood the whole train because of Camille's pee... we arrive in another ultra touristic city, which makes fortune thanks to the site: Agua Calientes.
The train trip is tip top, small snack: fresh juice, some snacks, leather seat, in short very nice services.
3/ A bus
When we arrive in this town, we all make about the same journey. The first objective is to find the place to take his ticket for the bus that leads (finally!) to the top of Machu Picchu. Here again, some travellers will go up and down on foot, but here too, you have to have time and above all good legs! With the bus we put about fifteen minutes on an incredible road with crazy shoelaces! You had to have a good heart.
To find the cabins that deliver the famous sesame eh well, it is necessary to go to the level of the deck. Here, you have to choose the time of your bus and pay a fortune again!!
4/ Search for a French speaking guide desperately!
Arriving at the top of Machu Picchu, it was madness, queues as far as the eye can see, to enter the site but also to take a bus back to Agua Calientes. We arrived under a capricious weather, it began to rain, we were a little disgusted to say that we will discover the site under the rain but especially in the fog. We also know that the weather is changing fast here, so we have hope. Each person who has booked his ticket in advance, must respect the timetable written on his ticket and then he has 2 hours of discovery on the spot. We were waiting for our schedule and in the meantime we were looking for a French speaking guide. Unfortunately for us, the other guides present indicate that he is not there. We will also meet a Canadian couple who will visit with us to share the expenses. We found a guide who speaks a little French, even rather well, so we left with him to finally discover this wonderful place!
5/ Here we are! The Gral is here!
We first discovered the first signs of Machu Picchu in the rain. Our guide takes us to the heights and we were bluffed, it's incredible. One feels very small, in the middle of these mountains in front of such a majestic site. We discovered this special place with emotion. Were all speechless in front of this mountain giant. The sun comes back and the wind sweeps away the clouds and rain, we discovered a new facet of this Inca place. We learnt a lot of things, it was really very interesting, we didn't regret to have chosen a guide in order to know the history of this discovery.
We strolled through these alleys, these paths that tells so much history, we were enchanted by the magic of the stones, and these incredible constructions, these llamas that make us faces, these games of lights that reflect on the pants of the mountains plunging the site in a blow on the mystical side and then into the light.
The children stray in this place full of history to discover a new house, another view, strange little animals, in short each one of us, in his own way takes full possession of this place. We measure the chance of living this as a family, with Fabien's parents. To live an experience like this, to engrave in our memories this site, remains something very touching, a magical link has been created, we will always rethink these moments that we felt at the top of this Machu Picchu.
With the distance of the journey, we realized with Fabien, that these places that we discovered throughout the journey, created intense moments between us. We often think back on the magic that we felt in the face of such discoveries and once again realize that Machu Picchu will remain forever in our minds and hearts as an intense discovery.
6/Bye bye Machu Picchu
It's time to say goodbye, last little look back to take a new crumb of this crazy panorama... Not easy to say "goodbye" to him...
Thank you for your majestic nature, thank you for these images that we printed by the thousands in our 7 heads, thank you for being such a preserved place, thank you for being nestled up there in the mountain. Not sure we'll ever see you again, but we'll keep from you, those incredible hours when we've also had the chance to tread your ground, walk your roads and climb your mountain.
