4 Things You Don’t Know About Machu Picchu Sanctuary, and Should

As iconic as Machu Picchu is, it has still managed to retain some mystery over the years, and quite a few little-known secrets as well. Here, we’ve chosen the four points that we wish everybody knew: 

You don’t see the half of it. Much of the construction for Machu Picchu involved moving stone and earth to level the ground between two mountain peaks, then setting the foundation and providing drainage with crushed rocks. 60% of the site’s construction is actually underground, hidden from view. What else don’t you see? The 2 fault lines upon which the citadel was built. While cities like Lima and Cusco have been leveled by earthquakes, Machu Picchus precise precisely-fitted stonework has benefited from the lack of mortar by shifting during seismic movements and then falling back into place.
It’s not the Lost City of the Incas. It was an Inca city, and it was overlooked by everyone but area locals for many, many years. Machu Picchu is not, however, the fabled lost city that Hiram Bingham set out to find. He was searching for the Lost City of Vilcabamba, a hidden capital where the last Inca and others took refuge during the Spanish conquest. Bingham thought he had found Vilcabamba when he publicized the title, but he was mistaken.

You don’t have to take a train to reach Machu Picchu – or even buy a ticket. The most budget-conscious travelers opt to reach Aguas Calientes by taking a minivan to the hydroelectric station and then walking the final lap, following the train tracks. If you’re really broke, and can’t swing the entry ticket, you can still win views overlooking Machu Picchu by hiking for 90 minutes along Hiram Bingham’s 1911 route. However, if you’re going to splurge on something during your trip, it should be Machu Picchu, so we recommend that you actually buy the ticket and go in and explore- it’s worth it!

If you want the place to yourself, you’re better off going in the afternoon. With so many people staying overnight in Aguas Calientes, and rushing to beat visitors arriving on the day’s first trains, the first hours after Machu Picchu opens are packed. There’s less people around lunch time and after lunch, which is why the Peruvian government is now trying to incentivize Peruvian residents to buy discounted tickets that are only good for the afternoon. You could opt to go very early in the morning order to catch sight of the ruins as first light hits Machu Picchu (leaving your hostel around 4:30am), or you could have a leisurely morning and go in the afternoon when everyone else heads back to Aguas Calientes for lunch. If you’re really dedicated on getting great photos, you could try to stick it out and stay for both the morning and afternoon, but unless you pack some clandestine snacks and a box lunch, this is difficult. (When you have breakfast at 4am, and walk around a lot, you get hungry fast- we’ve had fainters.) Technically, this is against the rules, but forgiveable as long as you are careful to leave nothing behind.