Machu Picchu is one of the dream destinations for many people as it was
for us and fortunately, we can say that we have already visited this wonderful
place.
However, something that made us uneasy was the reports of crowds
invading the Machu Picchu, which might even be calling into question the integrity of this
treasure in the long run. Something that has tended to worsen since Machu
Picchu was chosen as one of the 7 wonders of the modern world, which even captivate more global interest.
Fortunately, the government of Peru, aware of the need to protect the wonder of the world decreed a daily limit of visitors and also a limit of 4
hours in the time of the visit that each person can remain within the space, what makes even more important for you to to acquire your entry ticket in advance, so you do not risk not entering and, you should think and decide about the time you will want to enter (learn more in our Machu Picchu article: 20 things you should know when planning your visit).
However, even with these changes, made in the search to decrease the number of visitors, there are still a lot of people visiting Machu Picchu daily and, there are times when you may have great difficulty in getting some quiet time during your visit, and whoever does this kind of travel, for sure wishes to have some does not want to make it always surrounded by other visitors.
However, even with these changes, made in the search to decrease the number of visitors, there are still a lot of people visiting Machu Picchu daily and, there are times when you may have great difficulty in getting some quiet time during your visit, and whoever does this kind of travel, for sure wishes to have some does not want to make it always surrounded by other visitors.
Now let's be honest, it will be very difficult to be alone during your
visit to Machu Picchu, but there are ways to be more alone or at least less
surrounded by other visitors.
Well, there are two months in which you should avoid even going to Machu
Picchu, if you want to avoid crowds, it's the July and August. And the
question of avoiding these months is because they are the most crowded months to visit Machu Picchu. This is due, among other reasons, to the fact
that during these months academic holidays are taking place in many of the
western countries, so it is used by many families to visit this destination. Of
course, if you only have these months, we recommend that you go, nevertheless,
you may have a chance to escape to the biggest crowds, but if you can go in
months other than these, the better.
In our article on: What is the best time of the year to visit Machu Picchu,
we talk more about the theme, so we advise you to read to know more information
before making your choice but, in a brief way, Machu Picchu will have only two wheater seasons, namely the dry season and the rainy season. The dry season runs from
the middle of April until October and the rainy season runs from November to
the middle of April.
If your goal is to avoid crowds, the best for you is to visit Machu
Picchu in the rainy season, especially between November and the middle of
April. However, when it rains in Machu Picchu, it may really rain, and
spending the day in Machu Picchu with constant rainfall can make you lose some
of the magic of the place and even be dangerous, especially for those who
travel with children or, who have reduced mobility, because the place can get
muddier and, you will walk on stones that, with the rain, become more
slippery.
However, you can also pick up a few days without rain, which also occur,
as well as some days when you can only catch rain for short periods of time, so
you can still have a very pleasant visit. Do not forget only a question, when
you buy your ticket, will do for a specific period of time on a given
day, so you can not have the possibility to change your date if it rains
immensely on the day of your visit.
Visiting in the dry season is more likely to result in better weather conditions during
your visit but is also more likely to have larger crowds at your side. In this
way, we can advise you, in addition to avoiding the months of July and August, to try to organize your trip closer to the beginning and end of the dry season,
especially from the middle of April, May, and September, especially the
second fortnight, and the month of October.
In these months, in addition to being more likely to avoid crowds, you
are even more likely to catch up on good weather, and even if you can catch
rainfall, chances are it will be small rainy moments that will not disturb your
visit.
We have also addressed this issue, so we also advise you to read our
article on the best time of day to visit Machu Picchu. In order to avoid crowds, the secret is very simple, the periods during of the
middle of the day are the ones to avoid so, plan your visit so that you can enter Machu Picchu
at the time of opening, or closer to the end of the day.
So, since everything in Machu Picchu requires planning if you want to
go in one of these periods, you will have to organize your trip to get there at
one of these times, especially if you want to be one of the first visitors to
Machu Picchu.
As mentioned before, you will have to buy your ticket in advance (click here to buy your ticket to Machu Picchu on the official website of the Peruvian
government) and when you buy it, you should choose the entrance at 6am in the
morning (when the doors open) or, more for the afternoon period, namely
entering at 12 o'clock if you choose to stay near the end of the day.
Once you choose, you will need to organize yourself at the level of
where to stay before your visit. Many people take the option of doing a day
trip from Cusco to Machu Picchu, which, in our opinion, is extremely tiring and
will lead to being in Machu Picchu in the hours of the highest flood, that is,
in the middle of the day.
So, if you want to visit Machu Picchu at the beginning of the day,
prepare yourself, that the enclosure opens at 6am and you will have to take the
first bus that goes up from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu, which departs at
05:30. The point is that the first bus, or rather the first three buses, depart
at 5:30 a.m. and each takes about 30 passengers, so to be one of the first to
make this trip of about 20 minutes from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu, you will have
to be in the queue well before 5:30, to secure his place. We recommend that to
be sure of your place, that it is at least until 4:30 in the queue, being that
in high season, it may be even earlier.
If you decide to take the route from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu on foot, you will have to reserve at least about 1h30 for the walk.
If you decide to take the route from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu on foot, you will have to reserve at least about 1h30 for the walk.
If the decision is to go by bus, we advise you to buy the bus tickets
the day before, as you can learn more by reading our Machu Picchu article, 20things you should know when planning your visit.
As there is no train that will allow you to get to Aguas Calientes so
early, you should make the trip to Aguas Calientes the day before and stay the night before in that locality.
If you choose to visit Machu Picchu in the afternoon, this no longer
obliges you to stay in Aguas Calientes the previous day, you can stay in Cusco
(which makes the day very tiring) or opt for another location, such as
Ollantaytambo, for a most relaxed day (see here our article: Cusco or Ollantaytambo: What is the best place to stay before your visit to Mach Picchu and the Sacred Valley of the Incas?).
However, when booking your train schedule, please be careful about your return, as
you will need to book a train that departs more at night if you do not stay in
Aguas Calientes.
If you are reading this post, it is because you most likely dream of
visiting Machu Picchu and maybe are even planning your visit. But as a result of
being such a wonderful attraction, more and more people want to visit it, so
from all over the world, there are people planning their visit every year.
Therefore, it is not at all possible to have Machu Picchu just for us,
as we have seen in dozens of photographs, and the truth is that many photographs
are taken with Machu Picchu stuffed with tourists. However, there are ways to
seek to visit Machu Picchu by avoiding the floods or at least that the floods
are not so great.
So, the solution is to ally the best months mentioned above, with the best
times. We recommend the end of April and May, as well as the end of September
and October, and also the beginning or the end of the days. However,
something that is not much referred to, is that Machu Picchu is generally less
populated in the late afternoon than early in the morning, especially from 4
pm, moments when we feel we had the best time on our visit to Machu Picchu.
We really hope that our ideas help you to prepare for your visit and if you are planning your trip to Machu Picchu, we always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and its with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals by clicking here, it won't cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.
Booking.com
We would also like to invite you to leave your opinion and questions and, in case you have already visited Machu Picchu, let us know about your experience using our comments box. Thanks for your visit to our Non Stop Family Travel Blog, come back often and, if you liked our article, don’t forget to share it with your friends.
If you are planning your visit to Peru, here is a list of some of our destination-related posts that are sure to be very helpful in organizing your itinerary:
- 10 reasons why you should visit Lima
- 20 things you should know when planning your trip to Machu Picchu
- What is the Sacred Valley of the Incas? What to see in the Sacred Valley, Peru
- Sacred City of Caral-Supe: Best day-trip from Lima
- How to visit the Rainbow Mountain in Peru? Things to know when planning your trip
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We really hope that our ideas help you to prepare for your visit and if you are planning your trip to Machu Picchu, we always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and its with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals by clicking here, it won't cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.
Booking.com
We would also like to invite you to leave your opinion and questions and, in case you have already visited Machu Picchu, let us know about your experience using our comments box. Thanks for your visit to our Non Stop Family Travel Blog, come back often and, if you liked our article, don’t forget to share it with your friends.
If you are planning your visit to Peru, here is a list of some of our destination-related posts that are sure to be very helpful in organizing your itinerary:
- 10 reasons why you should visit Lima
- 20 things you should know when planning your trip to Machu Picchu
- What is the Sacred Valley of the Incas? What to see in the Sacred Valley, Peru
- Sacred City of Caral-Supe: Best day-trip from Lima
- How to visit the Rainbow Mountain in Peru? Things to know when planning your trip
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