Best things to do in Machu Pichu! Near the top of the Andes mountain range, one of humanity’s most important mysteries sits, just a few kilometres from the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu. No majestic peaks, no cloud-capped mountains or ruined temples frame this place – only a mountain slope, covered in greyish scrub. If you didn’t know its history, you’d never guess how such a location could hold the attention of an empire.
Yet the ceremony sites here sometimes seemed as important to the Inca as imperial politics. For whom were they built? How long did they last? The ritual complex known as the Puma Iyacu site is located at about 10,200 ft (3100m) in the Urubamba valley, just several kilometres from the well-known citadel of Machu Picchu.
Back in 1999, when our group was scheduled to start excavations there, I drove up to find the flags of Cusco and Peru flying high. In the cool, crystalline air, a small group of farmers sat and drank chicha, a corn beer. The farmers said they come here every year on 30 August to pay the land at the puma-stone, a granite outcrop on which they believe the spirits of Incas still live.
One farmboy showed me the shrivelled purple Orbignya seedpods he was chewing, he picked them from the scrub that covers the mountainside. As I started to read my field notes and walk around the small cluster of stones and paving that the group had excavated in the previous year, I heard the brisk spinning and swishing of ponchos. Farmers were entering the site carrying knapsacks and bundles of sticks that they put down near the shrine dedicated to the great serpent, a phallic stone tower topped with solar symbols. Best Things to Do in Machu Pichu!
1. Wander Through the Main Plaza
Your exploration should begin with the Main Plaza, the central open space of Machu Picchu, surrounded by huge stone walls on all sides and fringed by back-to-back buildings. With such a vast view all around, this area gives a sense of scale to the site and a feel for the hustle and bustle of past domestic life.
2. Climb | Best Things to Do in Machu Pichu
For the adrenaline junky, Huayna Picchu, which translates to Wayna Picchu, is a steep mountain accessed on the opposite side of Machu Picchu compared with the Classic Tour. The hike is challenging but one of the most spectacular views in the world of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley awaits. You must make reservations far in advance for this hike.
3. Hike the Inca Trail
The Inca Trail is history on foot. Here’s the story of the Incas, the massive civilisation that dominated central South America between 1438 and 1532, and the empire’s greatest emperor, Pachacútec. The trail is an extraordinary journey through changing landscapes and climates, past abandoned Inca sites and up to the Sun Gate that announces you to the lost city of Machu Picchu itself. The trek, which should take around four days, though some attempt to do it in as little as three, will tear your quads and lungs to shreds; the steep paths leave you gasping, and, on the last day, you’ll practically clamber up the Sun Gate steps. As you make your way through the forested trail that is the Amazon’s end, day by day, you won’t want it to end. But, of course, that’s the deal, really; you’ve signed yourself up for it, made your payment, and are in search of great experiences and that great, unbeatable feeling of achievement.
4. Visit the Temple of the Sun | Best Things to Do in Machu Pichu
While that Town Square is lined with priests’ the Sun, or Intihuatana this quarter, is the most important on the site. It was probably an astronomical observatory. Inca builders calculated the position of this stone, set on an angular wall, and carved into it with ropes made of llamas’ gut. They aligned it to observe celestial phenomena. Pause to take in some spiritual energy. Become one with the gods. You can admire – and marvel at – Inca engineering if you wish. Best Things to Do in Machu Pichu!
5. Explore the Sacred Plaza
A smaller, more common, but also more significant space, the Sacred Plaza is enclosed by the Temple of the Three Windows and the Temple of the Condor, with a fourth structure at one end. The symbolic design and flawless masonry preserve material testimony of Inka religious traditions and architectural knowledge. Best Things to Do in Machu Pichu!
6. Check Out the Intihuatana Stone
Known by the Quechua name the Hitching Post of the Sun, the carved stone known as an intihuatana is thought to have been used for astronomical and ceremonial purposes, its precise purpose uncertain. Existing identifiable foothold for Inca rituals, its presence is one of the dominant features of the holy site at Machu Picchu.
7. Discover the Inca Baths
The Inca Baths — Baños de la Ñusta, in Spanish — are the easternmost of Machu Picchu’s most attractive ruins, nestled at the foot of a hill to the south-east of the citadel’s ruins. The stones are also well-preserved, and the channels bear scars of long history: it is practically possible to sense the powerful trickle or river of running water as it finds its way through two shouldered channels. According to the Latin American Planning Support Network, perhaps this was a place of ritual washing and relaxation.
8. Stroll Through the Agricultural Terraces
Farming terraces at Machu Picchu served to increase the area of arable land and continue watering crops in the dry season. The terraces were constructed using traditional agricultural Quechua techniques and scientifically planned to spread moisture through a drip irrigation system. Visit the agricultural terraces at Machu Picchu to appreciate how the Incas adapted to their natural surroundings, and made the most of the land available to them. Best Things to Do in Machu Pichu!
9. Take a Guided Tour
Guided tours are recommended for anyone who wants to better understand the history and meaning of Machu Picchu, including how the site was built and how the ancient Incas used it in their daily lives, because guides can explain the archaeology and how it relates to past cultural practices. There are tour guides speaking many languages, and we recommend signing up for one at the beginning of your visit.
10. Relax and Absorb the View
At times, it is best just to sit and stare. And if on your visit to Machu Picchu you find a quiet alcove and pick a suitable perch, you’ll soon realise that it’s the silent scenery – the tumult of mountains and waterfalls, the sudden splashes of decadent greenery – that is as much the current draw of Machu Picchu as numerous unearthed Inca possessions.
Tips for Your Visit
Don’t leave it to the last minute to book; there’s a huge demand for travel to Machu Picchu and tickets and places at hotels (indeed, most accommodation) should be booked months in advance.
Wear sturdy, comfortable shoes The paths are uneven, with steep sections.
Don’t forget to bring water for hydration and a little something to nibble as there are limited sites to get food.
Respect the Site: Follow all guidelines to respect the site’s integrity, and avoid sitting on or climbing over the ruins.
Think of Machu Picchu as a place to travel in time, to more than one era. That thousand-metre climb up Huayna Picchu may be gruelling, but Mac suggests it’s the one thing you can’t afford not to do. Then there are the temples and the other sites to explore. Or simply sit and admire it.