Tag: Circuit 1

Machu Picchu with Elderly

This is the second time that I have been to Machu Picchu this year. During the first time I was there, I was standing on one of the terraces and a tour guide was trying to take a picture of a son with his elderly parent. He was asking for both of them to crouch down so he could take a great picture of them with the fame old city in the background. The older of the two crouched down, but then lost his balance and almost fell over the edge of the terrace before his son was able to catch him and settle him down. It was a scary moment that even brought the employees of the sight out from their hidden corners to make sure everything was okay. It was this moment that made me wonder if taking my dad, who is 86, out here to see the wonders of this amazing cultures heritage sight. There were many questions that I needed to ask myself about making sure this trip worked for him. Would he be able to enjoy the wonders of Machu Picchu? Could he handle the rough terrain that he will have traverse though in order to enjoy the sight? How should I schedule the time that he is out here so he can enjoy it while not feeling worn out?

First off, would my dad enjoy the wonders of Machu Picchu? And that was easy to answer. Of course, he would. I still have not met an individual that would not enjoy this historic sight. There is a reason that so many people have added a day at Machu Picchu to their bucket list, because there is not another place like it in the world. It is not just the amazing views, or the spiritual feeling that this places holds within its haunted stones, but it is the amazing story that is told by the buildings and the history of this place, especially when talking about the precise that it was constructed. There is another wonder around each corner, and it is easy to be caught up in the magic of the place. Of course my dad would love this place.

A bigger question was: Could he handle the rough terrain that he will have traverse though in order to enjoy the sight? Let me start off by saying that my dad did great though we had to take it slow, and there were a lot of breaks along the way. The tickets have a specific entry time to Machu Picchu, but there is an hour grace period to work in. If you are planning on taking it slowly, it would be best to get there as soon as the time opens up because the place allows for four hours to go through your chosen circuit. I would also suggest using the bathroom before you enter the sight. There are no bathrooms in Machu Picchu, but there is a pay toilet outside of it, and it costs two soles (a little over 50 cents) to use, so make sure you bring some change with you.

Now with all of that being said, there are some other points I would like to make if you are considering making this decision. First off, my dad is in pretty good shape for an 86 year old man, and he started walking on a regular basis six months before he came because he knew it was going to push him some. He also lives in Denver, Colorado, so altitude is not always a problem for him. Machu Picchu is almost 8,000 feet above sea level, so being so high up is something that should be taken into consideration.

Also, just because my dad did well, other elderly people we came across on the trail did not fair as well. We saw many people struggle on the paths, and hiking up the uneven stairs that are found in the ruins. Most of them had to get help getting up and down the hilly terrain, and almost all of them were fumbling around with hiking poles while doing it. I am not saying that hiking poles are a bad idea, but it looked like they were being used for the first time by most of these people. If you want to know if hiking poles are going to help or not, the person should get out and walk around with them for a few months before ever coming to Machu Picchu. This way, they will know the height that is comfortable for them, and they will know how they can help them through the difficult terrain.

How should I schedule the time that he is out here so he can enjoy it while not feeling worn out? I will admit that I did not do the best job of this. There are a lot of things to consider when getting out to Aguas Calientes, the town that is the gateway to this amazing sight. First, you cannot drive out to Aguas Calientes; you have to take a train. This is a four hour train ride from Cusco, and a two hour train ride from Ollantaytambo. There are plenty of places to spend the night in the town, and it might be best to plan for two nights to stay there with two of the days used to go to Machu Picchu so you can have enough recovery time. I thought it would be best that we should go up on the day of the train ride, and that was a little too much to do in one day for my dad. It would have been better to spread it out a bit.

I would also recommend an afternoon visit and a morning visit, especially on the day you are leaving if you are staying in Ollantaytambo that night. It might seem to be a bit much to get up, hike through Machu Picchu then catch a train, but if you are going up to see the sunrise, and then heading back down, you will only be at the sight for an hour or two, and the train station is not far from any of the hotels with most of the hotels willing to help you get to their hotel when you arrive, and back when you are ready to head on.

There are three different circuits that take you around Machu Picchu and you can only go in one direction on them. They all offer amazing views, but the most spectacular views come from Circuit One. This is the shortest of the hikes, but at the same time, it is up and can take a lot out of many people. It is possible to do, but just make sure you take plenty of breaks along the way. Also know that the steps are the original steps and can be difficult to navigate on the best of days. These steps are at all of the circuits though. The steps are also not uniform so it takes big steps sometimes to go up or down, and that is something that should be considered when coming to Machu Picchu.

Circuit Two and Three go more around the inside of Machu Picchu, and are best experienced with a guide. These can be found at both outside of Machu Picchu, and down in Aguas Calientes. If they are hired in town before the bus rides, they are great in navigating how to get on and off the bus and where to go for the trip. The can also help in making it around the more difficult parts of the hike while taking pictures for you at the same time. The other two circuits can also be difficult, but there are short cuts around some of the more difficult parts, but it also takes away from the overall experience, so this something else that should be kept in mind.

In the words of my dad, Machu Picchu is a magical place, and there is a reason that it is on many people’s bucket list. It is not for everybody though, and great consideration should be taken if thinking about taking an elderly person there. But if they are adventurous and are still mobile, with good planning, they can tap into that magic that is found there. It is also great to watch them as they start to experience that magic with you.

Until next time, enjoy getting out there and seeing what the world has to offer.

Which Circuit is Best for You – Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is one of the most popular sights in the world because of its beauty and the magical things that happen when visiting. Traveling there takes some planning though, and when that starts happening there are many questions that come up about how to get the most out of the experience. When doing the research on Machu Picchu, one of the biggest questions that come up is about the circuits. There are three circuits where you can schedule specific times to walk through them, and each one has their own specific appeal, so which ones would be right for you?

Circuit 1

At one kilometer, circuit one is the shortest trail, but it is also the one that has the most elevation gain. It is basically a one-kilometer hike on the backside of the ruins up stairs most of the way. Some of the stairs are made out of wood with standardized step sizes, but there are the old rocky uneven Inca steps the rest of the way. It is a little bit of a workout on the way up, and you do go back the same way you came, so there is always the struggle of finding enough space to navigate the steps.

It does take you up to the highest ridge in Machu Picchu, and offers the iconic views that everybody thinks of when thinking of Machu Picchu. There is not a lot of history to the hike up, so I do not believe a guide is necessary for this circuit. Most people just take it so they can get that iconic view of the sight in person. There are a couple of offshoots to the circuit that you can add if you wish to make the hike a little more exciting such as going up the path past the ruins to the top of the mountain path that was first used to get into the sight. It is worth the views, but that is really the only thing that makes this circuit worth it. If you are taking this circuit, I would recommend to get it as early in the morning that you can because this is when the least amount of people will be on the path. It also allows you to be up there during the sunrise which is one of the most magical times of the day at Machu Picchu. When I went, we were a part of the 6:00 group, and the whole sight was blanketed in a cloud. I thought it was going to be a complete bust, but the sun came up and slowly burned away the clouds, making for a dramatic reveal of Machu Picchu that I will never forget. This was also during the end of July when the sun is powerful enough to break up the clouds. If you are planning on going during the rainy season, December through February, the clouds might be too thick, and I have heard that they sometimes stick around all day.

Circuit 2

Circuit 2 starts at the same place as Circuit 1, but it heads into the sight quickly instead of skirting around just outside of the spectacular views of the sight. It still goes up the terraces to some amazing spots with great views, and it is worth getting there early so you can look over Machu Picchu before all of the other tourists arrive and start to fill it in. The pictures are not as dramatic as they are when you are looking down at Machu Picchu from the perch on Circuit 1, but there are still plenty of spots that have great views.

The circuit is basically a big circle that will eventually take you down into the sight, taking a bigger loop around the central part of the sight than Circuit 3 will. There are a few important places that Circuit 2 will take you to that are interesting, but sometimes you will not know about their significance, so if you are only able to get tickets to this circuit, hiring a guide would be suggested because they will be able to explain to you more of what you are seeing, and they will also point out things that you might have missed if you did not have one.

There is an extension that you can add on to Circuit 2 that is for the more serious hikers. It takes hikers up Huayna Picchu (also spelled Wayna Picchu). This is the pointy mountain that is usually pictured when people look at Machu Picchu. Most of those pictures do not reveal some more structures that are on top of this mountain that people can hike up to. The hike itself takes one to two hours to complete and it is not for the more casual hiker. It does take people straight up the mountain over some rougher terrain, but the views from up there are seldom seem by people coming out to Machu Picchu, and it might be something you would want to consider if you are in good shape.

Circuit 3

Circuit 3 has its own entrance into the sight, and it is the one that I enjoy the most. It takes visitors out to the terraces just like the other two hikes, but this is the one that will eventually take you into the heart of Machu Picchu. The circuit is a lot of up and down that takes people over the original steps of Machu Picchu, some of them easier to traverse than others, but all of them can be handled by most people. Just know that you will need to exert yourself some if you do take this route.

This is also the route that has the most history and stories to tell. I would highly recommend getting a guide during this section because they will really make it come to life, and most of them know how and where to take the perfect picture of you in the majesty of Machu Picchu. You can find many of the guides waiting outside of the entrance to Circuit 3 or down at the bus stop in Aguas Calientes, but make sure you ask how much they will cost before you hire one. I would also recommend that you talk with them for a bit to see how well they speak the language that you would like your tour in. All of the guides are multi-lingual, but sometimes an accent or pronunciation of certain can make some of them hard to follow, and you would like to know that before you are already on the trail with them.

Circuit 3 does offer some views, but none of them as amazing as the ones that you will see in Circuit 1 or 2. This is why I would suggest that you schedule at least two different tours. I would start off with Circuit 3 with a guide who will give you the background knowledge that you need so you can take one of the other circuits on your own and know enough about what you are seeing and why you are enjoying it. I would also spread the circuits over two days, one in the afternoon and one in the morning. This way you can see what Machu Picchu has to offer during the different times of the day. If you plan it right, you can minimize the time you have to spend in Aguas Calientes because out of all of the towns you can stay in the Sacred Valley, this is the one that is the least interesting. It is more exciting to take that twenty minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu and see the real attraction of the area.

Machu Picchu is an amazing sight, and it can easily be seen why it is on people’s bucket lists. If you are going to scratch it off your list, make the most of it by choosing the circuit that is best for you. Until next time, keep adding to that bucket list, but make sure you are crossing off things on it as well.