Machu Picchu

There are two ways to get to Machu Picchu from the Sacred Valley, via train or hiking 1 or 4 days on the Classic Inca Trail.  The train option takes you to Aguas Calientes, a small town tucked in the valley below Machu Picchu.  From Aguas Calientes, a 20-minute shuttle bus takes you to the ruins.  The Classic Inca Trail allows you to arrive in Machu Picchu by foot, entering through the Gate of the Sun:

The Sacred Valley & Train to Machu Picchu

Inca Trail Treks & Machu Picchu


Machu Picchu is one of the world’s most spectacular archeological sites and the most emblematic of the Inca empire.  It was built in the 15th century on the saddle of a mountain overlooking the deep canyon of the Urubamba River.  Machu Picchu served as a royal Incan estate and religious retreat.

The Inca Civilization
With a mastery of engineering, agriculture, and economics, the Incas built one of the largest and wealthiest empires in the Western hemisphere.  Beginning in the mid-1400s, they used a variety of methods, peacefully uniting waring tribes and using force to conquer when necessary.  At its apex in the late fifteenth century, the impressive Inca kingdom encompassed lands including present-day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.  The city of Cusco, located in the highlands of southern Peru, served as the administrative, political, and military center of the empire.

The Incas believed that they were descendents of the sun and thus worshipped the god of the sun, Inti.  Every year Inti Raymi or "Sun Festival"  was celebrated on the winter solstice of the southern hemisphere.  This most important and spectacular festivity was dedicated to giving thanks and praise to Inti for the current harvest and to ask for abundant crops in the future.  The Incas also worshipped the Earth goddess, Pachamama.

“Machu Picchu is a trip to the serenity of the soul, to the eternal fusion with the cosmos, there we feel our own fragility. It is one of the greatest marvels of South America. A resting place of butterflies at the epicenter of the great circle of life. One more miracle.”
                                                                                                                           -- Pablo Neruda