Lukewarm Take: The Experience of Trying to Get Tickets Almost Makes it Not Worth it
Detailed and for most, spicy take coming -
I went with my elderly divorced parents and fiancée last week. My partner and I have been traveling together for 7 years. My mom and dad have traveled in their lives (father less so; he is also Brazilian). As for me, I have been traveling and living in different countries for 24 years.
Never, and I mean Never, have I seen a more exploitative and poorly run system to see a world site in my entire life. Everything from Ollantaytambo onwards is designed to separate you from your money in order to see Machu Picchu. It starts with the extremely overpriced train ride, the only way to get there besides hiking.
If you cannot obtain next day tickets for MP, you are forced to wander Aguas endlessly looking at souvenirs and paying for overpriced food which vacillates between middling and poor. The accommodations, which are not expensive, are also quite poor and there is little in the way of anything decent. $24 round trip bus tickets up and back is not terrible but a bit pricey for two 30 minute rides.
That said, after a small medical issue with my father at the entrance, which delayed our 6:00 am entry time to 7:20, we were greeted with less dense crowds (the doc onsite recommended we try to go between hours), mist and clouds streaming over the site, and the llamas were out. We were able to find an incredible guide via my partner who had met another guide at the market. He was excellent and made the experience better, constantly making sure the family was ok, taking great photos and videos, and even performed a coca leaf ceremony where we released some of my brother’s ashes. He was also able to show us a few other things off our primary route.
Overall, Machu Picchu was incredible and something you should see if you are able. But, the confusion and exploitation with the ticket system as well as there being little to do in AC made it challenging. I checked every day for two weeks and there were tickets available into afternoon. Many people spoke of pre-tickets to come purchase tickets later in the day which is why we split our group by two different trains. When we arrived, after waiting in line for hours, tickets were sold out by 10:30 and they were being sold directly, not by queuing for a time to purchase tickets later. The next day, my parents were in line by 4:30 am, and there were about 370 people ahead of them by my estimates. We secured route 2A. Also, it should be noted that you can buy tickets for a different route on the same day if you get back in line but only IF you have a second passport.
Essentially, check the posts here as often as possible as well as the live ticket counter, as it seems the rules and systems change weekly. Get in line as early as possible.
As for Aguas, above the main market where people buy meat and produce, there is a food court that was 90% locals and the food was way better and cheaper than anywhere in town. Other off the beaten path things we did was hike down to a secret beach on the river for a few hours. If you leave the butterfly enclosure and head back to town, there’s a steep path down to the river through the brush just off the road. We also walked up the incline where people were finishing the trek just past the butterfly enclosure and walked along the train tracks back to town. While there are signs discouraging it, locals we met on it told us everyone does it and it’s fine, just be wary walking through the tunnels. I also got a shape up at a barbershop and watched locals play sports on the main field.
TLDR: AC sucks but there is stuff off the beaten path, MP is incredible but the cost and logistical nightmare almost makes it not worth it