Machu Picchu
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Sanctuary Of Machu Picchu (1983, Mixed Natural And Cultural). A 15th Century Inca Royal Estate On A Ridge At About 2,430 M, One Of The New Seven Wonders Of The World (2007). Entry Is By Timed Tickets With Daily Limits. · Machu Picchu, Cusco
Machu Picchu is the best-known Inca site in the world: a royal estate of terraces, temples and stone houses built in the 15th century on a narrow ridge about 2,430 m above sea level, with the Urubamba river far below and green peaks on every side. Spanish forces never found it, which is why so much of it survives, and it was only brought to world attention in 1911. Few places in South America ask this much planning for a single day. The honest picture is a premium day. Entry is by timed ticket with daily limits and fixed one-way circuits, you must get to the town of Aguas Calientes by train, and it is crowded and costly. It is still worth it, because the setting is genuinely hard to match. Book tickets and trains weeks to months ahead, expect mist and rain in the wet season, and do not assume sunrise is the best hour, since cloud often hides the view until mid-morning. Bring patience, layers, a rain jacket, small cash for the town and a spare day in case weather or a strike changes the plan, and it will repay you.
Inca citadel on a ridge above the Urubamba river, reached by train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes and then a bus or the steep walk up, Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru
The site opens early each morning and closes in the late afternoon, every day of the year, but entry is only through your timed ticket slot and only along your assigned circuit. Confirm the current slots, circuits and re-entry rules when you buy. The site is NEVER free for foreign visitors. The Inca Trail closes for maintenance in February, and the site itself has closed for weeks after landslides or protests, so check the news before a long trip.