If you ever wanted to visit Machu Picchu, there is no better time to go than today. Although it is one of the most popular sites among the New World’s 7 Wonder, Machu Picchu is totally do-able and quite easy to get to if you have enough budget and time to work with.

Here’s few things to consider at the beginning stage of trip planning:

• Busiest time of the year is between April-November (during dry season), and beyond December until March you should expect rain season (makes trekking much challenging and unpredictable).
• Inca Trail closes on February (Machu Picchu will remain open).
• You cannot hike Inca Trail and other trails around Machu Picchu on your own. Certified tour guide must be hired in advance. I HIGHLY recommend X-Treme Tourbulencia (explained further down in this article).
• Huayna Picchu is alternative trekking route from Machu Picchu that thrusts in the direct back drop of Inca site. You will hike for about 45 minutes to get to the summit. There is also another trail behind Huayna Picchu that descends to Templo de la Luna which is total Indiana Jones experience to adventure through. Entry to Huayna Picchu area requires permit. Make sure to book this option with your tour company!
• Nearest town from Machu Picchu is Aguas Calientes. Unless you’re doing Inca Trail, you have option to reach Machu Picchu from this town via shuttle bus or by foot. Most visitors take train from Ollantaytambo or Hidroelectrica Station (which I did) to get to Aguas Calientes.  Due to its accessibility, Aguas Calientes is always busy and packed. Most tours include hotel accommodation in this town with fixed price.
• Determine your physical ability. What level of difficulty are you looking for the tour? Trekking course I am sharing in this post is 8-Days trekking with strenuous difficulty. This trek may not be something for everyone, but if you are fit and want to soak in as much nature as possible I cannot recommend anything else 🙂

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        The Beginning of Trip Planning

When I was just starting on planning my Peru trip, I really had no information in my hands. I knew some of my friends had visited there couple of years ago, but it was during the high season (August) and condition of weather and circumstance was different from my time of visit. My plan was to do epic trek in late November, which is usually at the brink of rain season.

I also decided against the “traditional” travel route that guidebooks recommend starting from Lima down towards Ica then to Arequipa→Puno→Cusco finally ending up in Machu Picchu. Instead I decided to fly directly from Lima to Cusco, which is 11,000 ft. above sea-level and spent two nights there for altitude acclimatization before embarking on trekking tour.
Here’s activity tips in Cusco that I highly recommend checking out before/after Machu Picchu.

BOOST UP your Machu Picchu fantasies

First thing to do: Go to your local used book store and thumb through few pages of novels and biographies of man named Hiram Bingham III. Bingham is American explorer who brought the mystery of Machu Picchu back to the US in early 20th Century and later remembered as the “character model” of Indiana Jones.

My absolute recommendation for you is Turn Right at Machu Picchu by the New York Times journalist Mark Adams. This book is basically a humorous documentation of Mark (the author) going to Peru and following the paths of Hiram Bingham. While the book is filled with witty adventure stories that shimmer with inspiration for epic Peruvian trip, it also gives reader a good insight on lesser known Inca temples and artifacts.

For example, the existence of Machu Picchu’s sister temple Choquequirao was first introduced to me through this book. I am so glad that I’ve read this book because it gave me knowledge of historical context and basic timelines of events that took place around Machu Picchu before going on the tour. Information on this book added more colors to the whole trekking experience. HIGHLY recommended book to read before the trip planning.

My personal experience with X-Treme Tourbulencia

I decided to book my tour with X-Treme Tourbulencia based on great customer reviews and responsive customer service center (massive shout out to Miranda who helped me tremendously to get my perfect adventure itinerary!) I think many people usually try to find the tour based on what they want, but I went the opposite direction and started my search by eliminating what I don’t want:

• Don’t want to get huddled by tourists and stand in foot traffic.
• Don’t want to do typical hikes that everyone does.
• Don’t want to miss out on the real Peruvian experience.

What I wanted was rebellious hike. Punk rock hike.

Choquequirao was my major point of interest for the tour.
Especially, after learning about the construction project to build cable car access to this Inca site; I couldn’t resist my desire to visit the ruin before it gets “ruined” by foreseeable tourist traffic. Fortunately, X-Treme Tourbulencia had several options for trek that included visit to Choquequirao!

The tour I signed up Choquequirao Trek to Machu Picchu 8 Days was perfect option for my dream trip. Although at first I signed up as solo (which the company gratefully accommodated by the way) X-Treme Tourbulencia gave me option to merge with other 2 awesome wanderlusts to make the trek something even more enjoyable. If you have particular point of interest for Inca sites, I would suggest consulting with the company for advise.

Watch: Choquequirao to Machu Picchu Epic 8 Days Trekking.

Things I really enjoyed about X-Treme Tourbulencia was its quality assurance. When I landed in Cusco, I made a visit to the office located right by the Plaza de Armas and was given detailed orientation on how each day of 8 day trek will be like (weather, elevation change, lodging situation etc). During the orientation, Jaime–our tour guide who spoke fluent English–asked me about dietary restriction and equipment checklist (by the way, majority of important items are included in the tour; all you really need to bring aside from clothing was sleeping bag and hiking sticks that you can buy in Sacred Valley for mere 7 soles). It was VERY nice to know the overall picture of trekking before start.

The Trek

My 8 days trek started from Cachora Town located far northwest of Cusco and made the way across Andes through Apurimac River via Chiquisca then to Choquequirao. First three days were incessant incline/decline through arid mountains which is typical of western side of Andes. From Day 5 we started to see a climate change as we passed the peak of Yanama Pass to enter the east side of Andes. Fortunately, El Nino effect put the weather in our favor despite the usual rain season; we have not run into serious rain that deter our trekking experience.

Here’s my epic 8 day journey broken down into photo summary:

DAY 1
(Cachora Town to Huayhuacalle)

DAY 2
(Down to Chiquisca and crossed Apurimac River to climb to the Marmanpata campsite) 

DAY 3
(Choquequirao! Beautiful riverside lunch and Spartan mode to reach Maizal above clouds)

DAY 4
(Maizal to San Juan Pass via silver mines to Yanama)

DAY 5
(Yanama Pass to Ccollpapampa)

DAY 6
(Merged with Salkantay Trekkers and continued to Lucmabamba)

 DAY 7
(Llactapata and Hidroelectrica Train Station to Aguas Calientes)

DAY 8
(The Machu Picchu)

I hope you enjoyed this photo collection.
If you are avid hiker and willing to spend as much time in the mountain as possible, I highly recommend to add Choquequirao as part of your journey plan. It would be a big detour to get to Machu Picchu, but the beauty of the sister ruin is definitely a sight to be seen.

Please contact X-Treme Tourbulencia if you have any questions or need recommendation on tour based on your time availability. They are very nice and will definitely point you to the right direction.
Machu Picchu is not the only place to visit in this side of Peru!

Happy trails!