Trek to Machu Picchu or not? What we decided.

So I know we have another post on Machu Picchu for first timers; however, I decided to write something on what everyone really asks before going: should I trek to Machu Picchu or should I not?

Well, that is an excellent question. My suggestion: Experience now, trek later!

I am sure my response is going to create some controversy (calm down bloggers), I do want to iterate that this is only my personal suggestion.

First time? See more!

If this is your first visit to Peru and Machu Picchu, you’re likely going to want to see and experience more than what your travel itinerary allows. There are so many sights around the Sacred Valley that can easily take up some time. While Machu Picchu is a highlight and depending on how much time you have, it is important to include as many of the other stops along the way.

The hike up Machu Picchu is a very big task on its own!

So, funny story, when we got to the kiosk to buy bus tickets for Machu Picchu, we realized that we had dedicated money only for one bus ride. We planned to be at Machu Picchu for two days to see Machu and to hike up Huayna. So we decided to save on some money and commit to just doing the bus on the second day and decided to hike up Machu Picchu!

We were floored! The hike is steep. The oxygen is scarce. The switchbacks are endless. We took as many breaks as we could. Now we consider ourselves an athletic duo, playing in many local sports leagues and hiking when we get the chance. However, this hike is very special. With only two days in Aguas Calientes, these hikes really made good use of time and made our dinners that much more enjoyable.

In the effort of keeping this blog post short and sweet, I’ll leave it at that. We are glad we were able to do all that we did during our first visit to Peru. We got to hike, see, and explore. In the future we do plan on returning to do the trek! We, however, will plan that when we can dedicate all of our time to the trek to Machu Picchu.

For more details, read our other post “Visiting Machu Picchu for the First Time“