The Llama Travel Blog

Taking the train to Machu Picchu but you’re keen to take a crack at hiking whilst at the ruins? Walking the Inca Trail but you’re up for one final trek? Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain offer unparalleled birds-eye views of the ruins, as well as panoramic vistas of the surrounding peaks and valley. While both hikes are difficult, arguably making the decision of which mountain to climb is the biggest difficulty of all.

On visiting Machu Picchu, some people are content to wander amongst the ruins, while others are keen to get a different perspective on them. Climbing Huayna Picchu, the sugarloaf mountain which rises above the ruins, is a favoured challenge when it comes to seeking out an elevated vantage point. Becky, our Australia sales manager did the climb on a backpacking trip a few years ago, and here she reminisces on the experience.

The main area of Machu Picchu is quite compact and a three-hour tour of the site allows plenty of time to explore this. However, Machu Picchu is much more than just the main ruins, and there are several other visits that can be made in the area. My favourite of all of these is the climb up Machu Picchu Mountain. This is hard work, but immensely rewarding, with the best views in the area.

Just about everyone who visits Peru goes to Machu Picchu and loves it. You can visit on a day trip from Cusco or the Sacred Valley, and this is fabulous. It’s a long day (the Llama Travel excursion starts before 6am and you get back to Cusco around 9pm), but very satisfying. This includes a beautiful train journey, an in-depth guided tour of Machu Picchu and a great lunch in the restaurant next to the ruins. As Machu Picchu is quite a compact site, you visit most of the important parts of the ruins on the guided visit. So, given that you can visit Machu Picchu and see many of the significant sites in on a day trip, why would you want to spend a night there? Well, lots of reasons…