The Accidental Explorer

CUSCO, PERU – Well, the title of this column probably gives you an idea of what I thought of Machu Picchu, the famous “Lost City of the Incas.” I wish I could say it was an amazing, magical experience, the highlight of my travels through Peru, but I can’t. Sure, I had a great time, but I could never quite shake the feeling that Machu Picchu is less about magical experiences and more about making money.I’m not suggesting it wasn’t interesting. Machu Picchu is probably the most famous symbol of the Inca Empire, and is undoubtedly the top tourist attraction in Peru. Both the Peruvian government and tourism industry heavily promote Machu Picchu in marketing campaigns around the globe, portraying it as a mystical, magical place.

But let’s be honest about it… Machu Picchu is the cash cow of the Peruvian tourism industry. It brings in millions of dollars of tourist revenue each year, and as a result everything associated with it quickly becomes overcrowded, overpriced, and sometimes underwhelming.

Llamas feel right at home at Machu Picchu.

Every year, thousands of tourists embark on a four-day walk along the “Inca Trail,” a section of ancient Inca road that runs between Cusco and Machu Picchu. I began my journey on foot, but as luck would have it I pulled a muscle the first morning of my adventure and had to return to Cusco in pain. Three days and lots of ibuprofen later I was ready to try again. At the risk of aggravating my injury I decided to take the train!

PeruRail runs a tourist train to the town of Aguas Calientes, at the base of Machu Picchu. Aguas Calientes is the classic “you’re trapped here and we know it” tourist town. Other than the train there’s no way in or out, and it’s no accident that upon exiting the train you must run the gauntlet through a crowded market full of aggressive vendors. Once past the market you discover that every restaurant in town is a pizza restaurant. I’m not kidding – EVERY restaurant in town is a pizza restaurant. Makes the decision about what to have for dinner easy, huh?

After one night in pizza-rich Aguas Calientes I was ready to escape, and I decided to bypass the tourist bus and walk to the top of the mountain. The setting is nothing short of spectacular; sheer cliffs seemingly drop away on almost every side. Below, the turbulent Urubamba River wraps around the base of the mountain like a winding snake.

I have to admit that walking among the ruins was, for the most part, uninteresting. Despite the high admission price, visitors receive nothing to help them understand what it is they’re looking at. No map, no guide, not even a brochure. If you want that type of information you must buy one of the exorbitantly priced Machu Picchu guidebooks on sale back in Aguas Calientes. As a result, every stone building looks more or less like the one next to it, often with a crowd of tourists standing around scratching their heads trying to divine its significance.

Visitors explore terracing that once supported agriculture on steep cliffs.

The highlight of my visit was ascending Huayna Picchu, the small peak which can be seen in the background of every classic Machu Picchu photo. Huayna Picchu rises 300m above Machu Picchu, providing a commanding view of the city and its surroundings. The climb gave me a true appreciation for what the Incas went through to build this place.

Walking up almost vertical stairs set into stone, one reaches the top to find terraces and buildings perched around the summit. Other sets of stairs – more steep and exposed than the ones open to tourists – are visible along the cliffs. It sinks in that not only did the Incas have a more precarious walk than modern-day visitors, but they carried all the building materials up those steps with them.

Machu Picchu is quite striking relative to other Peruvian ruins I have visited in one other respect: it is utterly clean and spotless. There is not a rock out of place or a weed to be found, and the grass is cut with almost surgical precision by gardeners using machetes. Tiger Woods would feel right at home putting around the place. I daresay that Machu Picchu probably looks better now than it did when people actually lived here.

Inca stonework is so precise that stones fit together like puzzle pieces, making mortar unnecessary.

One rather curious quirk regarding Machu Picchu is the odd use of currency. The official currency of Peru is the nuevo sol. When you are in Peru, prices for goods are in soles, just as in Britain prices are in pounds, and in Japan prices are in yen. It all makes sense, right? Except that prices for almost everything associated with Machu Picchu, from train tickets to hotel rooms, shuttle buses, and even admission to the site itself, is in U.S. dollars. At the current exchange rate of about three soles per dollar, this essentially has the effect of tripling the listed price for almost every service involved.

This isn’t a big deal if you’re from the U.S. because you’re used to thinking in terms of U.S. dollars, but for travelers from other countries it causes considerable angst. For example, imagine the frustration of a traveler from Peru who arrives at the Grand Canyon only to discover that the advertised admission price is in British Pounds. It just doesn’t make sense, yet that’s exactly what happens at Machu Picchu. Unfortunately, it’s often not clear which currency is being quoted, and I have run into more than a few travelers who were shocked to discover that a quoted price was in dollars and not soles.

Despite feeling like a walking cash machine for the Peruvian tourism industry, I had a great time at Machu Picchu. But I’ll be honest – I think to a large degree the marketing hype exceeds the experience. I also couldn’t help making comparisons to other ruins I have visited in Peru, such as Kuélap, another archeological site of similar scale to Machu Picchu that is in much earlier stages of excavation. Exploring Kuélap I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie – uncovering ancient ruins still choked by jungle and all but devoid of people. Machu Picchu, on the other hand, feels like industrial tourism gone berserk.

Ultimately, I discovered that many of my fellow travelers had reactions similar to mine: despite having a great experience, we were never able to escape the feeling that Machu Picchu is much more about making money than it is a magical place to visit. Call it “Machu Picchu, Incorporated.”