Opinions Requested of Amount of Time Spent in Macchu Picchu

TRAVELAM28

We would appreciate your opinions: did you find the amount of time spent in Machu Picchu satisfactory for your enjoyment and appreciation of the ruins? We are debating joining the Empire of the Incas Trip vs. travelling to area on our own or with other tour options. Since Machu Picchu is our #1 reason for travelling to Peru - will two half days of time spent there enable us to have a quality/quantity experience? Thanks in advance for any comments you can share!

ScorpioS

Enjoyment of traveling is a very personal thing. We all enjoy different experiences. My DH and I went on Tauck's Machu Picchu and the Galapagos tour over ten years ago. I did notice that they now have several different tours there. I LOVED Machu Picchu and he LOVED the Galapagos portion. We explored Machu Picchu with the group and guide the first afternoon after arrival and then the next morning, our group were the only ones there that morning since we all stayed at the hotel next door to the ruins and everyone else had to get a bus up to the ruins. In the a.m ., it was misty and so spiritual. It was plenty of time for BOTH of us there. I know people whose relatives started at the bottom and hiked up to the top. That is not our thing to do. If you want more time there, maybe you should look at a different tour. We have been all around the World and on 20 Tauck tours including India, Australia & New Zealand and Egypt and Jordan. We have NEVER felt that we spent too little time anywhere -- but then that's our manner of travel -- see it and then move on.

Sheila

Big Chief Flat Butt

We just returned from the Empire of the Incas tour. I could not make it to the third level, but my uncle (who had worked out for the past six months) went all the way up to the "guard house" where the Inca Trail intersects Machu Picchu. He was ecstatic! That climb covered an afternoon. The "hard core" climbers went back the next morning for yet-another tour (different from what the guide offered during the afternoon visit). They were still buzzing with happiness when we reconvened for lunch. I think that the right amount of time was spent at Machu Picchu and I wish that I had been in better physical condition to enjoy it more.

I must mention that there are also some challenging climbs to do at Ollantaytambo, up to lunch on Taquille Island and again upward for lunch at Island of the Sun. Lake Titicaca was a pleasant surprise; so was the physical configuration of La Paz!

It's a first-class tour and Tina (our Tour Director) handled all of the inevitable problems of South American infrastructure with grace and ingenuity. We all just sat back and let her devise work arounds to logistical issues. We laughed at the Bolivian customs officers and their attempts to slow us down. We had fun.