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Huayna Picchu hike at Machu Picchu
My wife and I are on the Peru and Galapagos tour in late March 2016. We are interested in doing the Huayna (or Wayna) Picchu hike when we are at Machu Picchu. This requires a separate permit and is only done twice a day with a guide, at 7:00 am and 10:00am, so the only opportunity would be to do the 7:00am hike on the second day (Day 5 of the tour) and get back before the bus leaves the site. The hike takes about 2hrs so there should be no problem getting back for the bus that leaves around 9:30 to 9:45am. Just wondering if anybody else that has done this tour has attempted the Huayna Picchu hike? If so, was it easy to get the permit (they limit the number to 400 per day)? Was there time to do the hike and get back to the bus with no difficulty?
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Note, the Wayna Picchu Mountain area will be closed to tourists from April 1st through 15th of 2016. Hopefully they won't start work earlier in March.
It is an 1158' climb to 8835', not a leisurely hike, to Huayna Picchu! If it has rained or is rainy, the going can be quite slow. (During the wet season (November – April) there is a higher chance of heavy rainfall and the trail may become slippery and more challenging to traverse.) Unless you are the lead dog you may not be able to complete the ascent and descent as quickly as you think. You may have others ahead of you that could slow your progress. You must catch the 1030 bus in order to make it to lunch. You'll also want to spend some time at the top to look around and take photos. If you read the info at the link below, you'll see that you should realistically figure it will take a minimum of 2 hours with zero time at the top. And don't forget to add in the time you'll need to traverse the main MP site- from the main entrance of Machu Picchu it takes 15-20 minutes to walk to the trail head. Time-wise, it still may be possible, but Climbing Huayna Picchu will be the only thing you'll be able to do that morning.
You must have a combo ticket ($43.) I doubt the Tauck (group?) ticket gives you access to Huayna Picchu because when you buy a combo ticket you also select the climb time- you would be spending money on Machu Picchu twice (once with Tauck, once to get a Huayna Picchu ticket).
Maybe Joycesw or others will weigh in. I will be interested to see your post-trip post if you do make the climb. We are scheduled for March 2017.
I'm sure you've seen the Official MP site and visited others. Here is a link to a guide to hiking Huayna Picchu.
Reading the materials in the links, it appears that the Tauck itinerary would allow time to do the short trail up the mountain, but would allow very little time to hang around at the top to enjoy the view. The full trail that would include viewing the Great Cavern and the Moon Temple (which is what we were really interested in) would not be possible as it takes 3 1/2 hours. I wonder if you skipped climbing to the top, whether you could just do Great Cavern and the Moon Temple within the 2 hours or so that is available within the Tauck itinerary. I talked to the Tauck representatives, and they did not have any information about the Huayna Picchu climb. I am sure that you are correct that the permits that Tauck would secure would not include it, so if you want to avoid double payment, you would have to arrange with them early enough and perhaps they can accommodate the request. Clearly, we started the process way too late. There seems to be plenty of other hikes, such as Macchu Pichu mountain, that will provide similar panoramic views of the area and likely will be considerably less crowded, so that is our Plan B.
As much as I would have liked to make that climb, too, I just think it would be cutting it too close and I would miss out on seeing it at ground level. I don't think there is any danger of being stuck up at Machu Picchu because the buses run all day, but you might be late or miss lunch in Aguas Calientes and maybe cause your TD some anxiety, and you don't want to miss the train.
Something else I read while doing my research is there are a number of new rules and procedures being proposed by UNESCO and considered by Peru for Machu Picchu. One of which is to further limit the number of daily visitors and group sizes, while another would mandate guided groups- you would no longer be free to roam the site on your own. So far nothing has been approved or adopted, and I hope it never is!
On a related note, for those who read this post and also considering Classic Italy, it appears the Italian government is looking at measures to manage the growing crowds, including requiring reservations for all major sites- many require reservations now. It is good Tauck arranges a number of after-hours visits. One reason given for this by Rick Steves is that besides Italy being a one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, the middle class in China and India is growing significantly and now also has the money to travel.
Guess I will be putting the benediction of your attempted climb. Sorry it didn't work out, but there are really a lot of factors that make the climb a difficult one within the parameters of Tauck's itinerary. From our experience, Alan was spot- on in his summary of concerns. While your fate is sealed, SoccerFan, I'm sure there are others considering this climb (we did, too), so here is some food for thought for them. While the ticketing process was different when we went (also in March), the weather might be a huge factor. When we disembarked the train at Agua Calientes, it began to rain lightly. By the time we boarded the bus for the ride up the mountain, it was raining buckets. We had lunch (still raining), and the rain seemed to stop as we entered the ruins an hour later. The sun broke through, and the ruins took on a golden hue (quite magical...get teary writing about it). That night it poured again! We were up for the 6 AM entry (at that time, the line had formed for those wanting to hike Huayna Pcichu...and they ran across the ruins to grab first entry tickets). What we found at that hour was fog and mist. The clouds seemed to sweep up from the Urubamba River and alternately cover and expose the mountain and the ruins. It became quite mystical for us as we hiked above the ruins (across from Huayna Picchu) as the ruins and the mountain were continually revealed and covered with fog. I wonder how many of those snagging the early tickets actually saw something. What a bummer to do the hike and not be able to see more than a few feet, and that is what it looked like from our vantage point across from the mountain. We went back to the lodge for breakfast and then returned to the ruins, taking the very last bus down. The fog and mist started to lift about a half hour before we boarded the bus.
As Alan mentioned, the rain would make for a sloppy climb, and then there are those slower hikers. Never assume that those hiking in front of you are fit and able to do a fairly strenuous hike at altitude (even though it is much lower than Cusco). Also, as Alan mentioned, I am sure Tauck doesn't really care if you miss lunch (however, you will miss a great Pisco Sour lesson!), but they worry if you are not on that train, as I am not even sure when or how you would get back to Cusco if you missed that departure!
As a side note, while you will miss this particular hike, trust me that if you participate in EVERYTHING the Galapagos piece has to offer, you will experience more than enough hiking and snorkeling!! There is a great book (Galapagos Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide by David Horwell and Pete Oxford) that really added to our enjoyment of the trip. One of our very favorite trips!!
Joyce
As I mentioned and as Joyce experienced, rain/fog can be an issue at MP not just if you want to climb HP. My research says the rainy season extends to April. I'm uncertain what that actually means and what can be expected as it ends. I have yet to look at the day by day climatology history, but as we all know weather can be unpredictable. Maybe you'll be lucky this year and I'll be lucky next year and we will have clear skies over the site for at least a few hours.
I chose the end of March departure based on Joyce's recommendation and my research- it is the "warm" season in the Galápagos which means it will be more tropical and humid, but most important in my mind is that the water should be the warmest (the cold Humboldt Current further south) and it is about two months or so after the end of sea lion breeding season (May-January) . Galápagos Sea Lions have a 11 month gestation and begin breeding as early as three weeks after giving birth, though there are variables such as nursing that can delay the cycle and births can also occur year-round, but you should expect to see some very young pups and possibly births in March/April.
I'm glad Alan posted the need to book extra tours well in advance, it's going to be very useful reading for future explorers of this forum.