Machu Pichu

I went about 18 years ago so most of what I experienced is well out of date. The one thing I would say is if you can, do the Inca trail to Machu Pichu, rather than getting the train and bus there.

Unless it's changed significantly, you can only go to the Sun Gate and then see the classic view if you do the trail and that was the best part of the whole trip. 

Cusco was properly bonkers as you'd expect and I can't believe it's got any less so. 

I absolutely loved it, one of the best experiences of my life. 

20 odd years ago for me, but agree with Boris - the multi day inca trail hike was an incredible experience. Definitely look into doing that if you can.

If you can walk in it’s quite amazing. Check out KE adventure for some of their holidays. 

Its an amazing place, took my breath away when I didn’t expect it to

We went with KE on their Choquequirao trip about 5 years ago. One of the best trips I've done with them. Great walking, very quiet because it's not "The Inca Trail" and you still go to Machu Pichu at the end but the rest of the trip was probably better overall.

You need permits and things to get in, all fairly straight forward but needs to be done in advance. We flew from Heathrow to Bogota and then Cusco.

Did it in 1999 from the Inca trail. Incredibly memorable and I believe they have found more since then. I know you can't do the inca trail independently anymore but despite that I'm sure it would still be worthwhile. The views, history and just overall experience well worth it. Would love to do it again with my boys.

Another one who did it a lifetime ago. Part of a world challenge trip in 1997. We also did the Inca trail walk in which was amazing and some hot Springs at the bottom of the valley too which were nice. Definitely a bucket list adventure!

Went 11 years ago for my 40th on a cycling trip in Peru. I mean, incredible place.

15 years ago on our honeymoon, hike the inca trail first, coca leaf tea will see you through........

Im not really a bucket list kind of person, but that definitely was one for me

You've options, either pay a lot for the Inca Trail trek or do the far cheaper, longer and more demanding Salkantay trek. I booked this locally in Cusco for a fraction of the Inca trail hike price (permits to the Inca trail hike were totally oversubscribed at the time also). To get here quick and do no hiking, head to Cusco from Lima. Then you can take a train to the little village below and get a bus up to the site. If you get there really early, you'll get to see a lot of it with very few other tourists. 

As above did the Inca Trail which was an awesome experience in 2008. Machu Pichu is an awe-inspiring site. As noted get there early before the crowds arrive in the late morning - I would imagine its even busier now than when I went. Also worth visiting other parts of Peru - Lake Titicaca, Nazca Lines. I enjoyed a few days in the deepest Amazon which was unforgettable.

Not sure if the OP is keen on hiking there, which is cool because you don't actually have to! 😊 Many tour companies in Cusco will arrange to take you from Cusco on the train to the town at the bottom of the hill from Machu Pikachu (Aguas Calientes), then its a bus ride up to the top of the mountain where the sacred city itself is. (You can walk up also if you want to) You will need to book several weeks, if not a couple of months in advance though - the tour companies need to secure your MP permit for the day of your visit and they do book up!

I went via the Salkantay Trek route 18 months ago, which was 4 days to AC, then a very full morning, starting at 5am, exploring the MP ruins. If you are into high-ish altitude trekking, I would *probably* recommend doing a trek similar to this also.

I say 'probably', because in my experience although I am really, really into high-altitude trekking (I love *solo* trekking in Nepal), I actually found that being on a guided tour-trek for 5 days quite exhausting. Maybe its the misanthrope in me, but interacting with other stranger people constantly from pre-dawn to dusk every day was really tiring, when all I actually wanted to do was enjoy the mountains at my own (relatively rapid) pace and walk. Also, because the tour was arranged around the slowest-possible-walking-times-of-the-slowest-people, a very prompt 4:30am start was mandated every day, with long stops during the day for people to catch up, followed by very long sessions (over an hour!) sitting around being told about stuff, which really isn't my cup of tea. It began to feel like some sort of horrible army bootcamp after a while 🤣 

By the time I got to MP I was completely shattered, which somewhat detracted from the experience, to be honest. Because of the very rushed early start that day I also really, really needed a poo the whole time round, which is a part of my abiding memory of visiting MP: 3 1/2 hours of really needing a poo. 🤣 

The ruins themselves are justifiably spectacular. Unfortunately, to my mind, the visiting experience is somewhat ruined by the numbers of people and just how 'controlled' the visit is. You have a limited time slot to visit and while going around the site, it is like being in a giant intestine (or, for some funny reason that day, that's how I saw it anyway!) - you are squashed in with many other tourists all doing exactly the same carefully mandated one-way route around the site. To me, it felt a bit constrained and like tourist circus. Apparently Peruvian locals are let in for free at weekends, so it might be best to time your visit during weekdays to reduce crowds. Not to put you off too much - MP is justifiably spectacular.

I would also recommend taking one of the visiting options to climb the mountain directly above MP - Huayna Picchu during your visit. This provides a spectacular if slightly terrifying counterpoint to MP. I say terrifying because it is genuinely very steep and technical - I'm a former rock climber and fairly experienced mountain scrambler - this is not a place for the faint hearted! What is so impressive about this part of the archaeological site on top of a very pointy mountian - is the buildings and incomprehensibly steep steps here. The fact the Inca used to run up and down these steps in woven sandals carrying loads is astonishing to me. HP is a very spectactuar place anyway, that gets you in truly touch with the mountain gods. 

The only disadvantage of visiting HP is that because of the limited time slot for your MP visit, as a trade-off you will probably end up being excluded from seeing other sections of MP. 

The train ride through the valley to and from AC is absolutely spectacular and well worth it. Unfortunately most of my poor fellow trekkers on the train were so absolutely exhausted at that point that they spent the whole journey comatose and drooling on their seat. 

My favourite place in Peru was Cusco. Loads and loads to see and absolutely fascinating. The other sites around the sacred valley are also WELL worth taking trip(s) out to see. I found the rest of Peru to be a bit of let down after this, in my very humble opinion.

If you do visit Lima on your way to Cusco and MP, your milage may vary from mine, but despite having travelled around a lot of the world now, I really found Lima to be a very unlovely place. For the first time in my life I was in a city, which after a fairly underwhelming first day of really trying to explore, I had absolutely no further enthusiasm to venture beyond my hotel's suburb in Miraflores. 

I hiked the Inca Trail a very long time ago. We'd bailed on climbing in Bolivia because of unseasonable snowfall - el niño responsible - so were pretty well acclimatised. It's a nice way of seeing MP for the first time and getting some time in the ruins before the crowds arrive and, for us at least, it was a very mellow trek. 

If you are going to trek there, make sure you have at least three or four days at altitude before the walk to acclimatise or you'll likely find it very hard going. I guess that the most reliable, though most expensive way to do it, would be to book an all-in trip with a UK tour operator. Or look into booking with a local outfit in advance as you now need to be guided. You can fly to Cusco from Lima, which is the minimal hassle way of getting there. 

If you're into hiking/trekking and don't want crowds of people, the Ausangate circuit is relatively local to Cusco - about eight hours on a bus / in the back of a truck when I was there, and really spectacular. Didn't see anyone bar the odd llama herder for four days. 

Cusco is astonishing. It manages somehow to be a tourist magnet without losing the sense of history that makes it special. 

Fwiw, it's a hell of a long way to go just to see MP and the Inca Trail. If I were you I'd be looking to stay for a month or so if I could and maybe take in Bolivia as well, which is just spectacular. 

We went 10 years ago for our honeymoon. We decided our time was best spent viewing more of Peru over doing the inca trail. We took the train in early for opening of Machu Pichu. It was a special experience as we were able to see it empty. We did the Huayna Picchu hike with the view from above and that was spectacular.