Yes. It’s just as good as I imagined. Better.
So much to explore and it truly defies comprehension how they formed these stones to fit together so perfectly–like so many locking pieces. And why at the very top? The mystery of it all is that nobody knows. Our calves were killing us by the end of the day. It was such a beautiful place and the Andes mountains create a perfect amphitheater to present the emerald city of Machu Picchu–like the center jewel in a crown. You better bet we poked our heads into every possible nook and cranny we could find. And there are a LOT of nooks and even more crannies.
Tip: BRING BUG SPRAY. Wish I had.
Tip: If you like stamps in your National Parks Passport, they have a really awesome one you can do. And if you really like stamps like we do, they will stamp the entrance stamp into your passport too.
Visiting Machu Picchu with Kids
Tip: You are allowed ONE entry into the ruins and there are no bathrooms inside. Terrible planning on their part–time yourself well. This particular aspect would make this a difficult site with kids.
Tip: There are lots of stairs and not much shade, but plenty of places to sit down on the walls and boulders around.
Tip: There’s plenty of space for kids to roam around. We were surprised how spacious the site felt. Thousands of visitors come every day, but you still find yourself walking through deserted corners of ruins.
Tip: The site is designed as a kind of one way route through the ruins. They have rangers around to keep people moving in this general direction. Since the whole city is a kind of maze, you somehow pop out at the end and say, “Oh no! We wanted to go back to that one spot.” Then you can’t seem to find your way back with all the one-way signs and rangers waiting to blow their whistle at you. So don’t plan to return to any part of the site–take in everything you want from each part before moving on.
Walkabout 