On my last post I shared my photos and experiences at Machu Pichu in Peru:
I’ll conclude my photo and trip experience in this post.
Perhaps the most important question to answer is if this is a trip worth taking. Of course, I can only answer this from my perspective and can’t speak for all. If you are deeply into old (but not ancient) artifact sites or into mysterious cultures, you may have a differing opinion. But for me the answer is no.
Not because I feel the site not worthy visiting, but the overall experience was just negative for me. This is a journey to get to, but that’s not an issue for me. What is the issue is the over commercialization of this place. They simply allow too many to visit this place in a day.
Added to that is they are ill equipped to handle the swarms of people that arrive. It starts with the access to the mountain itself. You must take their bus to the site so you are subject to their schedule (something I detest). It’s worse than the lines that form at Disney. I was outside to board the bus at 4:30 am but just kept walking to find the end of the cue line. After some time I reached it only to wait about 2 hours before I could be accommodated on the bus. Not a lot of fun there!
The ride itself was not too long, maybe 15 or 20 minutes. But the long wait, just standing in line zapped my energy and made me less enthusiastic of the experience.
I didn’t expect privacy at the site itself but I didn’t expect so many people either. I remembered my experience at Angor Wat in Cambodia and expected the same. A good crowd but still ample space to move around I had hoped. Well, there was ample space for exploring but I think there were 10x as many people. Just too many to enjoy this site.
The pictures below do not indicate the crowds that were there as I intentionally took shots in areas absent of people. This is one place it was not the people I came to see.
That is the main reason for my negative opinion of this place. The site itself is quite awe inspiring, but when it gets over commercialized, it just feels like a cheap carnival side show. Again, just one man’s opinion. This is not a place I will return nor recommend to others.
Here is the rest of the photo gallery if you choose to enjoy:
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