Machu Picchu Set to Reopen

I signed on to my Flickr account the other day to read this message from a friend about my Machu Picchu photo: "I'm so jealous. Looks so empty. What time of year is this? I've heard it's usually so touristy and filled with people. Great shot!"

The "great shot" comment speaks to the beauty of Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas." No photos do her justice, but Machu Picchu never looks bad. It's hard to believe that humans built the entire site.

Actually, the photo above was taken with a cheap disposable camera after my digital was swiped a few days prior in Puno, Peru (a long story for another post).

Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage site perched 1,000 feet above the Urubamba river, gets as many as 3,000 visitors a day during high season of June through September. I visited in late April, the end of rainy season, to avoid the crowds.

Luckily, my travel companion and I had many moments of Inca isolation, watching llamas roam at will--yes, I was terrified!--while we rubbed our hands on the Sacred Rock, which many visitors believe transmits a palpable force of energy.


Despite rubbing my palms on the massive rock, I didn't feel that energetic on the 1-hour climb to the top of Huayna Pichu, which serves as the dramatic backdrop to Machu Picchu. But I was thankful to be one of 400 daily visitors to make it to the top of the huge outcrop, where I looked down to the ruins, about 1,200 feet below, and the surrounding Andes Mountains.

Machu Picchu has been closed for almost two months since flood waters washed away the rail lines and main routes to the remote ruins, stranding thousands of tourists. Fortunately, it will reopen April 1, barring any catastrophe.

There are many archaeologists, travel writers and bloggers who are encouraging people not to visit, saying the ruins are straining under a tourist boom. They've been there already, of course.

I won't join the chorus. But, if you are fortunate enough to go to Peru, please tread lightly.