Hello, we are going South to Argentina, on our way down would like to visit Machu Pichu, Cuzco, and spend a day or two in LIma. First question is, Is January a bad time (rains?) or an acceptable time of the year to go.
2 nd question) Can anyone recommend a reliable tour company that would make the arrangements for us, I am looking a local tour company. Thks.

I would imagine you will get some good info on climate from other travelers or off Peruivian web sites.

We liked Cuzco a lot and also the train from there to MP. However [and I am sure this is a minority opinion], we found MP to be a letdown.

The siting itself is impressive but the ruins are simply that. Rudimentary stone remnants with nothing much at all to connect them to culture or history. If you have a great imagination, then you may be very pleased.

If not, I would choose to rub shoulders with the Peruvians and leave MP to its mysterious past.

Poppa - Did you have a guide to explain what the stones were? We had an excellent guide who made the ruins come alive with the vibrant culture and history of the Incan civilization.

The "fault" with MP is that there's almost no signing inside to indicate what you're seeing, and there's where a good guide can make all the difference. (I agree with Jed.) A big part of this might be that no one knows for certain purpose the place served and why it was abandoned. What Poppa describes as MP's "mysterious past" is exactly what intrigues me about the ruins. Let your imagination run wild with your own theories. And don't forget that these "rudimentary stone remnants," which are still in suprisingly good shape today, were constructed about 600 years ago on a mountaintop, out of sight from the valley below. That amazes me.

There is a new museum nearby that just opened in July, and it does a good job of trying to answer some of the questions about MP and its purpose and its 20th century rediscovery. The problem with the museum is its location: It is on the way up to the ruins, a couple of miles from the town of Aguas Calientes. Since the buses that ferry people up the mountain don't stop anywhere along the route, you have no choice but to walk about 45 minutes from town to get there. It's a great museum, but I would have placed it in another location.

I've been to MP in January, May and August, most recently this past August. That was the first time I'd ever been there in the high season, and there were just too many people. My January trip was a little rainy -- and people there told me that was a relatively dry year -- but, wow, there were a lot fewer people, and in that respect, it was much more enjoyable.

Like I say, ours is doubtless a minority opinion.

I can recall, on my first trips to Yucatan, working very hard to get a sense of what the heck I was seeing. The guides as well as American and European archeologists felt they "knew" something but, as the years have passed, most of that knowledge has turned out to be educated guesses.

The marvelous fact is that the ancients remain largely impenetrable because the doggone Spanish destroyed so much and because what remains tends to document what was vital to the societies of the time --- and not much else. Unfortunately, those records don't include a lot about what made them "tick."

What rushes in to such vacuums can be rather odd speculations and for us, very personally, these are not useful.

My own guess is that the Maya (or any other AmerIndian world view) was so substantially different from ours that it will take lots more head-cudgeling to resurrect what it was and then to wrap our intellects around it.

For example [as a semi-humorous but semi-serious case in point], I can't quite appreciate what sort of heavenly imperative would urge me to pull a stingray spine through an incision in my male member.

Much is not known about the culture of all the ruins of Mexico, Central and South America.
In my opinion, the ruins of Chichen Itza are more impressive than Machu Picchu. However, the setting of Machu Picchu is astounding. The effort required to build cities on top of the mountains was tremendous. In my opinion, the only way to see Machu Picchu is to trek the Inca Trail. You see many other ruins than Machu Picchu.
When I visit any ruins, I get a local guide. My guide for Chichen Itza was incredibly knowledgable. The guide for Machu Picchu

Much is not known about the culture of all the ruins of Mexico, Central and South America.
In my opinion, the ruins of Chichen Itza are more impressive than Machu Picchu. However, the setting of Machu Picchu is astounding. The effort required to build cities on top of the mountains was tremendous. In my opinion, the only way to see Machu Picchu is to trek the Inca Trail. You see many other ruins than Machu Picchu, some which are nearly as impressive.
When I visit any ruins, I get a local guide. My guides for Chichen Itza and Machu Picchu were incredibly knowledgable and I learned much more than I would have by touring on my own.

I went with a tour group to MP. Four an hour or so the guide told us what a few sections were. Then she said just walk around and enjoy it, FEEL it. Doing that was incredible, even if I didn't know what every section was.

Check out my black and whites at
www.waynehazle.com/chileperu/

I seem to be "Wet Blanket Boy" on this Thread.

My experience with guides at Maya sites (by overhearing them) is they tend toward the fantastical. However, I am certain there are some who are very good.

On the other hand, even the best archeologists couldn't give you much detail in a tour -- they simply don't know.

Insofar as "feeling" Macchu Picchu, the wife and I aren't very good at that. Our best moment was watching 100s of delayed French tourists boil out of the train and storm the
mini-buses. Warmed the cockles of my heart.

We went to Machu Picchu in March. The day we went up top to the mountain site was foggy and drizzling rain. We bought an umbrella at the top and enjoyed it anyway. The steps were a little slick so we had to walk slowly. It was very interesting! And the train and bus ride up was interesting also! WOW!

We just got back from 2 weeks in Peru last night. Yes, it is the rainy season but since it is the cloud forest, there is a chance of fog/mist/rain at any time. Go prepared with raingear and plan to spend the night in Aguas Calientes (since you are posting here, am assuming you are a more adventursome traveler) just in case the weather isn't great when you arrive. You will have another chance to see the ruins in good weather if you spend the night. Take your binoculars and good walking/hiking shoes. Even if you aren't into the ruins, there are spectacular views and birdwatching is great. Aguas Calientes is a bit ramshackle but when the lights go on, not so bad. My best meal in peru was at Indio Feliz in Aguas Calientes--a French-Peruvian restaurant. Delicious! If you want to splurge--Machu Picchu Pueblo is beautiful (about $400 includin breakfast and dinner). We didn't stay there but were fortunate to be able to watch birds there. By the way, if you read up on Machu Picchu and the Inkas before you get there, you will get more out of your visit.

Thank you all for the information. I am amazed that
RBcal considers the Chichen Itza ruins more impressive, we have been there and indeed they are impressive but I always thought that Matchu Pichu would be even more.

Hi Lacontessa,
Thanks for all your posts. Good to hear you had an awesome trip. Looks like we'll be there in mid-late April.

You had mentioned that you stayed at Inti inn in AC. How was it? Am looking for a decent place in AC but don't have the bucks for the MP Pueblo! ;-)

Tina

Inti Inn was fine. It is on "restaurant row" in the somewhat ramshackle town of Aguas Calientes. It was clean and the rooms and bathrooms were sufficiently large. Beds were comfortable with down comforters. Only issue was that right next door is Cafe Maggy and the backpackers can be loud at night. I used earplugs but hubbie didn't need them. The town has a new ordinance that prohibits selling or drinking alcohol after 11 pm so that probably helps. WE figured that even with a birding tour and expensive breakfast at Machu Picchu Pueblo, and dinner at Indio Feliz--we still saved $250 for our one night in Aguas Calientes over staying at Machu Picchu Pueblo. By the way, the hotels like Inti Inn and Machu Picchu Puebelo have this great system where they meet you at the train station and take your luggage to the hotel. So you can just hop on the bus to Machu Picchu, enjoy the day, and your luggage is waiting for you at the hotel. The next day, they take your luggage to the train station so you can again enjoy your day.

Hi everyone. I'm going to MP in May and staying overnight in Aguas Calientes, probaby at the Inti Inn or Machu Picchu Inn. I really want to get up to MP to see the sun rise over the gate, and I'm wondering if this is possible if you need to take a bus to MP from Aguas Calientes.

How far apart are they (is the distance walkable in the dark), and does anyone know the best way to do this? Do the buses start running early enough that they are an option? Sorry for the minutia, but no guide covers this kind of detail.

Thanks in advance for the help!

I went to Aguas Calientes two years ago. My travel was arranged by Lost World Travel from Georgia. I was with three friends. Lost World arranged our train trip to Aguas Calientes and a guide travelled with us. Our luggage was taken to the Pueblo hotel while we went on with our guide to the MP ruins. We spent the day with our guide, who was very well versed in Peruvian history and culture, and fluent in English (he is a graduate of a university program in Peru which trains guides and he was fabulous). He left us in the afternoon and we continued to walk around the ruins, and later retreated to our very charming hotel, the Pueblo. In the morning two of our group decided they wanted to see sunrise over MP and took the first bus of the morning up and were able to arrive before sunrise. OUr trip was in November and the weather was misty and cool. Enjoy your trip, it is a magical place.

Re Graziella's post - we were in MP a couple of weeks ago (early Jan) and the weather was fine - obviously that isn't very predictable though. We had rain everyday but also sun everyday ..... we used a local quide who made all our arrangements - his website is

http://www.cuscotoptravelperu.com/

We were thrilled with his service and prices.

Re wmarella post - I don't know what time the sunrise is in May but a couple of weeks ago we were there - the park opens at 6am and it was already very light by then......

Re cmcfong post - Hola! Having a great time - I moved the blog to an easier site - there's a link on the old site but here's the new one.

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/l...ard_in_south_/

If you dig around the internet you might be able to find a website with sunrise and set times. This one has those and tides for Central America:

http://www.garrobo.org/eng/environment/oceans/

Hola Liz,
I have been following your travels and loving the reports!

<b>http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/lima.html</b>