Machu Picchu: The Ultimate Guide to Exploring Machu Picchu and Its Hidden Attractions

By Anton Swanepoel

The Mountains and Hidden Places of Machu Picchu

Do you want to know if climbing the mountains at Machu Picchu is worth it? Wondering how much time to plan for your visit and if you should sleep over at Machu Picchu? Wondering how exactly to get to the ruins, what train to take and where? Want to know how to get to the secret Lunar Temple and Grand Cavern? Want to know if you should walk up to the ruins or take a bus? Read on...

Set atop a lofty mountain range, nearly 8000 feet above sea level, Machu Picchu is a lifelong dream for many. Just thinking of visiting mystical ruins that overlook majestic mountain ranges and sacred valleys gets many a heart racing. There is literally no place like it on the planet. Sadly, many visitors miss much of its hidden gems.

World traveler and author Anton Swanepoel spend two weeks at Machu Picchu, exploring all it has to offer. From climbing the mountains, exploring the ruins at every angle, to bathing in the hot springs as well as visiting the Lunar Temple and more. He has put together this walk-through guide with over 200 beautiful pictures to show you exactly where to go and what to expect. Visas, train tickets, online tickets for Machu Picchu and the mountains, and more, all explained in this easy to follow guide.

In This Book You Will Discover:
• New research and scientific findings on the purpose of Machu Picchu.
• Location and how much time to explore each attraction on offer.
• Descriptions for objects at the ruins and their possible uses.
• What to pack and what to leave behind, accommodation, visas, and more.
• Full details on getting to Machu Picchu Ruins.

Machu Picchu for many is a once in a lifetime experience. Don’t pass up some of the hidden treasures.

Bonus Included. Picture walk-through of the following places:
• Machu Picchu town.
• Machu Picchu ruins.
• Both large and small mountain sites.
• The Doorway of the Sun.
• The Inca Bridge.
• The Lunar Temple and the Grand Cavern
• The Hot Springs.

If you are planning to go to Machu Picchu, then This Book is For You.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Anton Swanepoel
• Release date: Aug 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311586537

Anton Swanepoel

Adventurer and world traveler, Anton Swanepoel, hales originally from Pretoria, South Africa, but has called a number of exotic locations home. Educated as a software engineer, he worked for a large multinational company before deciding to travel the globe. Along life's journey, Anton became a skilled scuba diver and technical diving instructor, teaching for seven years while living in the Cayman Islands. His resume touts Tri-Mix instructor levels from multiple licensing agencies, and dive records over 400 feet.Mr. Swanepoel has always loved travel and writing. In the past several years he's combined these passions, authoring and publishing a host of books, sharing secrets he's learned along the way. When he's not exploring an underwater landscape or racing a motorcycle down a stretch of highway, you'll find Anton visiting world destinations and chronicling his experiences.Today, he is a fulltime globetrotter and writer, having penned instructional guides for diving and travel, as well as a pair of fictional novels. His excurtion titles are geared toward do-it-yourself travelers, who enjoy saving money and seeing the out-of-way places. His favorite destinations include, Machu Picchu, the mountains of Vietnam, and the Temples at Angkor Wat.

Book preview

Machu Picchu

The Ultimate Guide to Exploring Machu Picchu and Its Hidden Attractions.

By Anton Swanepoel

Copyright © 2015 Anton Swanepoel

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

Published at Smashwords by Anton Swanepoel

All images are property of Anton Swanepoel, except where otherwise stated.

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Make your trip to Machu Picchu special by journaling your trip in a Machu Picchu Journal. 100 pages each with a different picture of Machu Picchu or the mountains.

Available Journals

Collage Ruled Journal

Non-ruled Journal

Dream Journal

Gratitude Journal

Machu Picchu Journals

Introduction

Mystical Machu Picchu is on the bucket list of many people, and rightly so, for it is a stunning place offering more than one might realize. For some, Machu Picchu is a place to grow spiritually, while for others it is a place to admire the architecture and the magnificent feat of building a city on top of a mountain. Regardless of your reasons almost all agree that Machu Picchu has a majestic lure, a magnetism that cannot be explained. There is certainly more to Machu Picchu than meets the eye.

Although this book does cover some of Machu Picchu’s history, as well as new findings and analysis of soil and bone samples from graves to determine what Machu Picchu was really used for and what the people ate at Machu Picchu, it is not the aim of this book to give a detailed archeological explanation of the ruins and the history of the Inca Empire. The focus of this book is to show you what to expect on your visit, as well as give you interesting facts and theories about Machu Picchu without getting too technical. Information is given in relevant chunks, alongside the corresponding picture of the objects being described, allowing the reader to easily find the information being sought for what is in front of them at the time of their Machu Picchu visit.

A big decision for many people is exactly how much time to spend at Machu Picchu. Many visit the ruins for only a few hours as part of a tour package. Although it is comfortable having someone plan the trip for you, it is expensive and in many cases you will be rushed through the ruins and miss stunning attractions such as Mountain Huayna Picchu and Mountain Machu Picchu, not to mention the Inca Bridge, Lunar Temple, and Grand Cavern or Hot Springs.

Contained in the book are over 200 pictures, showing you how Machu Picchu actually looks, as well as information and links to help you easily plan your own trip for a fraction of the price of a tour package.

Welcome to Sacred Machu Picchu -- it will change your life forever.

Disclaimer

All the services, hotels, websites, products, and companies mentioned in this book are from my own experience and use or what I deem to be helpful.

I do not promote any products or services for any company, nor do I receive any gains from any company to promote them. Further, I take no responsibility for anyone using any services or companies suggested in this book.

The companies mentioned have the right to change their products, services as well as prices without prior notice.

The ruins at Machu Picchu is covered in a walk-through style, taking a route that will take you to all the major attractions, with pictures of each. This route will take around three hours to complete. All other attractions such as both mountains are covered separately, with time to visit given for each attraction.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Disclaimer

Chapter 1: The Boring Stuff

Visas and Vaccinations

Exit Fee

Checking the Weather

What Time of the Year To Go

How Much Will It Cost?

Google Search Reverting To Spanish

Safe Zones

Chapter 2: How Much Time?

Only Machu Picchu

Inca Bridge

Inti Punku (The Door of the Sun)

Mountain Huayna Picchu (Wayna Picchu)

Lunar Temple and Grand Cavern

Mountain Machu Picchu

Museum and Botanical Garden

Hot Springs

Machu Picchu Pueblo

Lima

Cusco

Urubamba (Sacred Valley)

Ollantaytambo

Chapter 3: What to Take Along

Chapter 4: Getting To Machu Picchu

Lima

Cusco

Ollantaytambo

Train To Machu Picchu Pueblo From Ollantaytambo

Machu Picchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes)

Tickets For Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu Pueblo to Machu Picchu Ruins

Chapter 5: Machu Picchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes)

Chapter 6: Machu Picchu Ruins

Names Of Objects And Places In The Ruins

Funeral Rock

Semicircular Terraces / Guard House

Barracks and Upper Cemetery

Inca Doorway

Quarry

Sacred Plaza / Main Temple

Temple of the Three Windows

Chamber of Ornaments

Intiwatana / Intihuatana (Hitching Post of the Sun)

Sacred Square (Principal Plaza)

Sunken Square

Surveillance Place and Ceremonial Rock (Sacred Rock)

Lower Cemetery

The Sun Pools / Mirror Pools / Industrial Area

Torture Chamber

Temple of the Condor

Royal Tomb / Intimachay /Pachamama’s Cave

Temple of the Sun / Torreon / Solar Tower

Dry mount (Dirt Ditch)

Chapter 7: Inca Bridge

Chapter 8: Mountain Huayna Picchu

Chapter 9: Lunar Temple and Grand Cavern

Chapter 10: Mountain Machu Picchu

Chapter 11: Inti Punku / The Door of the Sun

Chapter 12: Hot Springs

Chapter 13: Helpful Websites

Chapter 14: Maps

About the Author

More Books by Anton

Chapter 1: The Boring Stuff

This chapter covers important items that are often overlooked and can potentially halt your vacation or make it a miserable experience.

Visas and Vaccinations

Most tourists do not need a visa for staying up to 183 days in Peru. Make sure you have a visa for all transiting places and Peru if you need it. Good websites to check are:

http://www.antonswanepoelbooks.com/peru_visa_information.php

http://www.limaeasy.com/peru-info/peruvian-visa

http://www.embaperu.org.au/embassy/visas.html

Exit Fee

Peru, like many other countries, charges an exit or departure tax. With most airlines, the tax is already included in your ticket price. If the tax is not included then you can pay it at the airport after checking in. There is normally a small kiosk with a sign saying airport or departure tax. The tax is around US $5-10. Note, domestic flights from Juliaca and Iquitos may charge an additional fee of approximately US $5.

Checking the Weather

It is not only important to check the weather before you go, but also while you are there. Several websites will give you updates, here are a few:

http://www.antonswanepoelbooks.com/machu_picchu.php

http://www.accuweather.com/en/pe/machu-picchu/262837/weather-forecast/262837

http://www.worldweatheronline.com/v2/weather.aspx?q=MFT

http://www.zoover.co.uk/peru/peru/machu-picchu/weather

http://www.intermeteo.com/south_america/peru/machu_picchu/

What Time of the Year to Go

Machu Picchu, being at a high altitude, has a temperature of between 10 and 30 degrees Celsius (50 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit). There are basically two seasons; a dry season, and a rainy season running from November to April, with January and February being the wettest months.

However, Machu Picchu is almost surrounded by fog on many days and short showers can be expected at any time, especially early in the morning.

July to August is the high season when most of the tourists go, as the nights are cooler with the days normally being dry. I went in September and found the temperature to be cool, with not too many tourists, especially before 11 am. Most of the days were dry, with a few only having a slight drizzle early in the morning that cleared by 10 am.

To avoid crowds, try to plan your trip when schools are not closed and universities do not have breaks. Also, go early in the morning and catch the first bus and stay in the town Machu Picchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes, meaning hot springs, and was the old name of the town due to the hot springs found in the town). Many tourists stay in either Ollantaytambo or Cusco and take the early train and bus, thus they will arrive around 10 am and leave around 2 pm, making these times the busiest at the ruins and the bus stop.

How Much Will It Cost?

What your trip will cost is highly dependent on how cheap you want to travel and what comforts you want when you get to your