# Ever Done The Lima =\> Machu Picchu "Thing"? Care to Share? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-the-lima-machu-picchu-thing-care-to-share/247625 "2004-05-29T02:57:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-the-lima-machu-picchu-thing-care-to-share/247625/1 "2004-05-29T02:57:10Z")
Answers to any of the following would be appreciated Will be in Lima, Peru mid-June for a week. Lima to Machu Pichu: Via Bus/Train/Air? Stayed overnight in Macchu Picchu or did it in a day? Things to keep an eye out for: I assumed \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (but was dead wrong). My general experience was \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. I recommend you look into \_\_\_\_\_ whilst there. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-the-lima-machu-picchu-thing-care-to-share/247625/2 "2004-05-29T03:15:29Z")
I visited Machu Picchu in 1997-1998. (Things may have changed somewhat since then.) I flew from Lima to Cuzco, then took the train. I stayed two nights on each trip in the nearby town of Aguascalientes. I visited the ruins themselves only on the first trip; on the second trip I was birdwatching in the area. I went to the ruins directly from the train the first day. It is of course very crowded once the train arrives, so I mostly just went to see the highlights. On the second morning, I took the first bus up to the site at about 6:30 AM. This allows you several hours to contemplate the ruins without hordes of people being there. Once the train arrived at mid-morning I went to climb the peak at the far end of the site, where I had my lunch watching the tour groups mill around from far above them. I came down once the tours had left to catch the train in the late afternoon, and had a couple more quiet hours to commune with the site. The experience was spectacular. I had dreamed of visiting Machu Picchu since I was a kid, and it did not disappoint. It was one of those few tourist sites that actually outdid my expectations - especially the magnificance of the surrounding mountains, which it’s impossible to get a sense of without going there. I would recommend spending a couple days in Cusco as well. The city, built on Inca ruins, is one of the most fascinating in the world. I stayed in a hotel off the main plaza where my room had a wall built by the Incas. Also, try the roast guinea pig, a special dish at some of Cusco’s best restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-the-lima-machu-picchu-thing-care-to-share/247625/3 "2004-05-29T04:52:56Z")
You guys bump into another [Doper](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258630) on the trail, you gotta come back and start a thread. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-done-the-lima-machu-picchu-thing-care-to-share/247625/4 "2004-05-29T05:03:24Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I flew from Lima to Cuzco… Heh, I remember making that return flight. Upon landing, there was an elderly Peruvian gentleman a few seats ahead of me attempting to wrestle some indescriminate object from the overhead bin of the airplane and disembark. I reached up to help him, the object was wrapped in a white bedsheet, and I quickly realized I had hold of his dead pig’s rear legs. I with no small effort secured the rest of the carcass without the demonstration of too much facial emotion, accepted his thanks, and followed him at a respectful distance the rest of the way off the plane.