Hi Peter,

I’m planning of traveling solo to Macchu Picchu this coming April for the first time . I’m looking up places to get a permit and group tour to help me climb up the Inca Trail. Is there a suggested tour guide/group (for the trail) that you recommend and any safe and cheap places I can stay at? I’m not quite sure how to even get to Macchu Picchu (heard that one can fly to Cuzco and then get a train?) I’m debating of making this a 1 week or 2 week trip depending on your recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

Jen

Jen,

I would suggest using Andean Treks as a reputable company to work with for arranging a trek down the Inca Trail. They are who I used on my trek and I picked them out by semi-random search. The price was right and they were easy to work with at the last minute. The crew and guides were great and earnestly interested in helping us have a good time in a safe manner.

As for a place to stay, I stayed in a couple and some were cheap. The first was Hotel San Blas (which is not that cheap, but you might be able to find a deal) . I think the other one was Hotel Chincana Wasi – La Casa Escondida  which might be closer to cheap ($30 a night or so).

As for getting to Machu Picchu, there are two way: walk or train. The train can be picked up in Cusco. As a matter of fact, here’s a great post on everything you need to know about getting there yourself.  And yes, LAN offers regular flights to Cusco from Lima (http://www.lan.com).

As for the amount of time, if you’re trekking I’d give yourself a few days in Lima (landing on day one, tour Lima and shake off jet-lag on day two then fly to Cusco on day three). Relax the day you arrive in Cusco and spend another day exploring and getting used to the surroundings. It’s a fun place and comfortable. On day five jump on the train if that’s what you are doing, or start your trek. If trekking I would suggest the 5 day version from Andrean Treks. You can do it in 4 days but this lessens your time at Machu Picchu. With the 5 day version you can see more along the trail and get a better appreciation for the history and organization of the civilization.

• Day 1 – Arrive Lima
• Day 2 – Day in Lima
• Day 3 – Fly to Cusco
• Day 4 – Tour Cusco
• Day 5 – Train to Aquas Calientes (or start trek)
• Day 6 – Explore Machu Picchu and train back to Cusco
• Day 7 – Fly to Lima and home

If not trekking, you can see Machu Picchu bright and early on day six. You’ll spend the whole day there and can catch a 3pm train back to Cusco. Day seven can see you flying back to Lima and home, if you want to crunch it all into a week. Realistically I would suggest a bit more than a week to enjoy it. If you’re active, there are things to do in Cusco, such as mountain biking and rafting.  While the itinerary above makes it possible to make it in a week, I’d highly suggest 10-14 days at a minimum to explore and do it all at a relaxed pace.

Lastly, I would suggest grabbing a copy of the Solo Traveler’s Handbook if you this is one of your first trips by yourself. There is also a short description of doing this trip solo on that site as well.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have more questions.

pwc

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

Going on a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu. I plan to take my Nikon d90 and one lens 18-200 and a new nikon coolpix for underwater. Any other suggestions?

Hello Gloria,  

  You’ll love Machu Picchu and how wonderful to hit the Galapagos at the same time! I’m envious. 

    I recently reviewed the Nikon 18-200mm while at Machu Picchu and my impression was it was a great, sharp lens in that range. I often suggest the 18-200mm range to anyone looking to travel and wishing for the simplicity of a single lens, so I think you’re spot on with that setup. The 200mm will allow you to zoom in to the wildlife in the Galapagos and 18mm is wide enough for the classic shot of Machu Picchu. Besides those two highlights, the range is great for wandering markets or walking the beach. 

  Do you need anything else? I don’t think so. I’m making some assumptions that you want to travel light and simple but want to make sure you have what you need for this once in a lifetime trip. I don’t think a 10-22mm wide angle zoom would serve you particularly well in the islands and there’s only a couple of times it works wonders on the way to Machu Picchu.  If there was another lens I’d suggest, it would be a wide angle zoom, but really, if simplicity is your thing, then you are fine with that lens. If was anything less wide than 18mm, I’d tell you to reconsider.

    Make sure you try out the Coolpix in a pool if you can before you go to get used to the focus distance. Light bends weird underwater and you often have to get closer than you think. It’s also good to be familiar with the controls before you’re in the islands.   

Other than that, have fun! I think you have the basics covered. If there is something specific you want to shoot, let me know. Otherwise, you have just the right amount of equipment to bring back great photos without bogging yourself down in equipment.

pwc

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

To use this image, simply click and drag to move around. Use your scroll wheel to zoom in and out, or use [Shift] to zoom in and [CTRL] to zoom out.  And if you want to turn things up a notch, right click and choose “Fullscreen”. Have fun!

Description: Lima Cityscape Panorama Exploration

Location: Lima, Peru, South America

Description: This image was created from 33 individual images, shot vertically to get the most foreground in as possible. I then combined the images in the computer and stitched them together using Kolor’s AutoPano Giga software which handled all the magic. I will be writing about the process I use to create these images soon at Digital Photography School. If I were evil, I’d ask you to find the man walking his dog…but I’m not THAT evil, maybe.

Shot with Canon 7D and Canon 28-300mm L lens with settings of ISO 100, 28mm, f/8 and 1/640th of a second.

Photographs Creative Commons Copyright Peter West Carey

Note: You likely won’t see the image above if you are reading this via email or some RSS viewers. Click here to be taken to a full view.

If you want to see more Panoramas like this one, click here.

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

So check out this first installment from Machu Picchu. I’m still getting used to the program and will be creating more panoramas as time goes on (possibly even 360 degree versions).

To use this image, simple click and drag to move around. Use your scroll wheel to zoom in and out, or use [Shift] to zoom in and [CTRL] to zoom out.  And if you want to turn things up a notch, right click and choose “Fullscreen”. Have fun!

Title: Machu Picchu Panorama Exploration

Location: Machu Picchu, Peru

Description: It’s Machu Picchu, but all zoomable and stuff.

Shot with a Canon 7D and Canon 10-22mm EF lens. I shot this with bracketing, meaning I took one shot at the camera’s prescribed exposure, then one shot over-exposed by a stop and one shot under-exposed. I then combined the images in the computer and stitched them together using Kolor’s AutoPano Giga software which handled all the magic.

Photographs Creative Commons Copyright Peter West Carey

Note: You likely won’t see the image above if you are reading this via email or some RSS viewers. Click the page link to be taken to a full view.

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

I was lucky enough to win a tour with G Adventures in Peru thanks to going to a Meet, Plan Go! meeting the year before. It was the top prize and included a 10 day classic tour of Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Amazon rainforest along the Tambopata River.

The funny thing is I had already visited Peru, and performed this exact itinerary in reverse, in 2008 on my own accord and without a guided tour. Why would I even enter a contest that takes me back to a place I have already visited? I mean, after all, isn’t Machu Picchu supposed to be a “Once-In-A-Lifetime” experience? I could unbalance the whole space-time continuum if I saw it again, potentially.

In the face of such cataclysmic risk, I went any way. And I’m very glad I did. You see, an entire country like Peru can not be ‘seen’ or ‘done’ in one visit. Now one lifetime. Not even Lima, a much smaller subset of Peru, can be done as such. Granularly speaking, it’s because of constant change that I wanted to go back.

I wanted to see what was new. Even at Machu Picchu there were tarps that showed up in my first images that would now be gone. The weather would be different. The people would be different. I’d be riding a train this time (in first class too!) instead of trekking the Inca Trail. And I’d get to go with a friend time.

In the end, arriving back home to Seattle on the last of three flights that left Lima at a bit past midnight, I am ultimately happy that I returned and took this tour. Returning to the ‘same’ (big quotes here as nothing is ever the same after three years) place provided me with some important differences I never would have experienced had I only visited once.

Below I list some of the reasons I’m glad I went back to the same location three years later. I know there is far more in this world to see than I will ever get a chance to experience in one lifetime, but if by chance you are offered an opportunity to return to a distant land for a second time, I hope these reasons will help you decide it likely will be worth your time.

1. New People – I met a whole passel of new folks this time around, from varied and distant lands themselves. None of them were here the last time, even the guides I met. I even got a chance to try out some of my horrible Swedish language skills on a few of the travelers this time around. New guides. New hosts. New everyone.
2. New Sites- This time around I spent more time in Lima, six days instead of one and a half. I saw more of the historic district and Miraflores. I walked the beach (as rocky as it is) and visited Christ (he’s on a hill and a lot easier to find than you may think as he turns blue at night). I ate in different places (one of which was TGIFriday’s for Thanksgiving dinner. Classy. That’s me). I also walked areas of Cusco I had not visited as I was more timid last time. Heck, I even walked up to a different Christ while there.
3. That Familiar Feeling – This was something I didn’t’ realize I’d like so much. I knew where stuff was. I knew how to get around Cusco. I knew which river fed which river in the jungle. I knew how hot it was going to be getting off the plane in Puerto Maldonado (answer: soak-your-shirt hot). I knew my way around Machu Picchu and where I wanted to go for the pictures I would take. That part was cool.
4. I Got To Avoid Crowds At Machu Picchu – Yes, there are places with no crowds at Machu Picchu. While everyone else was busy following our guide after entering the city, I headed up hill to take some photos. I wanted to take some time-lapse images and had a spot in mind I found on the last trip. It’s a spot on the Inca Trail and after the trekkers passed by from their early morning start to visit the city, and before the tourists downhill started making their way up after they spent 3-4 hours listening to their guides teach them about the city, I had time and space by myself. At once point, I saw no one for 30 minutes. It was heaven.
5. I Got To Play More – As I had seen things in most of the locations, I got to be more curious and take my time when I wanted to. I wasn’t struck with the “I must see it all…NOW” feeling that often comes with thinking you will not return to a location. I wandered into the jungle and took pictures of leafcutter ants because it struck my fancy. I met a travel writer who happened to be in town because I had the time.
6. New Experiences – I fished for meat eating piranhas. I witnessed a sunset from 120’ in the air and above the tropical canopy of the Amazon Jungle. I ate in new restaurants. I touched the Pacific Ocean from that side of the Southern hemisphere. I spoke more Spanish. I visited different Inca ruins.  I had a picture of Robin Hood making out with some damsel, above my bed. You know, the life giving experiences we seek.
7. I Had Better Weather For Pictures – This was a big one. See those pictures at the top? The one with better light and blue skies is from this last trip. Gray clouds? My “Once-In-A-Lifetime” trip.
8. Ants!

There are more reasons to consider going back to a place you’ve visited before and we all have personal ones, often. I am very glad I made it back to Peru for another visit. Would I go back if someone offered me another free trip?

In a heartbeat.

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

Title: Down The River

Location: Tambopata River, Amazon Jungle, Peru

Description: After a quick swim in the river to wash off, these three locals look on as our boat full of tourists heads upriver.

Photograph Creative Commons Copyright Peter West Carey

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

Title: Machu Picchu Panorama

Location: Machu Picchu, Peru

Description: Stitched from 20 images taken in a vertical orientation, this image compromises some 26MP of information. The full version will soon be available for zooming.

Photography Creative Commons Copyright Peter West Carey

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

It’s leafcutter ants at work and that’s it. I hung out with these dudettes for a few hours while filming some stop motion video of them in action. It’s simply amazing to me how well organized and purposeful these workers are. To watch them work is a good reminder in how amazing the world around us is when we stop and look close.

Shot near the Tambopata River in Peru’s rainforest.

The first video is live action while the last two are time-lapse quick snips (12 and 3 seconds long).

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

Title: Perurail

Location: Ollantaytambo, Peru

Description: Riding the rails to Machu Picchu is the only other way to approach the city if not trekking the Inca Trail. It’s a relaxing ride with some amazing mountains to spy as you wind along the Sacred Valley.

Shot with Nikon D7000 and Nikon 28-300mm lens with settings: ISO 200, 82mm, f/16.0 and 1/160th of a second.

Photograph Creative Commons Copyright Peter West Carey

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

Title: Hello From Peru

Location: Peru

Description: Do I need a description with this one? The Dude Is Crazy.

Photograph Creative Commons Copyright Peter West Carey

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.