We toured the site late in the afternoon, and our guide showed us the places to stand to watch the sunrise the next morning. It was amazing enough just to be there, but to watch as the sun burned through the mist to reveal the ruins was surreal. It was one of the highlights of my life. Peru is a wonderful country with beautiful people...I look forward to returning to experience more sites, sounds, tastes and smiles.

With limited time, we had to forego hiking the Inca trail to get to Machu Picchu. The alternative? Taking the train down the Urubamba river valley. The ride from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes, at the base of the mountain crowned by the ruined Inca citadel, has got to be one of the most scenic train trips anywhere. You start at a frosty 12,000 feet, dropping almost 6,000 feet by the time you arrive at the end of the line a few hours later, chugging past terraced farms and mountain fortresses. Bromeliads and orchids along this tributary of the Amazon let you know: you have arrived in the jungle. Perched above, at about 8000 feet, is Machu Picchu.

The easy way to get up to the entrance of the citadel at Machu Picchu is to take a bus. It's can be a pretty scary ride with all the hairpin turns. So instead, hike up There are cut-troughs will help. It won't take more than an hour, and it will get you in shape for another great hike, Wayna Picchu. Wayna Picchu overlooks Machu Picchu. Its an advanced hike but so worth the effort! My recommendation for going to Machu Picchu is to stay in the area for three or four days, and stay at the incredible Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel. Eat great, sleep well, enjoy a fireplace in your suite and have a massage each day. That will ensure that you will enjoy the hikes and the natural beauty so much more.

If you're looking for an alternative to Hiking the Inca trail, consider renting motorcycles and finding your own way there. Armed with a couple of local maps two 400cc bikes, my travel buddies and I drove over 8,000 foot snowy mountain peaks and down into sweltering jungle paths. The way there isn't always a road, and some improvisation will be necessary, but it's not a difficult ride overall. Motorcycles can be rented in town (we had a good experience with http://www.ericadventures.com) and come with jackets, helmets and gloves. Accommodation can be found in towns along the way, and some hiking will be necessary to get into the site.

Wayna Pichu is the former outpost for Machu Picchu. At dawn people get in line to hike to the top. Since they only issue a set number of passes, get there early. The hike took me about 45 minutes and was pretty strenuous. The peak becomes crowded with people gazing down on Machu Picchu. I noticed this one couple out on the edge of the peak. Actually, you couldn't miss them; few others dared to venture out that far. I was content to have made it to the top. It felt like the top of the world to me.

When visiting the amazing Machu Picchu, a short walk up to the Sun Gate allows for a spectacular view of the ruins. Machu Picchu looks different from every perspective, so the more vantage points you can view it from the better. Hikers taking the Inca Trail to get to Machu Picchu enter the ruins through the Sun Gate. I can only imagine what they must think when they turn the corner and first lay eyes on the jaw-dropping ruins.

Without a doubt, take the Vistadom train when heading to Machu Picchu. It's a fun, scenic ride which really gets you ready for the experience. It ltravels from Ollantaytambo in the Scared Valley to the town that sits below Machu Picchu. It takes about two hours and so enjoyable. Load you ipod with some chill Peruvian tunes, sit back and enjoy the views!

After 3 intense days of hiking, we finally made it to the legendary ruins of Machu Picchu. There was an intense feeling of satisfaction of making it to the site by hiking. We could have easily taken a train & bus to get here, but the unbelievable scenery of the trail, along with the numerous ruins you can only see if you hike, were priceless experiences. Are we there yet?

Towering above the Machu Picchu ruins, Wayna Picchu is one of the most thrilling hikes in the area. One a limited number of people are allowed to climb the vertical piece of rock which is surrounded by cliffs on all sides - with no guard rails. Once at the top, the views are out of this world and you can see why the Inca selected this place to build such a palace.

We were among the first 50 or so people into Machu Picchu in the morning and the fog completely set the scene. It really made you feel like you were in a lost city and helped you understand how it could have been lost for so long.

This is the highest point on the Inca Trail, at around 14,000 feet above seal level. The air is thin, and it seems as if you can never catch your breath, but the view from the top was totally worth it. Are we there yet?

We trekked the Inca Trail for 3 days & 4 nights, and when we finally arrived at Machu Picchu, the view, coupled with our exhaustion, made us want to just stop and take it all in. We sat here and listened to our guide talk about the history of Machu Picchu. It was actually very hot sitting here, but for some reason, we just didn't want to go anywhere. Would we ever make it back to this spot again? Maybe years from now we will, but we treated it as if this was the only time we would see this place. On top of the world on Thanksgiving Day 2011.

We all have seen hundreds of shots of the grand Machu Pichu from above but what is really incredible is getting up close to it. You can only begin to understand the incredible feat to which it was built by walking the three days up the Inca trail to these great Peruvian heights. The artistry and stonework is one of the most impressive thing I have seen, every rock fits perfectly together and it was all carried up there on foot! This touristy attraction was not a let down, just make sure you walk and forget the bus.

This is a view of Machu Pichu town as I was hiking the road. You can almost hear the raging river and juxtaposed with the imposing mountains, there is only one way to feel when you're here- very small. Nature is so present here in the Andes and it is completely astonishingly beautiful.

To celebrate my husband's 40th birthday, I planned a trip to Peru for the two of us, scheduling our itinerary so we would spend the day of his actual birthday at the awe-inspiring Machu Picchu. I wanted him to always be able to remember exactly what he was doing on his 40th birthday. They only allow a limited number of people per day to hike to the top of the Wayna Picchu mountain overlooking the ruins, so we rushed to be the first two in so we could have some time at the summit to take in the view before crowds arrived. We succeeded and reached the summit before anyone else, giving us about 20 minutes alone to enjoy the amazing birdseye view of the magical Machu Picchu ruins. The weather started out with heavy rain but, luckily, the rain stopped and the clouds parted as soon as we reached the top of Wayna Picchu, allowing for ideal views. The weather was perfect for the rest of the day. I think my husband and I both will remember for years to come exactly where we were on the morning he turned 40 - Machu Picchu from above is not a sight I'll soon forget.

A different view of Machu Pichu. Out of the many hundreds of panoramic pictures I took of machu pichu, I liked this one because it is a different presentation from what I have always seen in postcards. It really showed how ingenious the Incans were in their building techniques. All the windows here align so that you can stand on one side and see all the way through to the other side many houses away.

This was day 2 of our Inca Trail hike. All of our research before the trip told us that this would be the toughest day, as it would reach the highest elevation, at over 14,000 feet. Our goal was to reach this spot, Dead Woman's Pass. For awhile we could see the top in the distance, and wondered if we would be able to make it. Each step was tough, as it felt like we had just finished sprinting. You could hardly catch your breath at all. To help out, we made goals for ourselves, like, "go 1 minute and then rest." Well, that dwindled down to, "go 5 steps and then rest." But we did make it to Dead Woman's Pass, and as a reward, we stood at this spot, on top of the world, in the Andes Mountains, on the Inca Trail. The Trail was full of rewarding things, from the food, to the views, and to the people we met along the way. If you are ever thinking of visiting Machu Picchu, I highly recommend taking the Inca Trail. There are several Incan sites that you simply cannot see unless you take the Trail. And, you will miss out on views like this. Sure, it is physically tough, but it is great to step outside your comfort zone a little bit to experience the world.

Our visit to the famed Inca citadel was framed by fiasco: a bit of food-poisoning along with some anti-government demonstrations in Cuzco that led to a train strike and non-refundable hotel reservations. With limited time, our visit to Machu Picchu was on the edge of not happening. Fortunately, we ended up making it. From the dizzyingly steep terraces thousands of feet above the Urubamba River, we were grateful to share the thin air with the resident llamas.

The purpose of Macchu Picchu will always remain a mystery. It is probably a religious and spiritual site. It is the work of man echoing the work of nature. The Inca trail leading up to Machu Picchu ( it takes four days of camping out in the Andes if you want to do it) was built to always face the snow capped mountains because that is what they worshipped. The architectural style is sacred geography. For me, if God isn’t at Machu Picchu, he isn’t anywhere. for more info read Things I Learned From the Incas In Peru http://havefunflysafe.wordpress.com/