Why Machu Picchu is Overrated.
Why Machu Picchu is Overrated.
On countless websites, this pre-Columbian Inca ruin high up in the Andes mountains is touted as one of the most must-see destinations in the world. After just returning from a visit, I would argue that in Peru alone, plenty of other places are more impressive, less overhyped, and less overrun.
Trail closed for the Afternoon Crowd
What made Machu Picchu so famous? The American Hiram Bingham claimed the miraculous discovery of the lost city in 1911. However, he had been tipped off about the location by the German American Albert Giesecke, who lived in Cusco. Local farmers took him to the site. Yet, he credits neither in his memoirs and highlights his own dramatic adventure. Bingham’s talent for self-promotion put the place on the international tourist map for good.
Today, the site is overrated on two accounts. There are more culturally significant places to see in Peru, and getting to Machu Picchu is only fun if you enjoy sharing the experience with 6000 other people a day who descend on the ruins in hourly intervals along strictly marked trails. If your ticket, purchased from the Peruvian government website several weeks or months in advance, is for the 2-3 pm time slot, do not try to enter at 1:45 pm; you will be sent back.
Cardboard Sign directing Tourists through the Market Labyrinth
Getting to the ruins means a stopover in the nearest town of Agua Calientes, where one arrives by train. To get to or from the train station, one must cross an artisanal craft market that sells primarily mass-produced merchandise. It is so large that one gets lost in it. A sympathetic vendor, tired of giving directions, put up a cardboard sign pointing tourists in the right direction,
While traveling the country, I was in awe of the many highly developed ancient sites that preceded the relatively short Inca rule of about 100 years. Many high cultures and their subcultures have inhabited Peru for millennia. Given that there are hundreds, I could only visit some and was particularly impressed by Chavin de Huantar, Sipan, Chan-Chan, Cahuachi, Pachacamac, and Pikillatqta.
Pre-Inca Pyramid at Cahuachi is about 1500 years older than Machu Picchu.
Even for those determined to see the royal Inca stone masonry of precision-cut boulders that Machu Picchu is famous for, there are plenty of other sites to see with even more stunning examples, such as Ollantaytambo, Pisac, Saqsaywaman and, of course, the glorious Qorikancha in Cusco, where the walls of the main sun temple were so massive that the church decided to encase them instead of tearing them down.
Suppose your time to visit Peru is short. In that case, you might not have a choice but to book an overpriced tour to Machu Picchu, but if you have a bit of flexibility, consider exploring some of the other sites that have not yet lost their magic due to tourist overpopulation.
