Pleased to meet you, Machu Picchu!

Machu Picchu, one of the 7 wonders of the world, the lost city of the Incas. What exactly was Machu Picchu? We don't really know for sure. There are many theories. Some say it was a vacation home for the Inca emperor. Others say it was a sacred place. 
Who the heck knows what it really was, but I had to see it!!
I was dead set on hiking the Inca trail. Yep. That's what I was going to do. I daydreamed about it with a twinkle in my eye. "Oh I just can't wait to hike the Inca trail one day", I thought in a dreamy state of mind. 

Lovebirds

After doing lots of research on the internet, my dreams came crashing down. Wha whan!!!
Mostly everyone was saying that the hike wasn't that great and that they could have done without it. 
I usually don't listen to people when they say a place sucks or something isn't that great. However, this time I had no choice. The Inca trail closes for the month of February. Guess what day Dinh and I got to Machu Picchu? February 1st. 
No hiking for us. 

We were pretty savvy about the cost, I should say. There is the option to take an outrageously expensive train to Machu Picchu. They say it's the most expensive train in the world, and I believe it. There was no way I was going to get suckered into taking such a touristy thing. Not this traveler. 
So I searched and searched on the internet and come to find out, you can actually do MP on your own for very cheap!
Cheap?
Somebody say CHEAP? Music to my ears. Just kidding. Well, music to Dinh's ears anyways. 
This is what we did: In Cusco, we bought a ticket to Machu Piccu for $60 from the ministry of culture. It's a permit thats only good for one day. Then, from Cusco, we took a collectivo (a van) to Santa Maria for $10, then took a taxi from there to Santa Theresa, which cost another piddly $3. We spent the night in Santa Theresa and the next morning, we took a taxi to Hidroelectrica, which is only a few miles away. At Hidroelectrica, we walked 3 hours along the railroad tracks to Agua Calientes. 

Life with only a backpack, is good

It was a beautiful hike along a river. We even had a friendly dog following us the entire time!
The next morning, we took the tourist bus up the zig zagging road to Machu Picchu for $17. Get off the bus, walk a short ways, and there she is to greet you. 
Machu Picchu, so nice to meet you!
We hiked about 45 minutes to the Gate of the Sun. But it was so cloudy that we couldn't see a thing. At least we got our cardio in for the day. 
You're free to roam around the sites all you want. I recommend getting there early, it gets super packed by 10 am. We were there by 7 am. It can become a competition to get pictures from the good view points. I'm not really the competitive type, and I surely don't prefer large crowds, so we bailed when it got busy. We were satisfied with our photos. 
It was pretty breathtaking to see. I couldn't believe I was actually there. 
This goes to show that Machu Picchu doesn't have to cost you a months salary to see. Take it from me!!