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The ingenuity of Machu Picchu is breathtakingTaking a family vacation to Peru to visit Machu Picchu? You have made a great decision! This beautiful city 8,000 feet high in the Peruvian Andes, lies about 40 miles northwest of Cusco. Machu Picchu is made up of about 200 buildings that used to house between 500-1200 people. No one has an exact time Machu Picchu was built, but many experts agree that it must have been sometime in the middle 15th century. It was most likely a vacation place for royalty or some kind of religious center, but to this day, no one really knows.
If you plan to take your family to visit this magnificant city, you will want to 
get there by one of two different ways. The first way is the easiest and most common: train. You can charter an early morning train from Cusco to Augas Caliente (the town at the base of Machu Picchu). By the way, in many tourist books and pamphlets on Machu Picchu, you will find that Aguas Caliente and Machu Picchu are used interchangeably refering to the same place-so don't get confused if someone keeps switching back and forth. You can purchase tickets for your family from any travel agency in Cusco, which is the preferred way to do it because the agency can also secure a hotel or hostel for you in Augas Caliente. You really don't need to spend longer than 48 hours here, so we suggest that you take the early morning train to Augas Caliente, spend some time wondering around the town for the rest of the day. You should go to bed early that night, then get up before sunrise and head up the mountain to Machu Picchu. You can spend the day up there, then come down and take the 4 p.m. train back to Cusco.
The second way to get to Machu Picchu is the most exciting and rewarding: hiking the Inca Trail. What better way to enjoy your Peru family vacation, than by hiking along a very beautiful and historic trail with your family? Everyone who has hiked this trail, will tell you that it is one of the highlights of their vacation. There are several different routes to take to Machu Picchu, so you will want to ask a guide what they recommend for your family. If your family really enjoys hiking, we recommend you take the Salkantay route. If they don't want to hike that much, take the standard Inca trail route. These are the two most common routes. Be forewarned that you will go through some high passes on these routes, so make sure you have climatized yourselves.
When you actually arrive in Aguas Caliente (by foot or train) you should know a few things first about eating and shopping. Before you sit down and eat, walk around a little bit and check out the prices at different restaurants. Some offer different discounts for different items. You should consider asking for the "touristico" menu as well, since it generally will have a three course meal in it that will cost around 10 soles a person. Ask about discounts for your children, since most restaurants are highly competitive and will do anything to try and accomodate you if you eat with them. We don't recommend you do much, if any, shopping in Augas Caliente, because the prices are grossly over-inflated and the quality isn't as good as, say Cusco or Pisaq. For fun, there are many places to go visit, like the hot springs, stores, internet cafes, and of course the ruins of Machu Picchu. If you visit the hot springs, go in the morning before 10 a.m. They will have been cleaned and there won't be as many people as at night time. The prices change all the time for admission, but you can expect somewhere around 10 soles for an adult and between 3-5 soles for your children. You can rent towels and swimsuits at the springs, but we recommend bringing your own for obvious reasons. The internet cafes are very reasonable with their rates (about 3 soles for an hour) so this makes it a nice opportunity for you to email your friends and family back home. Visiting Machu Picchu When you go up to the ruins, you will need to buy an entrance ticket, if you don't have one already, and you will have two options of transportation up the mountain: You can take a bus ride to the entrance ($6 dollars a person, including children), or you can hike up to the top. The bus ride will take about 30 minutes to travel the 6 kilometers or 3.5 miles. If you hike it, you should plan on at least an hour and a half since you will literally climb stairs 75% of the time. This hike is not recommended for children under 12. It is a strenuous hike. You want to co-ordinate your arrival to the actual ruins before sunrise. This offers the optimum time to take pictures and watch a breath taking sunrise over mountains. It is forbidden to bring glass bottles or food in wrappers into the ruins, however, they don't often check for these items, so you can take your chances, especially if you plan to spend several hours up there. If you do bring food or bottles along, bring your trash back with you. Don't ruin it for others by leaving your garbage up there. To maximize your family vacation to Machu Picchu, we recommend that you spend at least half a day listening to a tour guide and exploring around, you won't regret it.
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The town of Aguas Caliente
