One million tourists to visit Machu Picchu this year

More than one million Peruvian and foreign tourists are expected to visit the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cusco by the end of 2011, a 30 percent increase versus last year, according to Peru’s National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur).
Canatur President Carlos Canales said that foreigners would make up seventy percent of visitors to Machu Picchu; while the remaining will be Peruvian travelers, especially school delegations.

Canales noted that this year's centennial celebrations will help increase tourist arrivals compared to last year, when some 460,000 and 200,000 foreign and domestic people visited the World Heritage site, respectively.

Most foreigners come from the United States, Spain and Japan, while Peruvian-born visitors are from Lima, Lambayeque, La Libertad and Loreto.

"Tourists will generate revenues worth over US$3.3 billion dollars in 2011, compared to US$2.7 billion in 2010," the head of Canatur told Andina.

Tweet

Cusco city tour Map FREE!

This city tour Map is a complete guide to know the most important Inca landmarks in town. It's for free (but tips are welcome).

Tweet

Cusco Landscape Tour

This is an amazing way to know Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Tweet

Escorted Machu Picchu Tours

Hike Peru's ancient ruins during peak season with our escorted Machu Picchu adventure.

Our Travel includes:

Nine nights accommodations (three in Lima, two in Cuzco, two in Urubamba Sacred Valley, two in Puno)
Services of an English-speaking tour manager throughout the trip
All transfers and entrance fees per itinerary
Full day tour of Machu Picchu
11 meals (daily breakfast, two lunches)

Guests will explore Peru during an ideal travel period, when sunny days are plentiful and mosquitos are few and far between. Along the way, enjoy a full day at leisure at Sacred Valley in Urubamba, where visitors can ride horseback through ancient ruins. Of course, no trip to Peru would be complete without taking in the panoramic vistas at Machu Picchu.

Put any questions in our Facebook wall.

Tweet

Machu Picchu national park tickets

The government has limited the number of visitors to Machu Picchu to just 2500 people per day. During the last week of July this limit has been strictly enforced and many visitors without tickets have been turned away.

It's now essential that visitors purchase their Machu Picchu entrance tickets well before arriving at Machu Picchu. We recommend buying your tickets at least 10 days in advance but as more people learn about the changes you may need to buy your tickets much further in advance.

The government have introduced an online booking system. But if you are a student you have to get your ticket in. They have also started to charge admission to Huayna Picchu (the tall mountain that you can see behind Machu Picchu). In order to climb Huayna Picchu you now have to buy a new combined Machu Picchu - Huayna Picchu entrance ticket. Tickets to Machu Picchu can be bought online at the official website www.machupicchu.gob.pe

For a helpful guide to explaining the rather confusing booking process you can post a comment on our Facebook wall.

Tweet

Kids having fun in Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu, one of the new seven wonders of the world, right up there with the Great Wall, the Colosseum, Pompeii, and nothing can prepare you for the heady sensation of actually standing in the ruins, situated on a steep hillside, far above the semi-tropical jungle below. Traveling to Machu Picchu with kids is an unforgettable experience for everyone in the family.

Train to Machu Picchu – This is an amazing train ride that winds through gorgeous territory – high and wide valleys dotted with farms and fields, the Urubamba River rushing through narrow gorges, and spectacular views of snow covered peaks.

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu – Take the same route the Incas took five hundred years ago. Not for small children, but it's a great adventure for hearty teens and fit parents. Both locals and tourists take this three or four day hike to the ruins in good weather. The trail passes by hillsides covered in orchids, through Andean villages, over high mountain passes, where you'll see hidden waterfalls and Inca ruins.

The city – 500 years ago, Machu Picchu was an Inca settlement perched on the mountain ridge, surrounded by steep terraces for agriculture, linked to other Inca outposts by a network of trails through the mountains. The city was deserted before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, and dense jungle vegetation covered the ruins. In 1911, the ruins were discovered and excavated by Hiram Bingham. Today, the superb stonework of the Incas endures, but the whole story of Machu Picchu remains a mystery.

Machu Picchu is a wonderful maze – Let your kids explore the myriad of granite passageways and rooms, peering into corners and hiding behind stone walls. Kids can run off a little energy going up and down the steps – there are over 100 staircases! is kind a Super Mario Bros. game on steroids.

Look for plants and animals – Keep your eyes peeled for the elusive Andean viscacha, a small rodent that looks like a rabbit, and likes to hide in the dark among the rocks. You'll see lizards basking in the sun, llamas roaming the ruins and many kinds of birds, (if you're lucky, you'll see Cock-of-the-rock, the red national bird of Peru). Look for orchids and bromeliads growing in crevices in the ruins.

Inspect the waterworks – Machu Picchu has a wonderful series of square fountains and stone channels that carry water through the ruins. If the water is running (the spring that feeds the fountains is sometimes diverted), start at the top at the Fountain Caretaker's hut. Trace the source of the water across the terrace as it flows into the first fountain, then follow the water as it cascades down the hill.

Short hikes

If you have older kids, hike up the trail to Intipunku, the Sun Gate. From Intipunku, there is a spectacular overlook of the ruins and surrounding mountains, and Urubamba River below. It takes about an hour and a half round trip. The trail is well maintained, with a couple of vertigo-inducing spots (not recommended for little kids).

Rather than take the bus, hike down the hill to the Urubamba River. (The trail starts from the ruins and is well marked all the way.) This is a chance to see the "cloud forest" vegetation that surrounds Machu Picchu – dripping vines, bamboo, big ferns, tropical flowers. You may be passed by local kids (dressed in Inca costumes) who run down the path to beat the bus to the bottom of the hill. Depending how often you stop to admire the vegetation, it takes about an hour. Little kids who are good hikers will enjoy the hike down.

Hot springs in Aguas Calientes – Tired of the ruins? Take a break in the hot springs at Aguas Calientes. It has a resort atmosphere, with a snack bar and shallow pools for smaller kids.

Tips for enjoying Machu Picchu

Spend more than one day – We spent two and a half days exploring the ruins, and each day was a different experience. The first day was an overview, the second we saw things we'd missed. On the third day, the boys kicked back and played, my husband snoozed on the grass, I contemplated the mists swirling down the mountains (a true luxury ...)

Toddlers at Machu Picchu – If you have an active toddler in tow, you will want to keep an eye on them. There are places where a small child could tumble off the walls.

Cameras – This is a place to have plenty of digital cameras, for the Intihuatana (hitching post of the sun) at the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Three Windows, and wild llamas who roam the ruins (think of them as small, arrogant camels). Your kids will want to take shots of their favorite things.

Sun screen – Bring suntan lotion and wear hats. The ruins are largely outdoors, and you'll be out all day in the bright sunlight. At higher altitudes, the risk of sunburn is greater. (Drink a lot of water too. Bottled water is available at the cafe outside the ruins, but you might want to bring your own along.)

For more information contact us to: informes@machupicchuk.com

Tweet

Climbing Machu Picchu With Childs

Traveling with an infant or small baby to someplace that’s not only off the beaten track but located at an unusually high altitude seems like it would be a risky venture, not only for the success of your trip, but for the health of your child. Since Cusco is located at an elevation of 3200 meters and Machu Picchu is 2,500 meters (8,200 feet), even seasoned adult travelers are wise to be wary of Altitude Sickness (otherwise known as “Soroche”) that often accompanies visits to Machu Picchu.

While we are on the subject of ‘Soroche’, let’s take a moment to review its causes and effects:

Altitude Sickness or ‘Soroche’ is caused by 2 main factors:

Lack of oxygen in the air
The higher you ascend in altitude, the less oxygen there is in the air so therefore your lungs aren’t getting as much oxygen to your brain and heart for each breath you take as they normally would. Since you have to inhale more often to get the usual amount of oxygen into your body it leaves you with the constant feeling of being “out of breath”.
Lower air pressure at higher altitudes
At an altitude of 3,400m (app. 10,000ft) there is that much less air/air-pressure pushing down on your body then sea-level (0m). At lower altitudes, a body has had to build up certain pressure within in order to withstand the outside air-pressure. This is done through nitrogen bubbles in your bloodstream. These bubbles create inner pressure and equilibrium with the forces of the outside air pressure. Once you reach a certain altitude very quickly (while flying, for example), your body may have difficulties adjusting itself to the sudden difference in outside pressure and for a while (usually a maximum of 24 hours) your inside pressure may be higher than the outside air-pressure, causing a series of possible discomforts, such as headache, dizziness, intestinal unrest, etc. This all has to do with the fact that your body tries to make the nitrogen bubbles in your bloodstream smaller and readjust itself to the outside pressure, but hasn’t gotten there yet. Normally this is no big problem and you will get over it within 24 hours.

So, back to the issue at hand; should you take the kids with you to the elevated altitudes of Machu Picchu? All medical research suggest that young children rarely suffer from the effects of altitude sickness, as their bodies tend to adjust themselves much faster than those of adults. People might ask: “Why would you take them somewhere, at that age, when they probably won’t have any recollection of it later?”

It’s been our experience that children are as receptive to travel experiences as they are to languages at that age; their mind is a sponge and they can absorb lots of valuable information from a trip like this. While they may not consciously remember all the details as they grow up, you know that at some level their minds are opening up as they are taking in the new sights and sounds with all the curiosity and wonderment that is unique and common in young children.

Travelers around the world had nothing but positive experiences traveling with their young children and feel comfortable about doing so until proven otherwise. We sincerely feel that getting to know different cultures and ways of living will help and accustom kids to becoming tolerant teenagers and adults. As far as learning tolerance goes, there is no better time than the present.

So if you have any concern, feel free to contact us for any information about your trip to Machu Picchu: informes@machupicchuk.com

Tweet

Hiking to Machu Picchu in Vibram Five Fingers.

Professional photographer and Vibram Five Fingers fan, Scott Gold, recently visited Peru with his girlfriend. Read what Scott had to say about their trip.
My girlfriend and I wore our Sprints in Peru and loved them! We were considering hiking boots for the 9 day trek in the Andes from Choquequirao to Machu Picchu but ended up choosing our Sprints instead. They were lighter, more agile and felt more safe than wearing enormous hiking boots. They performed great at 15,000ft as well as at sea level crossing rivers. I loved feeling the trail beneath my feet...I was connected.

Pros:
Lightweight
Agile
Can feel everything beneath you.
No chance of rolling an ankle.
River crossings were a dream...didn't have to take off shoes like the rest of the group.
Conversation starter. Everyone pointed, laughed, smiled then asked were can they get some.

Cons:
Dust and Dirt: The Sprints allowed dust and dirt to get in the shoe and act like sandpaper. The new Trek Sports or KSO would have been preferred. (Weren't available at the time)

15hr days and thousands of feet in elevation changes on intense terrain will abuse almost anyone's feet. I'd strongly recommend training your feet to get used to the abuse. We trained for a solid month with running and hiking...looking back I would have doubled it.

It was a bummer the Vibram Trek Sports were not available yet when we did the trip...I think they would have worked great! Overall, we loved the VFF and will never use hiking boots again for trips like this.

Tweet

Machu Picchu and Galapagos Islands among top destinations.

The South Island of New Zealand emerged the top pick among female adventurers, followed by Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands. Male adventurers picked the Galapagos Islands first, followed by Patagonia and Yosemite National Park.

Travelers in the 18-34 age group would like to visit the South Island of New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu, whereas adventurers in the 35-54 age group selected Bora Bora, French Polynesia, the Galapagos Islands and Yosemite National Park as their most desired adventure destinations.

Machupicchuk.com is a different sort of website that empowers adventure travelers to discover and book adventure trips directly with the world's leading adventure tour operators, skipping the travel agent.

"Whether you're a horseback rider or trekker, scuba diver or cyclist,we aim to bring you the widest selection of the most exhilarating adventure experiences - so you can focus on finding the trip that's right for you."

After joining via Facebook, users can pick activities and see a map of where they are being offered world-wide. I chose "climbing" and was presented with a map showing organized tours at various locations, complete with a description of what is being offered and a price.

Just for fun, I picked a tour called Everest Base Camp with Island Peak (like I could survive it) and got a quick overview of what to expect along with a detailed description of all that would be happening. Included too were alternative but related tours and resources for further investigation.

This is good stuff to simply kill some time on a hot summer day or get a serious idea of what is involved, when the best time to go is and what costs might involve.

Tweet

Machu Picchu Centennial Celebrations ends.

After kicking off the evening with a video showing the key elements of Peru's chief tourist attraction, groups of artists dramatized an offering made by the Incas to gain permission to begin construction of the sanctuary.

They made their offering to the surrounding mountains, believed to be gods in the Andean culture.

Appearing onstage were delegations from the four territories that made up the Tahuantinsuyo, or Inca Empire, bearing torches that lit up the streets and plazas of Machu Picchu.

Projections on the ancient walls then showed the building of the citadel, after which an actor playing the Inca emperor appeared to thank the gods for their wisdom and support.

The show went on to portray the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, and how it forced the citadel's inhabitants to flee to safer ground.

At this point the evening's most spectacular moment began, a great fireworks display that illuminated the citadel and Huayna Picchu, the mountain that with Machu Picchu forms the background of the most famous photos of the sanctuary.

The show also in included music of the popular "El Condor Pasa," played by the Andean Orchestra and the Cuzco Symphony Orchestra, and sung by Tania Libertad.

The number was followed by other songs including "La Mano Desasida" (The Hand Set Free, from a poem by Martin Adam) and the traditional Cuzco tune "Valicha."

Topping off the show was a man hang-gliding over the citadel imitating the flight of the condor, the region's iconic bird.

The commission responsible for the festivities had been mulling the possibility of staging a large concert at Machu Picchu for months, with Paul McCartney and Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flores named as possible headliners.

But the government subsequently opted for a less ambitious event with fewer guests after UNESCO, which supervises World Heritage Sites such as Machu Picchu, expressed concerns about possible damage to the famed ruins.

With the change, the guest list for Thursday's night main extravaganza was restricted to government officials and members of state-run media outlets, which afterwards distributed photographs and video footage of the event to the rest of the journalists.

The show was directed by peruvian filmmaker Luis Llosa.

Though Bingham's arrival was really on July 24, 1911, Peruvian authorities celebrated on Thursday the centennial of the discovery of Machu Picchu, celebrations that began in the morning at the sanctuary and also included the city of Cuzco, where the day was declared a holiday.

Tweet

A future in Machu Picchu's past.

It's 10 minutes before dawn and my wife and I are waiting for sunrise in one of the most beautiful places on earth: Peru's Machu Picchu, the mountaintop religious retreat and citadel probably built by the Inca emperor Pachacutec in the 15th century.
The ruins are stunning: temples, altars and palaces of white stone, surmounted by a near 360-degree view of the Andes mountains around us. The only problem? In the midst of all this beauty, we're quarrelling. And, naturally, it's all my fault.
In writing Cradle of Gold, a book about how American explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911 and then fought with Peru over its artefacts, I'd visited the site many times, interviewed its archaeologists, and just sat, enjoying its quiet repose. But because it's my wife's first visit, I wanted it to be special.
I thought we'd get up at 4.45am, have a breakfast of bananas and coca-leaf tea, and then hike the two vertical miles up from Aguascalientes, the town on the river below, in time to see the sun set the Andes aflame. This was what Hiram Bingham did whenever he visited, and we would do the same.
What sounded good over pisco sours the previous evening melted in the daytime. Waking up for breakfast was fine, but about half an hour into the hike I realise the toll that writing my book had left upon my body. Too much coffee, not enough of the trekking I did while living in Peru.
Early bird buses whizz past us on the road. I envy their passengers but proudly refuse to slow down. This irritates my wife, who barely has the time to enjoy the view of the river below and the lush vegetation above.
It takes us nearly two hours of hard climbing to make it – Hiram's best was 40 minutes – and we arrive all but spent. I further fan the flames by hustling her through the ruins to a nice quiet terrace from which we'll watch the sunrise.
As we frostily split an orange, I realise why I've been behaving badly: I want her to love Machu Picchu like I do, but I'm afraid that she won't.
I needn't have worried. She spots it first. Off to the south, the first rays hit the Inca Sun Gate, the final marker of the Inca Trail. The line of sunlight marches along the ridge, illuminating the terraces, and then the golden wave of fire is upon us.
Like the plume of a volcano, the sun flares from between two peaks to our east, sweeping away the clouds, warming our faces, and the old, cold stones beneath us, placed here perhaps 600 years ago, by Pachacutec's workers.
My wife takes my hand. "It's wonderful," she says, glowing.
I add: "But next time, we can take the bus."
When I return to Machu Picchu to escort a tour for tour company Bailey Robinson, I'll be keeping that relaxed resolution intact. July 24, 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of Hiram Bingham's first visit to the ruins, and in the century since it's become easy to explore Peru with less effort than Bingham, and more style than Pachacutec.
Lima – the country's capital and most travellers' introduction to the country – has undergone a renaissance just in the time I've been travelling there. Once the administrative centre of Spain's colonial South American holdings, the city has exploded as a new artistic and culinary capital of the Americas, suffused with its coastal, foggy mix of Andean, Pacific, Asian, African and Spanish culture.
In galleries and cafés, I wait with bohemian film-makers and cognoscenti businessmen for sprawling gourmet lunches of ceviche: seafood "cooked" in lime juice and a Technicolor variety of spicy sauces, served with sweet potato and roasted corn.
Afternoon tours of Lima's colonial cathedral slip smoothly into restaurants like Astrid y Gastón. I still dream about a trio of scallops I ate there on my birthday six years ago – soft and swimming in a perfumed sea of yellow Andean peppers, so fresh that it would have satisfied even Naymlap – a seagoing founder of one of the northern pre-Columbian cultures.
By contrast, Cuzco, the Incas' former capital, is famous for its indigenous heritage. Police halt traffic for the near daily parades of Inca heirs and dancers.
I've spent happy hours haggling with shrewd market women over explosively colourful fruits grown by family members in the countryside. I've spent even more time wandering through Inca temples and palaces that are literally the foundations of the city's most prominent colonial and mansions. As Luis Valcárcel – who challenged Bingham's export of artefacts to Yale University – once said, Cuzco is "the only city of America where all time periods and civilisations exist".
Yet one of those time periods is decidedly modern. International jet-setters wander from their hotels to some of Peru's most interesting Andean restaurants. Stomachs full of peppered alpaca and guinea pig-topped causa – a multicoloured tower of spiced, mashed potato – they then explore rich museums of pre-Columbian archaeology and art, glowing in the high-altitude night.
Those museums are about to get even more interesting. Peru and Yale recently announced that by July the university will be returning to Cuzco a first batch of skulls, bones, ceramics and silver that Bingham excavated and exported from Machu Picchu in 1912.
Finally, there's the main event: Machu Picchu itself and the Sacred Valley leading up to it. Two hours from Cuzco, the stunning vistas of the Sacred Valley – waving corn fields beneath soaring Andean peaks – now include spas and retreats. Peasant
co-operatives sell near-couture quality textiles to travellers on their way to Ollantaytambo, the fortress where the rebel Inca emperor Manco temporarily fought off the Spanish in 1536.
Visitors then take a route that Manco avoided: along the winding, roaring Urubamba river and precipitous jungle-covered cliffs that guard Machu Picchu. Bingham first went by mule, but when he returned in 1948 to inaugurate the road up to the ruins he took the train. Today, PeruRail even offers a luxury option, the fittingly named Hiram Bingham, which rolls along with brass railings and a bar-car that harks back to the golden age of rail travel.
Peru: essential travel information
No matter how I get there, however, Machu Picchu never fails to make me smile, as it did my wife. White stone, green and black peaks, blue sky, meeting in a citadel now crucial to Peru's future: a spiritual indigenous core, inspiring new ideas about Peru's history and way forward.
It's a lesson that Peru teaches every visitor: there are many cosmopolitan modernities in the world and we need to keep our minds open lest we dismiss them as exotic, hard-to-reach places. In Peru, the future is narrated in Andean-inflected Spanish, thrives in a well-preserved, once-imperial ruin, and, yes, is reachable by bus.

Christopher Heaney is the author of 'Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu', published on July 24 (£11.99, Palgrave Macmillan).
He will escort an anniversary tour of Machu Picchu from July 20-26, bookable with Bailey Robinson (see 'Essential travel information line, above').

Tweet

Admission to a Wonder of the World.

As I discovered during a too-short side trip from Cairo last weekend, the cost of access to that legendary outpost (recently voted one of the "New Seven World Wonders") has been rising precipitously. After several price boosts last year, day trippers from nearby Egypt and Israel now pay 90 Jordanian dinars per person, or about $127, while overnight tourists must pony up 50 dinars ($71) for a one-day pass, 55 dinars ($77) for two days, or 60 dinars ($85) for three days.

The latest increases at Petra, which took effect last November, coincide with a steep drop in visitors. Thanks to fallout from the Egyptian revolution and violent protests in parts of neighboring Syria, tourism officials are reportedly forecasting a 25% decline this year. (As a park gate closed at sunset last Friday, I was virtually alone - and a tour guide told me that crowds were down nearly 70% from the same time a year ago.)

The new, higher fees include the services of a tour guide and a 10-minute horseback ride to the entrance of the Siq (seen above), a narrow, winding canyon that serves as the main entrance and gateway to Petra's signature ruin, The Treasury of Indiana Jones fame. But that hasn't stopped some critics from complaining: "Proposals for more toilets on-site, better interpretation and new transport services in & out are welcome," writes travel writer Matthew Teller. "But why such a massive price-hike to fund them? Petra had more than 800,000 visitors in 2008, who brought more than $21 million in ticket receipts for this one site, in one year alone, in a developing-world country. $21m buys a lot of portaloos. Where has that money gone?"

"Petra is one of the most fantastic places I've ever been, so I'm not saying don't go. And Petra aside, Jordan is a great value. But this kind of blatant pocket-lining drives me crazy," adds travel writer Tim Leffel, who notes that one-day admission to the ancient city costs more than a walk-up ticket to Disney World ($87.33), Peru's Machu Picchu (about $45) or Cambodia's Angkor Wat ($20). Ecuador's Galapagos National Park, on the other hand, charges foreign visitors $100 to get in, while the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan assesses a $200-$240 per person, per day fee that includes lodging, meals transportation and guide.

As Leffel points out, the cost of visiting Petra is diluted sharply when spread out over two or three days, and the sheer vastness of the site makes a one-day tour inadvisable anyway. (My legs and lungs complained bitterly when I opted for a five-hour sprint instead.) But notwithstanding the hustling souvenir sellers and horse handlers who demanded a five-dinar tip, even one afternoon in Petra was magical - and worth a heck of a lot more than a day with Mickey Mouse and company.

Tweet

Students explore Machu Picchu over spring break

Twenty-one students from Missouri University of Science and Technology spent spring break exploring the ancient civil and geological engineering marvels of Peru.

The students - 11 undergraduates and 10 graduate students - visited Lima, Peru's capital, as well as Cusco and the fabled mountaintop Incan city of Machu Picchu during March 28-April 1. There they conducted field trips focusing on geological and geotechnical engineering aspects of the Inca civilization.

Posing on a Peru mountainside are, from left, Dr. Robert Laudon, professor emeritus and former chair; S&T students Ethan Faber, Evan Menkes, Matthew Simon, Jessie Hahn, Thomas Langdon, Elizabeth Anderson (guest), Julie Langenfeld, Kimberly Trout, Sara Tipton, Jessica McKinney, Amber Shrader and Raymond Taylor; and the group's tour guide.

At Machu Picchu, from left, are faculty members Neil Anderson and Ronaldo Luna; Luna's daughter, Calli Luna; and Missouri S&T students Max Laracuente Bernat, Julie Langenfeld, Evan Menkes, Sara Tipton, Matthew Simon, Jessie Hahn, Ethan Faber, Amber Shrader, Jessica McKinney, Raymond Taylor, Kim Neumann Rumpsa, Evgeniy Torgashov and Kerry Magner.
"For the undergraduate students, we were trying to give them more of an introduction into the amazing ancient geological and geotechnical engineering of Peru," says Dr. Neil Anderson, professor of geological sciences and engineering at Missouri S&T. "The graduate students, under the direction of Dr. Ronaldo Luna, looked at features from a much more comprehensive perspective."

Anderson and Luna, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, coordinated the trip, along with Dr. Robert Laudon, professor emeritus and former chair of geological sciences and engineering.

During the trip, the students visited stone temples such as Coricancha, in Cusco, and toured archeological sites where multi-ton sculpted granite blocks had been transported by a culture that used neither wheels nor pack animals. They also visited agricultural terraces that extend hundreds of feet up the sides of steep mountains, ancient quarries and the ruins of Machu Picchu, the ancient mountaintop "lost city" known as an architectural and engineering marvel.

The students were enrolled in one of two courses on geotechnical engineering practices of Incan civilization: a three-hour graduate-level course for civil engineering and geological engineering students, and a one-hour course for undergraduate students in geological engineering. Both courses are offered through Missouri S&T's distance and continuing education program.

This is the fourth year S&T undergraduate students have participated in the spring break trip to Peru and the second year graduate students were involved. A collection of photographs from the 2010 trip is available online. A collection from the 2011 trip will also be available at a later date.

Students who went on the 2011 trip to Peru are:

Jessica McKinney of Houston, a sophomore in geological engineering.
Amber Shrader of Evergreen, Colo., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Julie Langenfeld of Cape Girardeau, Mo., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Jessie Hahn of Cape Girardeau, Mo., a junior in geological engineering.
Sara Tipton of Tigard, Ore., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Kimberly Trout of Dixon, Mo., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Ethan Faber of Webster Groves, Mo., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Thomas Langdon of St. Charles, Mo., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Evan Menkes of Defiance, Mo., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Matthew Simon of Rochester, Minn., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Raymond Taylor of Monroe, La., a sophomore in geological engineering.
Evgeniy Torgashov of Rolla, Mo., a graduate student in geological engineering.
Jacob Bilello of St. Louis, Mo., a graduate student in geotechnics.
James Davis of Broken Aroow, Okla., a graduate student in geotechnics.
Stephen Patt of Arlington, Va., a graduate student in geotechnics.
Jason Soucie of Manchester, Mo., a graduate student in civil engineering (contemporary structural engineering certification).
Mirna Pavaric of St. Louis, Mo., a graduate student in engineering management.
Kimberly Neumann Rumpsa of Dittmer, Mo., a graduate student in engineering management.
Kerry Magner or Rolla, Mo., a Ph.D. student in civil engineering.
Max Laracuente Bernat of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, a graduate student in civil engineering.
Karl Higgins of Leesburg, Va., a graduate student in geotechnics.

Tweet

My first trip to Machu Picchu.

We spent the first night near Lima, at a friend’s house close to the beach in the La Perla area.

We walked to the beach and ate barbecued beef hearts and stuffed mashed potatoes on a street corner. Sounds tasty, right? Well, it really was. They didn't tell me what I was eating until I mentioned that it was a different barbecue than we get at home. I was then told it was beef hearts marinated in chili, lime and sauces, sliced thin and then barbecued. Delicious.

The following day we took a flight to Cusco and then a train to Machu Picchu. The train was an exceptional experience. They served a drink called a pisco sour, made with lime juice, whipped egg whites and pisco, a Peruvian grape brandy. Everyone — tourists and all — was so friendly (probably because everyone was drinking the happy drink).

After the train ride to the top of Machu Picchu, we took a half-hour tour-bus ride up a narrow road with an amazing view of the small city below. When we arrived, we saw children in their native dress and llamas roaming and eating the green grass. It was an amazing sight.

Flights are relatively cheap if you buy three to four months in advance, and Cusco and Machu Picchu are safe to travel to — so be spontaneous and go! The Peruvian people are so friendly, the shopping is fantastic, the food delicious, and the dollar goes a long, long way. You'll want to return for more food, fun and hospitality. Winter is an ideal time to visit, when it's Peru’s summer.

Tweet

There is an App for That... Machu Picchu.

So, if you are planning to visit one of the New Seven Wonders, chances are that you can do it just assisted by you favorite Apple idevice. (iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad). But of course you always need some human beens around you.

Let me show you wich App fits with you:

Machu Picchu by Vogaerits
With in application you can take snapshot of your favorite places and can save as Albums and can send them as mail attachments.
And Geo tagged Photo Management System.
Locate easily with Perfect longitude and latitude & can view on map.
It provides information about existing and near by attractions.
High quality photo gallery makes you surprise.


Machu Picchu Sights by Brighthouse Labs

A comprehensive navigation tool that shows you every major point of interest overlaid on a map of Machu Picchu. Every attraction a tourist would want to see is automatically located for you. Museums, statues, theatres, gardens, parks, monuments and anything else you could want to see – you’ll find it here!
You can either scroll around the map and select points of interest to learn more about them, or you can scroll through a list of all sights and choose the one you want to see to have it located on the map for you. Quickly plan your day by seeing which attractions are near each other!
Plus you’ll see every location near you. On the iPhone the app will detect your location via GPS. With an iPod Touch you simply enter your current location and the app will show you what’s around! Machu Picchu Sights will then provide you with directions from your current location to any point of interest you find.
Every point of interest has contact info and an address so you’ll easily be able to find it.
If you’re exploring Machu Picchu you owe it to yourself to download Machu Picchu Sights to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

Machu Picchu Study Guide by Brighthouse Labs
Have a big test you need to study for? Or, maybe you just want to learn more about Machu Picchu. Either way, Machu Picchu Study Guide has all the info you'll need!
This app stores all relevant pages about Machu Picchu from Wikipedia on your device so you can view them whenever you like with no need for Internet access. If you need to learn anything about Machu Picchu, you'll always have it with you!
Every article is indexed so you can find the exact topic you need to learn about. You can also search the index to find a specific topic with the built in search feature.
When viewing an article you can use the green colored in article links to quickly move to pages explaining terms and events. You can browse around and really develop an understanding of a topic!

Machu Picchu - Peru by Egate IT Solutions Pvt Lt

Machu Picchu - Peru Travel Map is a unique consists of complete information that may be Heritage, Culture, and Sightseeing, Adventure, Special interests and surroundings all are captured in the map which gives you a better view, idea to your curiosity.
We have more than 100 Top destinations travel maps for you on iPhone with latest information and functionalities. These maps are especially designed for those who are planning to travel around these places for the first time and quite new if you already visited the place.
Visiting any well known place with our maps will definitely delight your voyage.

Tweet

Along to Machu Picchu, Peru promotes eight tourist destinations.

Peru's tourism minister announced a new campaign to promote eight new tourist destinations besides the famous Inca sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Perú21 reports. The new sites were selected to help visitors discover the country’s culture and biodiversity.

What we are looking for are destinations that complement Machu Picchu, not substitute for it,” Ferreyros explained in an international press conference in Lima.

The destinations at that the ministry for tourism seeks to promote are “Ruta Moche,” cradle of the ancient civilizations of the northern coast; Paracas and Nazca, on the southern coast; Lima as a culinary capital; the northern beaches; the Amazon river; the Colca Canyon in Arequipa; the department of Cusco; and Lake Titicaca.

But the minister explained that promoting these sites will involve work on the part of many different sectors, and expected results will be long term. He said that it will be necessary to improve transportation, utilities and hotel services in the target destinations.

Machu Picchu, which celebrates the centennial anniversary of its discovery this year, does not need further promotion according to the minister, as it receives some 2,500 daily visitors. Studies to determine an appropriate number of tourists who can visit the site without causing adverse effects are currently ongoing, and will conclude this April.

Tweet