This place will never be over-rated.
Being in Machu Picchu and the experience that led to being able to be there made for one of the best memories of my life. Danny and I were travelling on a very tight budget and we had to make a lot of sacrifices to be able to make it there, but it was worth every effort to get there. Every penny spent and every blister our my feet was was less payment than what this place made us feel.
How to get there the cheapest and most exciting way
1.- Get to Cusco.
2.- Find a company or transport that will take you to the "planta hidráulica".
Make sure you buy your entrance tickets online before booking transport.
3.- Walk along the train rails for a long long time. The views will be so worth it. *I promise to post photos of the hike there if readers ask for them.
4.- Arrive in Aguascalientes, the tiny town protected by giants. You will probably get there around sunset or right after sunset if you walk slow. *Bring a lamp. You will need it to pass some long tunnels.
5.- Find a hostel and get some rest.
6.- Decide if you want to hike up to Machu Picchu or if you want to take the bus. If you go for the option of taking the bus, buy your tickets the night before.
7.- Wake up early...like, REALLY EARLY. The first bus leaves at around 5:00am if I remember correctly. It is worth getting in line and getting on the first bus. The sunrise is unbelievable. If you don´t take the bus, wake up early and enjoy the thousands of steps up to the entrance of Machu Picchu.
8.- Enjoy.
9.- You can walk back to the hydroplant and get there before 4:00pm to get transport back to Cusco, or you can spend another night in Aguascalientes and hike the next morning to the hydroplant. *Booking transport ahead is recommended.
We were some of the first to enter which is awesome for taking pictures with not so many people in them. After 11am, Machu Picchu looks like a giant ant farm.
There is always time for a kiss. We have been engaged since December 2015, but we had a "tradition" of proposing to each other at awesome places.
I said "YES".
If these boots could speak...
I hope you guys enjoy the photos and the advice on getting there in the most inexpensive way we found. If you have any comments or questions, make sure to post below and I will be happy to reply.
Peace.
Great pics!
Thank you very much! It is an amazing place to put some photography skills to the test. I shot a lot of images in HDR and I loved the result. I am happy you did too.
Have you tried Exposure Blending with luminosity masks? It's similar to HDR and uses the same bracketed exposures, but in many cases gives you more control. Jimmy McIntyre has some great tutorials like this one
That is pretty cool. I will try it. I hope to head to some amazing location next weekend to be able to shoot some long exposures. I will post the end result on here. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful pictures! Keep them coming!
Thank you. Will do.