Is Machu Picchu Overrated?

Four months into my trip to Peru, my mother called me one afternoon to express her incredible disappointment in me. 

“The whole family is waiting for the Machu Picchu picture!” she said, clicking her tongue. “You’ve been there long enough, you can’t come home from Peru without seeing Machu Picchu!” 

I had always intended to visit Machu Picchu when planning my Peruvian escapade. In fact, a month before my trip, upon typing “things to do in Cusco, Peru” into the search bar, I’d found the top 10 results to all be Machu-Picchu related, a fact that made a pre-trip Virginia sick to her stomach. 

“If all there is to do is Machu Picchu,” I thought, “what on earth am I going to do for the rest of the six months I’m there?”

Turns out I was fabulously naive. Obviously.

My first day in Cusco, Peru I watched traditional dancers perform the Marinera in the Plaza de Armas. The next day I explored the Mercado de San Pedro, admiring the intricate Peruvian textiles and haggling with the vendors as they nursed their babies in their laps. Months later, I’d spent so much time hiking into the Sacred Valley and drinking my weight in Chicha Morada, I’d practically forgotten about Machu Picchu altogether. 

The next thing I knew I had a week left. I was either going to Machu Picchu now or never. 

My friends and I collected our camping gear, boarded a bumpy bus, and hiked through the dark to the ancient Incan citadel. That’s an entirely different story though.

The next thing I knew, I was watching the sun rise over Huayna Picchu alongside approximately 500 other tourists. I guess they’d all also had the great idea to arrive first thing in the morning to “skip the line.”

I spent the next 3 hours shuffling through Machu Picchu with a herd behind me keeping me steadily moving. I admired the intricately cut stones and marveled at the size of the boulders perched on this mountaintop wonder, but before long I was ready to load back into our bumpy bus and sleep the entire way home.

So the verdict–is Machu Picchu overrated?

Yes and no. 

Let me explain. Machu Picchu is unbelievable, and rightfully earned its place as one of the “Seven Wonders of the World.” The towering stone city exemplifies feats of civil engineering we still can’t completely understand today, with each block of stone cut so precisely not even a toothpick can squeeze between them. The surrounding landscape is enough to take your breath away, with mountains jutting out of the surrounding valley like giants and fog swirling around Huayna Picchu (note: don’t forget your altitude medicine!)

So yes, you should absolutely visit Machu Picchu when traveling in Peru.

But I still think Machu Picchu is overrated. Ok, maybe overrated is too strong of a word for such an incredible historical sight, but I definitely think there are some things to consider before planning a trip to Machu Picchu.

Now before you chew me out, hear me out. I loved Machu Picchu, but it still falls to the bottom of my favorite things I did in Peru. I suppose the “why” can pretty much be summed up by one word. 

Tourism. 

Machu Picchu is Peru’s biggest tourist destination, with over 1.2 million visitors annually. While the growing tourism has been beneficial for the Peruvian economy, the Peruvian Ministry of Culture had to place restrictions on the site in 2011 due to over tourism and subsequent destruction of the site. Now, only 2,500 visitors can enter the site per day (and trust me, that’s still a lot!)

The result is what can only be described as a “Disney World feeling.” While Machu Picchu was built by the Incas thousands of years ago, it can be hard to remember you’re not at an amusement park as you pass through rows of metal turnstiles. As you wander through the site you’re directed to follow the plastic footpaths, and no matter the time of day you arrive, you’ll be waiting in a line at least 3 families deep to take a photo in the most iconic photo spots. 

The result feels like magic lost. The fascination of this city that sat for years on it’s mountaintop is easily forgotten in the mass of shuffling crowds and modern devices.

Lucky for you, Machu Picchu is far from the only ancient Incan ruin in Peru. The country is filled with awe-inspiring ruins, many of which are far less touristy (or not even visited by tourists at all!) From the mountainside village of Inca Pisac to the spectacular and remote ruins of Choquequirao, there are many ways to get a dose of Incan architecture that aren’t Machu Picchu. 

So all that being said, I still think Machu Picchu is a must-see on anyone’s Peru trip, if only to make their mothers happy. But before you make your entire trip about the overcrowded citadel, take the time to explore beyond the top result in your Google search and discover other treasures Peru has to offer. The country is full of them, I can guarantee it. 

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