Machu Picchu Guidebook

I'm a spaz. Anything that goes into my backpack better be dang worth the extra weight. This book 100% was. We hiked 5 days to Macchu Picchu and on the day we arrived 2 of our 5 had food poisoning. They hung outside the bathrooms and didn't even go in while the rest of us went on our tour. At first, I was bummed because I didn't use the book at all! The tour moved quickly and I didn't have time to take it out; just followed along, snapping pictures and listening to the guide. Now thankfully (Ha, I know they would not agree), my friends with food poisoning missed the tour. We ended up staying in Aguas C for a 2nd day so that the next day we could take the bus back up to MP and they could see what they just spent a ton of money and 5 days hiking to see :). That's when I got a chance to whip out this book and CRAP! It was fantastic. There was so much in here that our tour guide did not mention. Photos and descriptions; it was fantastic! Now: what I would actually recommend so that you get the best experience (heck, you prob only come here once), is get a tour guide and take his/her tour. They will show you around and also give you a chance to get familiar with the layout. They give you great information, great personal experience, etc. Plus they are pretty cheap. THEN either come up the next day, or I am sure your tour isn't that long. Then have this book and walk around by yourself. Lay out in a grassy area, and read up. Then walk around and read while you see what is in the book. The book also has great photos so now 6 months later when I pick it up, I see the photo, I see the description and then i remember how awesome it was. I'm horribly unorganized so my photos from the trip are great, but nothing is labeled so I've forgotten a lot of it. The book is worth keeping after the trip to remember the details. I also always buy a Fodor's or Lonely Planet book and then highlight or staple in menus. tickets, write notes in the pages about things we did. Such a fun way to reflect back on a trip!

In my opinion, this guidebook is a must for anyone visiting Machu Picchu. I'm well travelled and feel this is the best guidebook I have ever purchased. Some reviewers complain about the small print on the building diagrams, this is because of the detail that is provided in the book -- not a real problem, bring a small magnifying glass if your eyesight is weak. When traveling, I believe you see what you know, and this guidebook is a treasure trove of easily understood detailed information. If you only want to spend a couple of hours strolling around Machu Picchu to say you have been there, than this isn't the book for you. If you have interest in learning about this magnificent archeological site, again this guidebook is a must for you.

I just returned from a trip to Macchu Picchu. I managed to do the 4 day Classic Inca Trek to Macchu Picchu and carrying along this book for 4 days was well worth the efforts. There are divided sections at MP and this book tells you all about it and the best way to tour it. There are detailed maps, drawings, and pictures of the entire area along with what everything was used for and the history. There are also some additional hikes to do while you are there and I would insist that you also visit Huaynu Picchu as it is every bit as fascinating and the views of MP from the tip top are stunning! I would recommend studying it a bit before you leave. It is impossible to read the whole book while you are there and walking around, not to mention you really want to be in the moment and not worrying about too many details. I would say read the book and use it while you are there to navigate to the important things you don't want to miss. If you are visiting MP, it is a must read!

This is a must-read just before a trip to Machu Picchu if you want to have some perspective on what you're looking at and what you're walking through. It does a great job of breaking down areas of Machu Picchu into easy to follow sections which are marked on the site map (included). I took it to a local shop to add a spiral binding (for a few dollars, well worth it). Reading it in advance helped in discussions with the group guide and since some of what he was saying wasn't new, I had the "oh wow here it is" not the "what did he say this was" feeling, which made the whole experience more comfortable, inspiring and less rushed. We had two days there in total, that still wasn't enough but I can always read the book again to bring it back. FYI: When we hiked up Huayna Picchu in May 2016 (take it seriously) the loop for the summit was mandatory one-way clockwise, which is different from the graphic/info in the book which recommends counter-clockwise (I assume when this was published hikers could choose for themselves).

Read for an important note for anyone visiting Machu PIcchu post-pandemic. This book is *the* best one out there for getting into the specifics of the individual structures of Machu Picchu for a visit. Other guidebooks may have a short section on Machu Picchu; this one is *entirely* about the lost city. In great detail, by an author/authority who spent many years researching it and visiting it. However, post-pandemic, Machu Picchu has completely re-done how you can visit the entire site. You are no longer permitted to wander the site freely, which is what this book was designed for and would be most useful for. You can now visit *only* by buying tickets to specific "circuits" that take you through the site one time only, in one direction, on a path. The good news about this is that it now never feels crowded and the number of visitors is strictly limited and enforced. This has the unfortunate side effect of rendering this book much less of a practical guide for when you're there, and instead turns it into more of a reference book. It still is GREAT, and I'd highly recommend it if you are headed to Machu Picchu-- its depth of information is excellent, and will give you a finer appreciation of the things you do see. (Also, hire a guide for your time there, for sure... there are plenty that solicit you on the spot or in town, you won't have trouble getting one and they're licensed and regulated.) So this book is still worth picking up. Just know that you won't be able to use it to just wander and explore the ruins, as it was intended. And that policy is unlikely to change.

If you are contemplating a trip to Peru which includes a visit to Machu Picchu, do yourself (and anyone traveling with you) a favor and get this guide. It enables you to conduct your own tour of the site, seeing just what you want to see and not what a guide wants you to see. We went to Machu Picchu with this guide book and a guide, spent the first hour-and-a-half with the guide getting a "lick and a promise" at a dozen or so points chosen by the guide, and struggling to hear and understand what he was saying. When he was finished, we took off on our own with Ruth Wright's self-guide and spent the next two-and-one-half hours seeing and understanding the significance of things we had walked right past in the guided tour (and getting the correct information on things that the guide had provided incorrect or semi-correct information on). As a bonus, the book has a large number of color and black-and-white photographs that are really useful after you return home in correctly titling your own photographs and having the correct explanations for them if viewers have questions about things in your photographs. Although the book is not pocket-sized, it will easily fit into a small pouch so it can be carried while visiting the site (and that's what it's intended for -- I read it on the plane on the way down and found it not to be that helpful without the site in front of me, despite the fact that it is well illustrated). The Wrights (Ruth and her husband Ken) have spent years working with Peruvian archeological experts to explore, map, and understand the site and this book give you the fruits of their labors. Highly recommended.

This is a decent guide book if you have only a few hours to spend in Machu Picchu. I had a day an a half and was somewhat disappointed by the book: too little solid info and too much "fluff". For instance, the enclosed maps number all the rooms and buildings, but the text mentions only a few, with no attempt made to guess the use/function of the other ones. Not enough explanation is given of which parts are original and which are reconstructed. The visiting routes are often confusing and I found that exploring on my own was easier. The historical context and info on Inca life is spread throughout the text instead of being presented up front. On the positive side, the USA's author's husband is a hydrological specialist and the info on Incas' water management is solid. All that said, I have not looked at other guidebooks and this one may yet be the best one. It is certainly better than nothing or than what you can hear in a rushed 2 hours tour from a local guide...

I can't imagine why this book is no longer being published. It is the best guide to this site. I read it after after spending a few days in Machu Picchu and understood much better what this treasure looked like and what the purpose of each building was. The pullout artist's rendering of the site as it might have looked in the 1400s from National Geographic is amazing and put the site together in my mind. I wish that I had it before the trip. A must read for all who intend to visit this amazing site!