Photos Of Machu Picchu – Capturing A Magical Experience
Machu Picchu is one of those magical places that you can never take enough photos of. You snap and you snap and you snap. When taking photos of Machu Picchu, it’s hard to capture the beauty and feeling you get while you’re standing, literally, above the clouds and looking down at the amazing Inca ruins.Â
We were fortunate to see two sides of Machu Picchu: the misty cloud covered Machu Picchu and the bright and colorful Machu Picchu. I’ve put together some of my favorite photographs that show the progression of our day as the clouds lifted and we made our way throughout the ancient city.
Photos Of Machu Picchu
By the time we made it through the line, waited for our guide to gather up the other two couples in our group, and first started making our way down, it was probably almost 7 am. At first, we couldn’t even see the city, or even the surrounding mountains.
Our guide assured us not to worry and that soon the clouds would lift. She was right; every time we looked back we could see a little more. The anticipation was killing us! Then the sun started to make its way through the clouds. We would get bursts of sunshine, and then more clouds.
In this video, you can see the clouds slowly passing over the city:
At that point we didn’t wait for the clouds to completely lift. We continued exploring the city itself and making our way through the many sections that make it up.
In this video, we are looking down on Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate. You can see the ruins off in the distance, the winding road that the bus takes up from the base of the mountain, and people as they walk up to the Sun Gate. The video was several minutes long but we sped it up, and my favorite thing about it is that you can see the shadow of the clouds move over the landscape.
As you can see, we had great weather and the day turned out beautifully. Being able to see the clouds lift was magical. It was an amazing experience; one that I will never forget. I hope you’ve enjoyed these photos of Machu Picchu and I hope that they inspire you to visit this incredible city.
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you are right, they are incredible pictures. I particularly like the one where the mist frames manchu picchu so perfectly!
Thank you Fiona! 🙂
Mystical pictures no doubt. Makes me definitely want to go but feeling too old to make the trip!
Definitely not too old Carol! We saw people in all age groups, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. 🙂
I have often thought this is a place I’d love to visit – so much history there – and your pictures have convinced me even more. Really beautiful shots (I love the contrast between the cloudy and non cloudy).
Thanks so much Sarah! I really hope you get to go one day.
AMAZING. My sister has been here and it’s one of my dream destinations. I can’t wait until I can see it with my own eyes. I’m so glad that the clouds lifted for you. Did you hike the trail? And who did you book your tour with? I’m eager to plan my trip here for someday…hopefully soon!
Hi Lauren! I hope you are able to go. Unfortunately due to time restraints we weren’t able to do the Inca Trail. Instead, we took the train from Cusco. I wrote a post with tips for making the trip easier. You may find it useful. And we did everything on our own; no tour company. Once you are at the entrance, however, you can easily find a guide to show you around for a couple of hours.
Oh awesome! Glad to hear you can do it on your own! 🙂
Totally agree, I have hundreds of photos from this magical place, different angles, different locations, different focal points, yet it seems you only ever see the same two or three views, that same stereotypical picture postcard view! I loved your shot of the sun peeking through the clouds! Great job.
Thanks Michael!
It’s such an exceptional place. They clouds do the photos justice, it’s the reality too!
I totally agree Gemma!
Breathtaking photos and amazing videos! Makes me want to go even more now! Certainly on my bucket list! <3
Thanks so much Jenny-May!
I’m glad the clouds finally lifted enough that you could see, but they certainly made for some mysterious photos.
Right?? They definitely added to the experience.
Part of the mystery and intrigue while being there is watching the fog lift and reveal this amazing place. You’re lucky to have had great weather the rest of the day, and your pictures turned out great. That’s one lucky monkey!
Haha! Thanks Laura! 😀
What an incredible travel experience. I never saw any pics of it before with the cloud coverage – good thing for prospective visitors to know in advance!
Thanks Vanessa!
This makes me want to go to Peru so bad. It looks like you had an amazing time. I really want to hike the Incan Trail.
If we’d had more time I would have loved to do the trail. Instead, we took the train. Which was still pretty cool.
How magical that you saw the clouds lifting over the city… Beautiful photographs & videos! Looking at these makes me seriously miss MP!
Great post 🙂
G.
Thank you! 🙂