Machu Picchu is the most famous place in the Andes, and it is also one of the hardest to reach for a rider, because no road goes there. The sanctuary is about thirty kilometres from Ollantaytambo, on a ridge nearly twenty-four hundred metres above the sea, above a loop of the Urubamba river, with cloud forest on every side. The citadel is reached only by train or by walking, and then by a bus up a zigzag road from the town of Aguas Calientes, at the foot of the mountain.
The Incas built it in the mid-fifteenth century, probably as a royal estate for the emperor Pachacuti, with palaces, temples, terraces and fountains laid out around a central plaza, and the stonework fits so exactly that a knife blade will not slip between the blocks. It was abandoned around the time of the Spanish conquest and never found by the Spanish, which is why it survived. The American academic Hiram Bingham brought it to world attention in 1911, led by local farmers who already knew the place. UNESCO listed it in 1983, and today the site is limited by timed tickets, so book well ahead, and bring your passport.
Getting there by bike is part of the adventure. Many riders travel from Cusco through the Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo, a good road with bends, villages and views of snowy peaks, then continue over the high pass of Abra Malaga, over four thousand metres, to the lowlands, and down a rough dirt road to the hydroelectric station. From there you walk the railway line for about ten kilometres, with trains passing, to Aguas Calientes. Surfaces are sometimes loose, landslides are common in the rainy season from December to March, and the altitude takes its toll, so give yourself a few days in Cusco to acclimatise.
Fuel and services are best bought in Urubamba or Cusco, and Ollantaytambo, a village of two thousand people, has cafes, hostels and a fine Inca fortress. Aguas Calientes has restaurants, hot springs and hotels, and prices are high. The dry season, from May to September, is the most popular, while April and October are quieter and still reasonably dry. Mornings bring mist that clears slowly, which is a wonderful time to be on the ruins.