We chose the "traditional" way to reach Machu Picchu by walking on the famous Inka Trail which is arguably a part of Qhapaq Ñan and by this a WHS on its own. Apparently it was used by noble Incas for pilgrimages from Cusco to Machu Picchu and along the way many ruins of their culture can be found where they made stops on their pilgrimage. There is also a fast trail along the Río Urubamba that was for the messangers in the Empire and is today comparable to the train ride. The pilgrims though chose the hard way including the crossing of the 4200m Dead Women Pass. Apparently they had to physically suffer. I can really recommand the hike even though it's touristy, very inflexible as everything is regulated and expensive because it's popular. Additionally there is a thin line between hard work and exploitation of the porters that carry all the general stuff for you whereas you only carry your private stuff. We paid 580$ for the 4 days/ 3 nights and it was the cheapest offer we found with Xtreme Tourbulencia. The basics worked however there were many small hick- ups. All in all it was a good tour. Let me know if you want to know more about the experience.  
 
We had bad luck once reaching Intipuntu or "the Sungate", which is the first point from which the archeological site Machu Picchu is visible. It started raining and didn't stop anymore even though it's not even rainy season in early September. The tour given by our guide was hard to enjoy under these conditions. Also there is no real visitor center in which we could have changed to make the tour more comfortable. So we changed in the entrance of the toilets which was the only "free" roofed place. Generally I would like to emphasize that if the situation in 2019 when Clyde had visited was bad from an organizational point of view, then it's probably worse now. I could write for ages what all went wrong and how bad the information situation is, but I will try to stop myself and give you guidance on how you can get a ticket today.  
 
Basically there are 5 routes today through Machu Picchu. Number 5 is the Inka Trail and it's similar to route 3 only that you come in from the Sungate that is not visitable otherwise and by this start the visit from the top. After a short stop at the "caretakers' hut" with the iconic view, we went down to the entrance and did the route (camino) 3 which lasted with our guide under horrible weather about 2 hours. At the entrance I had to leave my big bagpack for 5 Soles fee. The entrance ticket was part of the Inka Trail tour same as the return train to Ollantaytambo and the transfer from there to Cusco and the bus down from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes. Everything is ridiculously overprized for Peruvian standard here. At least the bus down and the train work fine for its price, but the site Macchu Picchu itself, the infocenters/ ticket offices in Cusco and Aguas Calientes and the website are horrible. It's like they manage a normal tourist site while claiming and being recognised as new world wonder. It's really shocking how bad things work for the money they get from all the tourists each day.  
 
After our rainy visit we bought in Aguas Calientes, which consits almost only of hotels and restaurants and a thermal bath, in the ticket office next to the plaza tickets for Camino 4+ Huayna Picchu for the next day as well as a bus ticket up for 12 USD p.P. It's probably the most expensive bus in Peru per km. There is an extra ticket office for the bus in Aguas Calientes. The camino 4 is more or less the same as the camino 3 we did the day before, only that after a checkpoint you can climb up the high and iconic Huayna Picchu which gives you nice views of the site and the green, hilly region. It's a 1 hour steep climb. We cheated a bit and sneaked in a busy moment into the way for the Huchuy Picchu as well which is actually a seperate ticket that needs to be paid. It gives similar though closer views of the site than Huayna Picchu as it's much smaller. On the way back we found out that you can either visit the water holes used for astronomy or the Condor temple. After a small fight with a guard and begging we visited both. Annoyingly unnecessary that only 1 is possible as there was not much "traffic". After some more begging at the entrance we could also enter camino 1 and 2 again for getting a second, sunny chance for the iconic pic from the hut of the caretaker which we happily used. By this we also found out that the puente del inca has a seperate ticket control so we couldn't visit. Being fair we didn't continue for the whole camino 1 which runs on the higher side of the site, but returned to the entrance as the woman had kept our passports and allowed us only 40 minutes. All in all we were happy with 1 sunny day and the visit of camino 4/3 and the two mountains on the north side. We could have visited the top of the mountain Machu Picchu and the whole camino 1/2 also but actually we were satisfied with what we have seen. Of course we could have seen some more ruins like the one of the sun clock but frankly spoken we had seen enough ruins and stones and the stories told about them are also only a mixture of truth and interpretation.  
 
I think the magic of Macchu Picchu is seeing it in different moods like covered in clouds, under sunshine, in rain etc. Also it's fun to run around and discover the different components. I would recommand a guide for at least 1 visit as it helps you to get an idea of everything. However also what they tell is partly speculation. It's really sad the government has cut the site into different parts that are only visitable with different tickets. The only way to get tickets is online which is usually sold out for ages and in the offices in Cusco and Aguas Calientes. In other words you can not spontaneously extend your stay when you're there as you have to drive 30 Minutes down to Aguas Calientes and 30 minutes back for 24$ transport costs. Also there is no toilet in the site and if it's urgent offically you have to finish your visit and use the public toilets at the entrance for another 2 Soles. Inofficially we used the climb up to Huyna Picchu as there are bushes and no ruins that can be suffering damage. I find it annoying to pay 50€ for an entrance ticket and not being able to visit a toilet and to even pay extra for the only toilet option. If the entrance price was lower, I would be much more relaxed and understanding.  
 
We walked down 2000 steps to Aguas Calientes the second time to save money on a nice jungle track. After 2 nights in Aguas Calientes, which I found a very touristy though pleasant village with urban flair, we stayed another night in Ollantaytambo to visit the old town plus the ruins before returning to Cusco.  
 
My biggest aha moment I had by understanding that all these Inka places don't own their original names but they will probably have disappeared forever. It's rather that scientists like Machu Picchu discoverer Hiram Bingham have given names to the places they saw or asked locals like farmers and then translated the names in Quechua. How exciting that the town of Machu Picchu (Old Peak in Quechua) probably had a totally different name! 
 
After having seen many more ruins on the Camino del Inca I found Machu Picchu was not that shockingly beautiful anymore. However it's the biggest site we have seen. Additionally the combination of the site plus the Huayna Picchu and the surrounding mountains make it adorable. Nevertheless due to the catastrophic organisation, communication and price situation as well as the fact that there are many more inka ruins that appear similarly I took half a star off my rating.  
 
Let me know if you want to know more details of how a Machu Picchu visit works in 2023. I think my path of suffering has led me to some enlightment on that topic.