Whenever people learn that we’re starting our year of travel in Peru, they immediately exclaim, “You HAVE TO GO to Machu Picchu!” And I want to tell them to stop.
I know they mean well. I know Machu Picchu is an amazing place. But why is everyone so invested in our travel plans? Why do they care if we go to Machu Picchu or not?
I should probably mention that I have skipped many of the world’s most popular tourist destinations on my travels. During a road trip in England, Stonehenge was closing when we arrived at 4pm, so we watched from a hill in the distance as the last lingering visitors traipsed around the sacred stones. Arundel Castle was also closed when we rolled through West Sussex on a Sunday. Sagrada Familia was closed for the day by the time we arrived on the train in Barcelona, around dinner time. I skipped the Opera house in Sydney. I went to Indonesia, but not to Bali. And while driving a tuk-tuk across India, my teammates and I opted to skirt Agra to avoid the masses, so we missed the Taj Majal.
And somehow, we survived. In fact, we thrived. The time we would have spent in line with thousands of tourists was instead spent savoring lesser-known attractions, without crowds. We sauntered through Avebury, one of the great wonders of prehistoric Britain and the largest stone circle in the world. We descended the Rani ki Vav stepwell, located on the banks of the Saraswati River in Gujarat, India. We strolled barefoot through the minutely carved ceilings, doorways, pillars and panels of the Dilwara temples in Mount Abu, Rajasthan. We explored the Togian islands by fishing boat and outrigger.
Despite skipping all the “must-see” attractions, I never felt as if I’d missed anything. Because the sights we did see were new to us, and we were able to bring back memories and images of our own journeys, rather than another version of everyone else’s.
Will we visit Machu Picchu while we’re in Peru? Perhaps. But if we don’t, we won’t be disappointed. And we trust you won’t be either.