Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge
COST: $$$$$
The Altitude: 7,710 feet.
The Perch: Machu Picchu’s remote mountaintop ruins feel amazingly accessible when you’re staying next door; the Sanctuary Lodge (part of the Orient-Express group) is the only hotel to abut the 15th-century ancient Incan site.
The Journey: It takes a four-hour trip by train and bus to reach Machu Picchu (from the nearest city, Cuzco), but you’ll be whizzing past Jungle Book–worthy vistas en route. Want to arrive like Hiram Bingham did when he “discovered” the place in 1911? Take the old Inca trail (a five-day journey by foot) and bring your bug spray—mosquitoes here are no strangers to human sacrifice.
The Best View: From Mountain View Rooms (which, unfortunately, have twin beds), you’ll see the looming, craggy peaks of Huayna Picchu as well as the Urubamba River valley—with its 300-odd species of orchids—from your personal garden-side deck.
As Featured In...
From Travel + Leisure, Nov 2008
“Machu Picchu’s remote mountaintop ruins feel amazingly accessible...” MORE>>
From Travel + Leisure, Feb 2002
“Built in the 15th century but not rediscovered until 1911...” MORE>>
From the T+L 500
Eco-friendly Spanish-colonial lodge overlooking Machu Picchu, on the Inca Trail.
- Stats:
- 31 rooms; 2 restaurants; 1 bar.
- Competitive Edge:
- The only hotel in the Incan citadel.
- Rooms to Book:
- No. 21, for views of Hauyna Picchu; Nos. 37-40 have terraces and partial mountain views.
- Don't Miss:
- An evening trip back to Machu Picchu when the crowds have dispersed.
lastArticle = 11/2008 and lastAward = 01/2008
