If you have followed the Inca Trail your first experience of Machu Picchu will be the Sun Gate, a narrow notch high above the citadel. After that, whichever way you choose to arrive, all visitors enter the site at the main entrance where you must buy a ticket and can also pick up a map and a local guide. If you have come from Cusco you will probably be surprised to learn that Machu Picchu is actually 1,000 metres lower than the city you have just left. Constructed on dizzying, terraced slopes, the citadel sits on a saddle between two dramatic mountain peaks which make it seem even higher than it actually is. The glistening grey-white granite is enhanced by high contents of quartz, feldspar, silica and other minerals, natural parts of the 250 million-year-old rocks excavated by the Incas. Below the citadel sits the U-curve of the Rio Urubamba, framed in the distance by the snowy Andean peaks.

A path to the right of the main entrance will bring you to the thatched guardian’s hut. Close by is a carved funerary rock and graveyard. After crossing over the dry moat you will first come across the Temple of the Sun, or Torreon, a semi-circular, walled tower-like temple. The stonework here is particularly fine with blocks that fit seamlessly together and surround a natural boulder, below lies the Royal Tomb. Close to the Temple of the Sun are the Ritual Fountains, Nusta’s Bedroom and Royal Palace. In the centre of the citadel lies the Three-Windowed Temple, part of the central plaza which forms possibly the most spectacular and attractive section of the ruins. The temple’s large windows look east towards the mountains beyond the Urubamba river valley. Next is the Principal, or Main, Temple which boasts stonework even more impressive than the Temple of the Sub.

A short stroll uphill from here brings you to Intihuatana, a unique, carved rock over-looking the Sacred Plaza, the Huayna Picchu mountain peak and the Río Urubamba. Back in the plaza and opposite the Temple of the Sun are the Industrial Zone, Prisoner’s Area and House of Factories.

There are more spectacular views from the Huayna Picchu peak at the northern end of the site. It’s about an hour’s climb but rewards energetic visitors with panoramic views of the Andean countryside as well as providing an overview of the ruins below. If you are feeling particularly energetic The Temple of the Moon can be accessed from a track on the way back down. This stunning temple is hidden inside a grotto and has some of the best stonework in the entire site.

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The museum is made up of a series of rooms with interactive and colourful displays with lots of interesting facts about Machu Picchu like how they constructed the impressive stone terraces to create micro-climates for agriculture and how all building were designed to get maximum sunlight which was an important sacred element for the Incas.

The museum has some nice artifacts such as an original National Geographic magazine published in April 1913 that was dedicated entirely to showcasing Hiram Bingham’s discovery of Machu Picchu as well as copies of letters from the Peruvian government authorising Hiram Bingham’s team to take artifacts to Yale University for analysis for a period of 18 months only. These artifacts were finally returned to Peru in 2011.

Most displays are in both Spanish and English although some photos and letters are in Spanish only. The self-guided visit of the museum takes between 1 – 1.5 hours depending on how much reading you like to do. You can also ask at the ticket desk for them to play one of the videos on Machu Picchu in the video room.

Adjacent to the museum is a botanical garden with 402 species of plants representative of the Machu Picchu Sanctuary including some varieties of orchids. Access to the botanic garden is down a series of steep Inca steps embedded in the rock wall.

This is definitely a must do activity for any visitor interested in getting a further insight into Machu Picchu.

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Many of the items on sale are similar to those found at other markets around the Sacred Valley such as the Pisac market and the San Pedro market in Cusco and prices tend to be slightly higher given that the items are transported here by train. It is ideal however, if this is your last stop before leaving Peru and you want to pick some alpaca ponchos, silver jewellery, woven bags or Andean instruments as souvenirs or gifts for friends and family back home.

Machu Picchu is short on options for shopping so the market is definitely the best place to buy souvenirs in Machu Picchu.

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Run by local Machu Picchu resident Leonardo Serrano Gutierrez with the help of volunteers, the project was set up to investigate and conserve 8 species of butterfly found in the area. A butterfly reproduction programme has been put in place and butterflies are released back into nature once they reach maturity so that local butterfly populations increase.

The project is clearly under-funded with a shabby and very basic interpretation centre but the main reason for a visit is to see butterflies up close in their various stages of reproduction from larvae to butterfly.  It’s a fascinating lesson in nature particularly for kids who will see first-hand where butterflies come from and will learn interesting facts like how dark-coloured butterflies are darker to attract the sun and raise their body temperatures.

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• The butterflies tend to be more active in the mornings so it is best to visit between 8 and 11am.

• The best period of the year to visit is April – September as during rainy season (December – March) the butterflies seek cover and are less visible.

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It’s hard to avoid the crowds in Machu Picchu but the orchid garden is most definitely off the tourist trail. I didn’t meet one other person as I wandered around this self-guided circuit which takes about 30 – 40 minutes depending on the time of the year and how many orchids are in flower.

A small wooden shack selling drinks and snacks opposite the entrance to the gardens is where you will find either Eucelio or his son Bernardino who have run this orchid garden for 15 years. The garden is slightly run-down, think rickety hand rails and a slightly unkempt feel with building materials lying discarded around the place but despite this it has a certain charm in its simplicity.

The best time of the year to visit is between December and March in the rainy season when the majority of the 400 orchid species are in flower. I however visited when there were only 15 species in flower and I was still amazed by the beauty and delicacy of the orchids, some so small they are easy to miss as you walk along the trail. A nice way to spend an hour off the well-beaten tourist trail.

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• If Bernardino happens to be at home he will guide you around the circuit, otherwise his slightly gruff father will show you a few species of orchids behind the ticket desk and will then direct you to where the self-guided circuit begins.

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