GETTING TO MACHU PICCHU

It seems like almost everyone who travels to South America is visiting Machu Picchu. Therefore I thought it would be easy to get there. But for independent travelers it definitely is not.
It is not possible to buy entrance tickets to Machu Picchu at the site itself (for what reason I don't know). Tickets need to be bought in Aguas Caliente or Cusco. I decided to do so in Cusco. The office where you can buy the tickets is not anymore at the place that my one year old Lonely Planet says - of course. After I walked through half of Cusco, I found the ticket office in a little side street without a sign or anything. There I only had to wait for maybe 15 minutes. At counter #1 I made a “reservation” for the ticket and got a paper that showed the information. From there I went to counter #2 where I paid. The paper was then reached over to counter #3 where I picked up the ticket. I would not call this efficient!

From Cusco there is a train to Aguas Caliente (also called Machu Picchu pueblo), the closest town to Machu Picchu. Fortunately it is possible to pay the train tickets online - at least one part that is easy. The train doesn't leave directly from Cusco though. First I had to take a bus to Urubamba, from there it was about another hour by minibus to Ollantaytambe where the train leaves. Ollantaytambe is a pretty little town with cobblestone streets and old houses. From there the train ride is two hours along the Rio Urubamba to Aguas Caliente. The scenery is beautiful and it's not a bad thing that the train is going quite slow, so there is enough time to enjoy the landscape. In Aguas Caliente I was picked up at the train station from someone from the hostel which I booked for two nights.
The first bus to Machu Picchu leaves Aguas Caliente at 5.30am. The guys in my dorm room left shortly after 3am to be on the first bus but that was too early for me. I left the hostel around 4.30 am to wait in the pouring rain. Since I wasn't smart enough to buy the bus tickets the day before, I had to wait in line for the bus tickets as well. After I got those tickets I moved to another line to wait for the bus. When I finally got to Machu Picchu I had to wait yet another time to get inside. When I finally entered Machu Picchu it was only 7.30 am and I had already spend 3 hours waiting in pouring rain.