Second in a series about the wonders of Peru. Machu Picchu was chosen one of the new Seven Wonders of the World in a popular international vote announced July 7. The other six are Petra in Jordan, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, Rome’s Colosseum, India’s Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

Just show up if you like. Direct flights to Lima, Peru or connections through Miami are easy to access and tour guides can help you find Machu Picchu. But if you prefer extra special experiences in Peru on top of the already-extraordinary wonders, prepare ahead.

I’m convinced that’s why I met an Inca healer on the path joining Machu Picchu to the ancient Inca Trail, and shared in a ceremony at the sacred Pachamama rock high above the retreat for nobility rediscovered in the Andes almost 100 years ago.

The books I read, the goals I set, the hopes I repeated clued me in ahead of time to the energy for which Peru is famous. Can’t say I understood it, but I felt it.

The Inca built this urban retreat in the 15th century entirely of stone, massive and fitted together without room for a feather in between. Every space has a purpose, and a harmony.

You can hike up or take a bus from the town at the bottom (helicopter access was stopped in 1998 because vibrations damaged the buildings) and explore Machu Picchu on your own, but it would be hard without a guide to figure out all the harmony stories of trapezoid-shaped windows facing mountains, summer or winter solstice shadows and pools of water aligned to reflect the sun to indicate planting times.

The hiking is incredible, and challenging, but doesn’t need to deter would-be visitors. Motor coaches suitable for long journeys careen along the paved switchbacks from the base town of Aguas Calientes all day long with barely a gap between one bus and the next.

You can’t see Machu Picchu from the town so the bus is mandatory for a first view. Startling. And different from all those National Geographic photos which were taken from up above.

I saw people determined to experience this place: lifted on the bus, and off again to use a wheelchair within the ancient Citadel.

Others moved slowly, knowing how to pace their steps and enjoying the many stone walls just right for sitting and staring.

Every view is startling, especially the ones straight down when you stand a bit close to the edge. Edges are as abundant as stone ledges at Machu Picchu, in the urban area where researchers say 1,000 people lived, and in the agricultural terraces where llama graze abundantly.

My Peruvian guide Sheila Robles Ocampo said the terraces were not sufficient for community crops so food was planted along the eight trails into Old Mountain, the translation of the Quechua word naming this place.

I didn’t find any food when I hiked some of those trails above Machu Picchu, but I saw some orchids; Sheila the guide had told me to watch for the 500 varieties of 180 different orchid types.

I hardly found my feet when I walked the cloud forest trail to the now-closed Inca Drawbridge. The early morning fog was thick, the clouds were low and I didn’t have a hiking partner. My sights were set on a more difficult hike for the afternoon so I needed this route first to test my skills at altitude 7,872 feet before I went higher.