South America - Machu Picchu - 7 days. Doable?

Is it at all possible to do just Machu Picchu for just 7 days? Nothing else. Just Machu Picchu. We're located in the U.S.

Also, what's the weather like there in January?

Not quite sure what your question means, but you can certainly have a conventional, pleasant tourist trip to Peru including Macchu Picchu in 7 days:

Day 1: Day in Lima
Day 2: Fly up to Cuzco
Day 3: Around Cuzco, Sacsayhuaman
Day 4: Get a driver to take you to Ollantaytambo (about 3 hours drive) or take a bus)
Day 5: Take the train to Macchu Picchu (about 3 hours each way). Get the last train back - gives you the whole afternoon in MC, and plan to hang around until last closing to get some peace.
Day 6, 7: Back out via Cuzco, Lima

Hotel Pakaritampu in Ollanyaytambo (3* hotel) was clean and pleasant, and about 2 minutes walk from the railway station.
http://www.pakaritampu.com/

Of course, you could also spend quite a few more weeks in Peru, walking the Inca trail, seeing the Nazca lines, into the Cordillera mountains in the north, heading over to the Bolivian border area, etc. etc. etc.

If you are thinking of spending 7 days in the Sanctuary or Aguas Calientes, IMHO, that would be too long.

Hike the Inca trail, there is so much to see besides the Machu Pichu site.

It's an amazing hike to make and highly recommended!

yeah, leave lima one morning, arrive in cusco in the afternoon, spend day in cusco, the next day travel to machu picchu (aguas calientes) in the afternoon, sleep there, visit machu picchu in the morning the next day, leave to cusco in the evening, sleep in cusco, flight to lima next morning

Leave Lima on say a Monday, be back on Thursday. Leaves days for Lima which I recommend and stay in miraflores.

i wouldnt hike the inca trail unless you are fit. machu picchu itself is a journey.

its chilly. in the 60s,70s... dont take heavy jackets into machu picchu its a hike!

I like beardedgeologist's suggestion. If you can, take the train to Agua Calientes the night before. The train ride is fairly long and if you take it in the morning, by the time you get to MP you've gone through a ton of transportation stress.

There is a tourist ticket, about $50 that will get you into a number of attractions in cuzco.
Cusco Cathedral
Religious Art Museum
Church of San Blas
Regional History Museum
Sacsayhuaman
Qenko
Puca Pucara
Tambo Machay
Pisac
Ollantaytambo
Chinchero
Pachacutec Monument
Performance of Andean Dances and Live music

2-3 days in cuzco, 1 day at MP, and 2 days in Lima should do it. If you end up with a full day in Lima, check out the catacombs - they are pretty cool to see, as well as the water show and one of the dinner and dancing shows.

yeah, leave lima one morning, arrive in cusco in the afternoon, spend day in cusco, the next day travel to machu picchu (aguas calientes) in the afternoon, sleep there, visit machu picchu in the morning the next day, leave to cusco in the evening, sleep in cusco, flight to lima next morning

Leave Lima on say a Monday, be back on Thursday. Leaves days for Lima which I recommend and stay in miraflores.

i wouldnt hike the inca trail unless you are fit. machu picchu itself is a journey.

its chilly. in the 60s,70s... dont take heavy jackets into machu picchu its a hike!

Thank you for that info - I have a trip in Feb that I had to book because there was only 1 mileage ticket left, and I'm heading into Lima early Monday morning and leaving late Saturday night (Sunday 1am flight) to Easter Island.

Would this be a good itinerary?
M - spend day in Lima
Tu - fly LIM-CUZ in the morning, spend day in Cuzco.
W - take train to Agua Calientes, spend night there
Th - Machu Picchu in the morning throughout the day, take train back to Cuzco
F - fly CUZ-LIM, spend night in Lima
Sa - Lima, fly out.

Hike the Inca trail, there is so much to see besides the Machu Pichu site.

It's an amazing hike to make and highly recommended!

Thank you for that info - I have a trip in Feb that I had to book because there was only 1 mileage ticket left, and I'm heading into Lima early Monday morning and leaving late Saturday night (Sunday 1am flight) to Easter Island.

Would this be a good itinerary?
M - spend day in Lima
Tu - fly LIM-CUZ in the morning, spend day in Cuzco.
W - take train to Agua Calientes, spend night there
Th - Machu Picchu in the morning throughout the day, take train back to Cuzco
F - fly CUZ-LIM, spend night in Lima
Sa - Lima, fly out.

Given the time you have, that might be the best you can do. Personally, I'd skip Lima and see the Sacred Valley (between Cuzco and MP) instead, if you have enough time. Personally, I like the Sacred Valley more than Cuzco as well.

Given the time you have, that might be the best you can do. Personally, I'd skip Lima and see the Sacred Valley (between Cuzco and MP) instead, if you have enough time. Personally, I like the Sacred Valley more than Cuzco as well.

Thanks for the input. My inbound flight arrives LIM at about 6:10am, so I still have that entire first day. Would it be wise to just get a LIM-CUZ flight later that morning to start a day earlier?

Don't want to be a party pooper but I have spent the last few weeks thinking very hard about my South American itinerary for Jan and, after a lot of research, have very reluctantly decided that a few days for Cuzco is too risky given the 'Bolivian winter' phenomenum of frequent and prolonged heavy rain on the altiplano. The Inca trail closes anyway in Feb partly for this reason and in the last two years the train to Macchu Picchu from Cuzco (which runs right by a river liable to flood, and hills liable to slide) has been closed for extended periods in the Jan/Feb/March period. People have been trapped in Aguas Calientes as a result - around 2000 in late January 2011 for example. Flights can also also be cancelled or delayed in this period. Many accounts also speak of fog, mud as well so that the visit to Macchu is not that great. Obviously there will be some good days in this period but the La Nina which was associated with last year's extreme weather is already recurring this year so I think the risks are high. If I was going, I would check weather forecasts regularly, allow plenty of contingency time, take good and warm waterproofs, choose a warm hotel, and make sure I had some emergency provisions when I went down to Macchu (those trapped complained about food running out). For what it's worth I've decided to focus on the area where the climate is at its best in Jan, i.e. Patagonia, and go to Cuzco at a better time (anything except Jan-Feb).

For what it's worth I've decided to focus on the area where the climate is at its best in Jan, i.e. Patagonia, and go to Cuzco at a better time (anything except Jan-Feb).

I think your logic is sound. There have been several instances over the past few years where "winter" flooding has caused significant problems in Machu Picchu. If you have flexibility in your travel plans, I wouldn't risk it.

There is definitely something to be said for not visiting developing nations and traveling in their rural areas during rainy season. Last year, I went to Panama at the end of their rainy season and had a couple of scary moments when various debris would wash on the road. Not fun.

And I highly recommend travelling in Patagonia at that time of year. In fact, I'm headed there too! :)