Beating the Crowds at Famous Places

What do the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu have in common? They’re among the new seven wonders of the world and you know what that means—big crowds. So how can you get around it?

In China, most tourists head to the section of the Great Wall in Badaling.

My favorite option is to hire a driver to visit the wall early—I mean really early, like 4:30 a.m.

The other option is to ignore the guide books and see a lesser-known part of the wall. Ask your driver about areas like Mutianyu, or Huanghuacheng.

If you want to see the Taj Mahal, travel in early summer, around late May, and you’ll avoid high tourist season.

And instead of taking the tour bus from Delhi, arrive a day early and spend the night in Agra, so you can arrive at the Taj at the crack of dawn. You’ll beat the heat and avoid the crowds.

In Peru, you can visit Machu Picchu by train or hike there. Either way, a good option is to spend a night at the Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel next to the ruins.

That way you can visit Machu Picchu before everyone else arrives or when they’re on their way out.

Bottom line: you’ll most likely have the best experiences if you know where, how, and WHEN to travel … when everyone else isn’t.

Check out some other monuments you might want to visit before they get too popular with the Newest Batch of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

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