Visit Machu Picchu in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to visit Machu Picchu in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• discuss typical tourist destinations

• use the imperfect tense to talk about the past

• talk about Machu Picchu

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adjectives

Spanish	English
artístico	artistic
caótico	chaotic
céntrico	downtown
concurrido	crowded
contaminado	polluted
culto	cultivated, educated
desorganizado	disorganized
ecológico	environmental
emocionante	exciting
espectacular	spectacular
hermoso	beautiful
histórico	historical
húmedo	humid
impresionante	impressive
local	local
mágico	magical
tropical	tropical

examples
Mi madre era una persona artística. My mother was an artistic person.
Por eso, las vacaciones familiares eran caóticas. For that reason, the family vacations were chaotic.
Nos alojábamos en un hotel céntrico. We stayed in a hotel downtown.

Adverb

Spanish	English
fenomenal	amazing

examples
Siempre lo pasábamos fenomenal. We always had an amazing time.

Nouns

Spanish	English
la altura	height
la autoridad	authority
la aventura	adventure
Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu
Perú	Peru
el visitante	visitor
la vista	view

examples
Mi hermana tenía miedo a las alturas. My sister was afraid of heights.
Las autoridades locales lo preservaban bien. The local authorities preserved it well.
Pero siempre vivíamos aventuras nuevas. But we always experienced new adventures.

Pronoun

Spanish	English
que	that

examples
Era un lugar que siempre estaba muy concurrido. It was a place that was always crowded.

Relative Pronoun: Que

Queis a relative pronoun that you'll use a lot. Que can refer to a person, place, or thing and means that, which, who, or whom.

Que, the shortest relative pronoun, is used when the relative pronoun comes immediately after the antecedent. Nothing separates the relative pronoun from the antecedent, not even a comma. Que can also be used after a very short separation from the antecedent when referring to places or things.

Note that the relative pronouns que is spelled the same as the interrogative word qué, minus the accent over the e.

Que is not used after the prepositions sin, por, or parabecause such combinations could be confused with the adverbial conjunctions sin que, porque, and para que.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Alojarse

Alojarse(to stay) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me alojaba	I stayed
tú	te alojabas	you stayed	informal singular you
vos	te alojabas	you stayed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se alojaba	he, she stayed
usted	se alojaba	you stayed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos alojábamos	we stayed
vosotros, vosotras	os alojabais	you stayed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se alojaban	they stayed
ustedes	se alojaban	you stayed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Empacar

Empacar(to pack) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	empacaba	I packed
tú	empacabas	you packed	informal singular you
vos	empacabas	you packed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	empacaba	he, she packed
usted	empacaba	you packed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	empacábamos	we packed
vosotros, vosotras	empacabais	you packed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	empacaban	they packed
ustedes	empacaban	you packed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Limitar

Limitar(to limit) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	limitaba	I limited
tú	limitabas	you limited	informal singular you
vos	limitabas	you limited	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	limitaba	he, she limited
usted	limitaba	you limited	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	limitábamos	we limited
vosotros, vosotras	limitabais	you limited	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	limitaban	they limited
ustedes	limitaban	you limited	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Llover

In this skill, you learned the verb llover. Llover (to rain) is commonly used as an impersonal verb to discuss precipitation. When we’re talking about rain as a meteorological phenomenon in the imperfect tense, we use one form of the verb: llovía.

examples
Además, siempre llovía mucho. Additionally, it always rained a lot.

Parecer

Parecer(to seem) is an -er verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	parecía	I seemed
tú	parecías	you seemed	informal singular you
vos	parecías	you seemed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	parecía	he, she seemed
usted	parecía	you seemed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	parecíamos	we seemed
vosotros, vosotras	parecíais	you seemed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	parecían	they seemed
ustedes	parecían	you seemed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Pasar

Pasar(to pass) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	pasaba	I passed
tú	pasabas	you passed	informal singular you
vos	pasabas	you passed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	pasaba	he, she passed
usted	pasaba	you passed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	pasábamos	we passed
vosotros, vosotras	pasabais	you passed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	pasaban	they passed
ustedes	pasaban	you passed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

The verb phrase pasarlo + adjective means to have a(n) + adjective + time. For example, pasarlo fenomenal means to have an amazing time. For example:

examples
Siempre lo pasábamos fenomenal. We always had an amazing time.

Pensar

Pensar(to think) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	pensaba	I thought
tú	pensabas	you thought	informal singular you
vos	pensabas	you thought	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	pensaba	he, she thought
usted	pensaba	you thought	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	pensábamos	we thought
vosotros, vosotras	pensabais	you thought	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	pensaban	they thought
ustedes	pensaban	you thought	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Perder

Perder(to lose) is an -er verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	perdía	I lost
tú	perdías	you lost	informal singular you
vos	perdías	you lost	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	perdía	he, she lost
usted	perdía	you lost	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	perdíamos	we lost
vosotros, vosotras	perdíais	you lost	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	perdían	they lost
ustedes	perdían	you lost	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Preservar

Preservar(to preserve) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	preservaba	I preserved
tú	preservabas	you preserved	informal singular you
vos	preservabas	you preserved	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	preservaba	he, she preserved
usted	preservaba	you preserved	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	preservábamos	we preserved
vosotros, vosotras	preservabais	you preserved	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	preservaban	they preserved
ustedes	preservaban	you preserved	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Subir

Subir(to climb) is an -ir verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	subía	I climbed
tú	subías	you climbed	informal singular you
vos	subías	you climbed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	subía	he, she climbed
usted	subía	you climbed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	subíamos	we climbed
vosotros, vosotras	subíais	you climbed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	subían	they climbed
ustedes	subían	you climbed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Ver

Ver(to see) is an irregular verb in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	veía	I saw
tú	veías	you saw	informal singular you
vos	veías	you saw	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	veía	he, she saw
usted	veía	you saw	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	veíamos	we saw
vosotros, vosotras	veíais	you saw	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	veían	they saw
ustedes	veían	you saw	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Visitar

Visitar(to visit) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	visitaba	I visited
tú	visitabas	you visited	informal singular you
vos	visitabas	you visited	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	visitaba	he, she visited
usted	visitaba	you visited	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	visitábamos	we visited
vosotros, vosotras	visitabais	you visited	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	visitaban	they visited
ustedes	visitaban	you visited	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Vivir

Vivir(to live) is an -ir verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	vivía	I lived
tú	vivías	you lived	informal singular you
vos	vivías	you lived	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	vivía	he, she lived
usted	vivía	you lived	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	vivíamos	we lived
vosotros, vosotras	vivíais	you lived	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	vivían	they lived
ustedes	vivían	you lived	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Imperfect Verbs: Introduction

The imperfect tense, or pretérito imperfecto, is one of the two tenses used to talk about the past in Spanish. We use it to talk about descriptions in the past, like past habits and feelings, or to set the scene when talking about an action that was interrupted.

In these lessons, you learned some common expressions that indicate that the imperfect tense should be used. These expressions include:

• durante meses

• en verano

• nunca

• siempre

Imperfect Verbs: Regular Verbs

Conjugating verbs in the imperfect tense is simple! Just take the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) off the verb and add one of the following endings. Don’t forget the tildes(accents)!

Subject	-ar Verbs	-er and -ir Verbs
yo	-aba	-ía
tú	-abas	-ías
vos	-abas	-ías
él, ella, usted	-aba	-ía
nosotros	-ábamos	-íamos
vosotros	-abais	-íais
ellos, ellas, ustedes	-aban	-ían

Imperfect Tense: Irregular Verbs

Like any other tense in Spanish, the imperfect tense is, well, imperfect! It has irregular verbs too. In these lessons, you saw the irregular verb ver. You can find its conjugation table earlier in this article.

Quiz Yourself!

Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!

Spanish Conversation

Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.

Martina:

¿Viajabas mucho de niño, Andrés?

Did you travel a lot when you were a child, Andrés?

Andrés:

Sí. En verano, siempre íbamos a Perú. Siempre visitábamos Machu Picchu.

Yes. In the summer, we always went to Peru. We always visited Machu Picchu.

Martina:

¿Cómo era?

What was it like?

Andrés:

Machu Picchu era un lugar mágico. El paisaje era espectacular. Siempre estábamos muy felices antes de ir.

Machu Picchu was a magical place. The scenery was spectacular. We were always very happy before going.

Martina:

¿Había muchos turistas?

Were there a lot of tourists?

Andrés:

Siempre había demasiados turistas. Era un lugar que siempre estaba muy concurrido, pero no parecía un lugar contaminado. Las autoridades locales lo preservaban bien.

There were always too many tourists. It was a place that was always crowded, but it didn't seem like a polluted place. The local authorities preserved it well.

Want to learn more about how to visit Machu Picchu in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• How to Sound like a Local in Peru

• Plan a Trip to a Spanish-Speaking Country

• Spanish-Speaking Countries