Guide · Cusco
Getting to Machu Picchu
There are four ways and all of them end in the same town. What changes between them is the hours, the price, and whether you walk.
| Route | How long | Price | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train from Ollantaytambo | 1 h 45 by train, plus 2 h by road from Cusco | from USD 80 return | The normal and fastest way. Tourist class does the job; Vistadome adds roof windows for 140 to 180. |
| By road via Hidroeléctrica | 6 h by road, plus 3 h on foot or a short train | USD 12 to 40 for the bus leg | The budget option. You save a fair amount and lose most of a day each way; the mountain road is not for everyone. |
| Walking the Inca Trail | 2 or 4 days of hiking | from USD 490 | The only way in through the Sun Gate. It needs a named permit booked months ahead. |
| Walking an alternative route | 4 or 5 days of hiking | from USD 300 | Salkantay, Lares and Inca Jungle reach Aguas Calientes via Hidroeléctrica and enter the citadel the next morning. No permit, no quota. |
The routes we currently run link to the tour that uses them. Train prices are the rail operator's and shift with the promotions running on each date.
There is no road to Machu Picchu
No route reaches the citadel. They all end at Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of the mountain, and from there you go up by shuttle bus or on foot up the stairs, which takes about an hour and a half. That is why every route passes through the same place; what changes is how you get there.
The ticket is bought separately and is in your name
It carries your name, an assigned circuit and a fixed entry time. At the gate it is checked against your original passport, the same one used to buy it. Without that document you do not get in, even with the ticket paid.
The shuttle bus is compulsory unless you walk
It is 25 minutes of switchbacks up from Aguas Calientes. In high season the queue reaches 45 minutes, which has to be built into the timings: it is the most common reason people miss the return train.
What decides it is not price, it is hours
The difference between the train and the Hidroeléctrica road is around five hours each way. With three days in Cusco those hours are worth more than the price difference; with ten days and a tight budget, the maths changes.