How to Get to Machu Picchu from Cusco: To visit Machu Picchu, you must first arrive to the city of Cusco and from there you have several options to visit Machu Picchu. To travel from Cusco to Machu Picchu, you can take the following alternatives: Machu Picchu by Train, Machu Picchu by Car (por Carro), Inca Trail (Camino Inca) to Machu Picchu and the Salkantay Route to Machu Picchu. All these routes will take you to the citadel of Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu by Train
Machu Picchu by train, is the main route that most national and foreign tourists choose. To make this route you must first buy your tourist train ticket. Later you must go to the Sacred Valley of the Incas and be able to board the train in Ollantaytambo towards the town of Aguas Calientes.
The tourist train ticket can be purchased online, from the Peru Rail website.
Types of Trains PeruRail:
• Expedition train
• Vistadome train
• Hiram Bingham Train
In Aguas Calientes you can spend the night, and very early in the morning take the bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu (24USD foreign adult), round trip.
You can also climb from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu walking, approximate round trip time (3 hours).
The entrance to Machu Picchu is S /. 152 for foreigners. Keep in mind that if you want to buy tickets to Machu Picchu you can buy them on the Machupicchu.gob.pe page, and you have the option to choose whether you want to enter the first round or the second round. Also if you want to make the entrance + mountain, ie Machu Picchu + mountain or Machu Picchu + Huayna Picchu.
Machu Picchu by Car
Machu Picchu by Car is an alternate and perfect route for those who want to do some trekking, usually this route is 2 Days / 1 Night.
Itinerary Machu Picchu by Car:
Day 1:
• Cusco – Hydroelectric “En Carro”.
• Hidroeléctrica – Aguas Calientes “Walk approximately 3 hours”.
• Overnight in Aguas Calientes.
Day 2
• Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu “Hike, 1 hour and a half”.
• Visit to the citadel of Machu Picchu.
• Machu Picchu – Aguas Calientes (Return walking 1 hour and a half).
• Aguas Calientes – Hydroelectric (Return walking 3 hours).
• Hidroeléctrica – Cusco “Return in Car”.
This route is made by several travel agencies in Cusco and you can check their prices and choose the one that interests you the most.
Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
This is the favorite route of every traveler, the famous Inca trail or also known as Camino Inca or Chemin de l’Inca, to make this route you must book months in advance because it has limited spaces. So if you want to make the famous Inca Trail you must do it only with a travel agency, since it can not be done on your own.
The Inca Trail has two options: the traditional Inca Trail 4D / 3N (Best Selling) and the Inca Trail 2D / 1N, both have limited spaces. If you want to book the Inca Trail, contact a travel agency and check if there are still quotas for the date you request.
Salkantay to Machu Picchu
Other alternatives to visit Machu Picchu is the Salkantay trekking route to Machu Picchu. This trekking is 5D / 4N and where you can also visit the Humantay Lagoon, which is located during the route of this route.
Itinerary Salkantay to Machu Picchu
Day 1: Challacancha – Soraypampa – Humantay → 16 km Cusco →
Day 2: Soraypampa – Abra Salkantay – Chaullay → 22 km of walk
Day 3: Chaullay – Santa Teresa → 14 km walk
Day 4: Santa Teresa – Aguas Calientes → 16 km of walk
Day 5: Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu – Cusco
The trekking from Salkantay to Machu Picchu is recognized as one of the best trails in the world by National Geographic.
