How to Get to Machu Picchu from Cusco

There are only three ways in: by train, on foot, or by the back road through Hidroelectrica. Everything else is a mix of those three.

Whichever you choose, you end up in Aguas Calientes, the small town at the foot of the mountain. From there a bus or a steep path takes you up to the gate.

Machu Picchu is about 75 km (47 miles) from Cusco in a straight line and about 110 km (68 miles) by rail. On the map it looks close. On the ground it takes most of a morning.

The reason is the canyon. The Urubamba river cuts a gorge so narrow that only the railway fits beside it. No road reaches Aguas Calientes, so nobody drives to Machu Picchu.

3,400 m

Cusco (11,150 ft)

2,790 m

Ollantaytambo (9,150 ft)

2,040 m

Aguas Calientes (6,690 ft)

2,430 m

Machu Picchu (7,970 ft)

Notice that the whole trip runs downhill from Cusco. Machu Picchu sits almost 1,000 m lower, which is why most people feel better there than in the city.

Most visitors take the train, and for good reason. It's the quickest and most comfortable way, and the ride through the canyon is part of the trip.

1. Cusco to OllantaytamboBy road through the Sacred Valley, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
2. Ollantaytambo to Aguas CalientesBy train along the Urubamba river, 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours.
3. Aguas Calientes to the gateBy shuttle bus up the switchbacks, 25 to 30 minutes.

Two companies run the line, PeruRail and Inca Rail, with almost the same schedules. Ollantaytambo station works all year and has the most departures, so nearly every trip starts there.

Prices move with demand, like airline fares. As a guide, a seat in the basic class costs about $55 to $90 each way and a panoramic car about $95 to $180. The luxury Hiram Bingham starts near $460.

Buy your seats when you buy your entry ticket, because the two have to match. For June, July and August that means 2 to 4 months ahead. You need the passport you booked with to board.

The train leaves you in Aguas Calientes, still 400 m below the ruins. A shuttle bus covers the last stretch in 25 to 30 minutes.

A ticket costs $12 each way or $24 round trip for foreign adults. Buses start at 5:30 a.m. and leave every 10 to 15 minutes, as soon as they fill.

Buy it the afternoon before at the ticket office in town, with your passport. Then join the line 30 to 60 minutes before the time on your entry ticket. The early morning lines are the longest.

You can also walk up for free. The stone stairway starts at the bridge below town and climbs for 1.5 to 2 hours. It's steep and humid, so we suggest the bus up and the walk down.

Walking in takes longer and gives more. You cross high passes, sleep in the mountains and reach the ruins with the feeling that you earned them.

The Classic Inca Trail, 4 days

The only route that enters through the Sun Gate. It needs a government permit, sold only through licensed agencies, and the trail is closed every February. Permits for the next year go on sale in November.

The Short Inca Trail, 2 days

One day of hiking from Km 104 to the Sun Gate, then a hotel night in Aguas Calientes. It also needs a permit, but they sell out later than the classic ones.

The Salkantay trek, 4 or 5 days

Higher and wilder, over a pass at 4,630 m (15,190 ft), and no permit to wait for. This is the trek we recommend when the Inca Trail is sold out or when you decide late.

Choquequirao

The long way. Walking from Choquequirao all the way to Machu Picchu takes 8 or 9 days. Most hikers do the 4 day trek to Choquequirao itself and visit Machu Picchu by train afterward.

This is how backpackers skip the train. A shared van drives 6 to 7 hours from Cusco over the Abra Malaga pass to Hidroelectrica, for about $15 to $25 each way.

From there you walk 10 km beside the train tracks to Aguas Calientes. It's flat and shaded and takes 2.5 to 3 hours. Plan at least two days for the round trip.

We know this road well. Our Salkantay groups walk the same stretch of track on their last afternoon, and travelers who choose the road return ride home on it.

Yes. It's a long day, about 16 to 18 hours door to door, but it works and thousands of people do it every week.

1. 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. Pick up at your hotel in Cusco.
2. Around 7:00 a.m. Train from Ollantaytambo.
3. Around 9:00 a.m. Arrive in Aguas Calientes and take the bus up.
4. Late morning. About 2.5 hours inside Machu Picchu with your guide.
5. Afternoon. Lunch in town and the train back.
6. 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. Back at your hotel in Cusco.

If you have a second day, use it. Sleeping in Aguas Calientes lets you enter at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m., before the day trains arrive, and it's the only way to add Huayna Picchu.

Both versions are trips we run: the Machu Picchu day trip by train and the 2 day tour through the Sacred Valley.

It happens a few times a year. The line is a single track through a canyon, so a landslide, a strike or an incident between trains stops everything until it's cleared.

Here is what we have seen, year after year. Service normally returns in 6 to 7 hours and almost never takes more than a day. Twice in the last four years the delay ran from early afternoon into the next morning.

• Your entry ticket. When the trains stop, the Ministry of Culture lets ticket holders enter the following day.
• Your train ticket. Both rail companies move you to a later train at no cost.
• Who does the paperwork. With an agency, we rebook everything while you wait. On your own you can still do it, but expect long lines at the station.

Rules around Machu Picchu change every year, and many articles online still describe 2024. These are the changes that affect your planning now.

• Tickets can no longer be held. Since September 2026 the official site has no reservations. You pay on the spot and have 15 minutes to finish.
• A park fee, same price. The 11 sol conservation fee charged since May 2026 does not raise the ticket: foreign adults still pay 152 soles, about $44. The official site only adds a small fee for card payments.
• Two bus companies. A second operator now runs the road to the gate alongside Consettur. The price and the ride are the same.
• A bus before the train. From January to April, trains leaving from Cusco start with a bus from Wanchaq station to the Sacred Valley.
• A guide is required. The visit inside Machu Picchu is done with a licensed guide, one for every eight visitors. If you buy the ticket yourself, book a guide too.

Where you sleep decides how you feel. Cusco sits at 3,400 m, and most people need two days to adjust before they hike or travel hard.

• Sacred Valley or Ollantaytambo. 600 m lower than Cusco and right at the train station. A good first stop after landing.
• Aguas Calientes. The night before your visit, for a 6:00 a.m. entry and a calm morning.
• Cusco. Best left for the end, when you're already used to the altitude.

Then add your buffer: one free day after Machu Picchu and before any flight you can't miss. It costs little and it removes most of the risk.

After guiding people on every one of these routes, this is how we would match them.

• You have one free day

  Day trip by train

  Long but simple. Everything is booked for you and you're back in Cusco at night.

• You want an unhurried visit

  Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, 2 days

  A night in Aguas Calientes and an early entry, with the valley on the way.

• You dream of the Sun Gate

  Classic Inca Trail, 4 days

  Book 4 to 8 months ahead. Permits are limited and February is closed.

• You decided late

  Salkantay trek, 5 days

  No permit needed, higher mountains and far fewer people on the trail.

• You'd rather not camp

  Short Inca Trail, 2 days

  One day on the trail, the Sun Gate in the afternoon and a hotel bed at night.

• You travel in the rainy season

  The train

  From November to March the train is the safe choice. Skip the Hidroelectrica road.