In a nutshell
- To reach Machu Picchu, your first stop is Cusco — the best base for your visit, with great accommodation options for every budget.
- You have four ways to get there: a guided day tour, the train (most popular), the bus (cheapest), or a multi-day hike.
- No matter which option you pick, no single mode of transport takes you all the way — you’ll always need to combine at least two. We explain exactly how below.
- Keep reading for our complete breakdown of every route, including prices, journey times, and which option suits you best.
What You Need to Know Before Traveling to Machu Picchu
Make sure to plan your trip at the same time you buy your ticket. You need to book your Machu Picchu ticket for a specific day and time slot. That means your travel plans and your ticket need to align.
To make planning a little easier, we’ve written a detailed article covering everything you need to know when buying tickets:
Orientation: Where Is Machu Picchu?
Machu Picchu is tucked away in the heart of the Andes in Peru. There is no real road leading to the Inca site, which makes getting there a little complicated.
The best starting point for your visit is the colonial city of Cusco, where you’ll find a wide range of accommodation options.
Right next to Machu Picchu is the village of Aguas Calientes. Depending on how much time you spend at the site, you may also want to stay overnight there.
Also read all our tips for visiting Machu Picchu
How Do You Get to Cusco?
The first step to reaching Machu Picchu is getting to Cusco. Cusco has an airport, and the city is also very well connected by long-distance buses — a great option if you’re doing a Peru road trip.
From Peru’s capital Lima, there are several flights to Cusco every day. You can often book these last-minute, and prices are usually between 40–70 euros. We always book our flights through Skyscanner:
Search flights to Cusco on Skyscanner
By bus, the journey from Lima takes about 24 hours — a very long ride. If you still want to go that route, your best bet is the provider Cruz del Sur. Their buses are very comfortable and well-equipped.
Shorter routes are available from Arequipa or Puno on Lake Titicaca, where the bus ride is around 8–10 hours.
Also read our safety tips for Peru
All our travel tips for Peru
How to Get from Cusco to Machu Picchu
There are several ways to travel from Cusco to Machu Picchu. Depending on how much time you have, what you want to experience at the site, and how much you want to spend, one option will suit you better than the others.
You have these four options for getting there:
- Guided tour from Cusco
- By train
- By bus
- Multi-day hike
Note: There is no way to travel from Cusco to Machu Picchu using just one mode of transportation. Even if you take the train, you’ll still need to cover one leg of the journey by bus or on foot. We’ll explain all of this in more detail for each option below.
Also read our hotel tips for Cusco
Guided Machu Picchu Day Tour from Cusco
This option is best if you don’t want to deal with organizing your own transportation and tickets to Machu Picchu, and you only have a short amount of time at the Inca site.
On a guided day tour from Cusco, you’ll be picked up from your accommodation early in the morning and taken by train and bus to the entrance of Machu Picchu. You’ll tour the site and then be brought back to your hotel the same way.
All tickets for the journey and entry to Machu Picchu are included in the tour. The planning effort on your part is minimal, making this by far the most convenient option. The downside? Guided tours are expensive, and it’s significantly cheaper to buy your transportation tickets and entry separately.
Book the all-inclusive day tour from Cusco to Machu Picchu
Getting to Machu Picchu by Train
Traveling by train is perfect if you want to get to Machu Picchu as quickly and comfortably as possible.
If the all-inclusive package is too pricey but you still want a fast and easy journey, the train is your best bet. It’s the most popular way to get there.
The trains don’t run directly from Cusco to Machu Picchu — they only go as far as Aguas Calientes. From Aguas Calientes, you’ll need to take a bus up to Machu Picchu, or you can walk. More on that in a moment.
Departure Stations to Aguas Calientes
There are five departure stations for getting to Aguas Calientes.
- Wanchaq (Cusco city center): Wanchaq is a stop in the heart of the city, close to the sights of Cusco. However, from here you first take a bus to Ollantaytambo and then a train to Aguas Calientes. On the train providers’ websites, you can book the bus and train ticket together. The total journey takes four hours.
- San Pedro (Cusco historic center): The most convenient option is to board at San Pedro station in Cusco. Trains depart from the old town directly to Aguas Calientes. Unfortunately, there are only a few connections per day from here, meaning you don’t have much flexibility with departure times. The train ride takes four hours.
- Poroy (outside Cusco): From Poroy, you can travel directly to Aguas Calientes, and this station offers the widest selection of trains. The downside is that Poroy is located outside of Cusco. From Cusco, you can reach Poroy by taxi or bus (Povitos bus stop) in about 30 minutes. The train ride from Poroy to Aguas Calientes takes three hours.
- Urubamba: Urubamba is a town between Cusco and Aguas Calientes with nothing to see. In our opinion, there’s no reason to board or get off here.
- Ollantaytambo: Ollantaytambo is a beautiful town between Cusco and Aguas Calientes. If you have a few days to spare, you can explore Ollantaytambo first and then continue on to Machu Picchu from there. The train ride takes 1.5 hours.
Booking Trains to Machu Picchu
You can book trains to Machu Picchu through Peru Rail or Inca Rail. It doesn’t make much difference which provider you choose — both offer a solid selection of trains and classes. Here are the trains available:
Peru Rail
- Expedition (most affordable)
- Vistadome
- Vistadome Observatory
- Hiram Bingham (most luxurious)
You can find more details about each train on the Peru Rail website.
Inca Rail
- The Voyager (most affordable)
- The 360°
- First Class
- The Premium & Lounge
- The Private (most luxurious)
You can find more details about Inca Rail’s options on the Inca Rail train comparison page.
How Much Do Train Tickets from Cusco to Machu Picchu Cost?
Prices vary widely depending on the departure station and train class. For the Cusco – Aguas Calientes route, expect to pay at least 250 soles (63 euros) per trip.
From Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu
Once you’ve arrived by train in Aguas Calientes, you still have a bit of ground to cover to reach Machu Picchu. From the station, you have two options:
- By bus
- On foot
By Bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu
The more popular option is the bus. The bus stop is located right next to the train station in Aguas Calientes. You can buy tickets online in advance or on-site in Aguas Calientes or Cusco.
The ride takes about 30 minutes, and buses run every ten minutes. You can also buy your return ticket at Machu Picchu itself if you want to keep your options open.
Bus tickets cost 80 soles (20 USD) round-trip. To save yourself time waiting in line, it’s worth booking online in advance.
Book your bus ticket from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu
On Foot from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu
You also have the option of walking the last stretch instead of taking the bus. We only recommend this if you enjoy hiking and are spending at least one night in Aguas Calientes.
The walking route from Aguas Calientes is about 3.5 kilometers long. You start by walking along the main road for a bit, then cross a bridge, and the final stretch heads steeply uphill.
You’ll gain about 500 meters in elevation on that last section. Allow roughly 1.5 hours for the ascent. The way back down is a little faster.
Return Journey from Machu Picchu to Cusco by Train
If you travel by train, you can visit Machu Picchu as a day trip. The last train from Aguas Calientes departs at 9:30 PM. (Double-check the exact time for your visit date, as schedules can change.)
A more relaxed option is to plan one night in Aguas Calientes. That way, you can really take your time at Machu Picchu.
Getting to Machu Picchu by Bus
Taking the bus is the right option if you want to get to Machu Picchu as cheaply as possible.
As an alternative to the train, you can travel by bus. It’s significantly cheaper, but it also takes much longer and is quite uncomfortable. We only recommend this if you’re traveling on a tight budget.
Buses depart from the Plaza Mayor de Cusco at around 6:30 AM and arrive at around 1:30 PM in Hidroeléctrica, a town ten kilometers from Aguas Calientes. It’s best to buy your ticket on-site in Cusco — ask at your accommodation for help. A one-way bus ticket costs around 50 soles (12 euros). You can get a round-trip for 80–100 soles (20–25 euros).
Book your Machu Picchu bus ticket through GetYourGuide
From Hidroeléctrica, you still have ten kilometers to cover to get to Aguas Calientes. You have two options for that stretch:
- On foot
- By train
The walking route follows the railroad tracks for ten kilometers. Don’t worry — you’ll meet plenty of locals and hikers doing the same thing. Walking along the tracks is completely normal. Allow two–three hours for the walk.
The hike is mostly flat, but there’s almost no shade, so it can be exhausting in direct sunlight. Along the way, you’ll come across small shops where you can buy water, juice, and food.
If walking isn’t your thing, you can also take the train. The train ride takes 30 minutes and costs around 35 euros. The train departs from Hidroeléctrica at 2:50 PM, and you can buy your ticket on-site.
Whichever option you choose, you’ll arrive in Aguas Calientes in the afternoon — too late to visit Machu Picchu the same day. So you’ll need to plan for at least one overnight stay in Aguas Calientes.
Our hotel pick for Aguas Calientes: Mapiland Boutique Hotel
Return Journey from Machu Picchu to Cusco by Bus
If you spend a night in Aguas Calientes, book your Machu Picchu ticket for the next day at no later than 8:00 AM. The last and only bus back to Cusco departs from Hidroeléctrica at around 2:30 PM — and you still have to walk ten kilometers to get there.
Note: Machu Picchu is on the way to Hidroeléctrica. We recommend taking all your luggage with you from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu. You can store it for free at the top of Machu Picchu or at the bottom near the bridge before the uphill section begins.
Even better is to plan two nights in Aguas Calientes. That gives you complete flexibility over when you visit Machu Picchu, and you’ll have more time to do things like climb one of the Machu Picchu mountains. On your last day, you can take a relaxed morning walk back to Hidroeléctrica.
Multi-Day Hike to Machu Picchu
A multi-day hiking trek is perfect if you have several days available and love spending time in nature.
One of the most rewarding ways to reach Machu Picchu is on a multi-day hike. There are several trails that lead to the Inca site. Most hikes take around four to five days, with a visit to Machu Picchu on the final day.
We’ve written a dedicated article on the trails, where you can get more details about each hike. We did the Salkantay Trek ourselves and go into more detail about it in our trip report.
Also read our articles on the Machu Picchu hikes
