A Guide to Getting to Machu Picchu

One of the seven wonders of the world, Machu Picchu is a must-see sometime in your life! There are a few different ways to get there – by car, by train, by foot or a combination. Car transportation can be booked at one of many travel booths in the Cusco city center. The hike, which is famously named “The Inka Trail,” requires a guide and extensive planning. Train tickets can be booked online, with two companies to choose from. We chose the train route, and what we didn’t realize was to prepare for a long day making the trek to Machu Picchu – you need several sets of tickets and transportation!

1. Buy your entrance ticket to Machu Picchu. You can buy online here, at the Machu Picchu Cultural Centre in Aguas Calientes or Ministerio de Cultura in Cusco. Buy ahead of time, as they aren’t sold at Machu Pichu! The number of visitors is capped at 2,500 a day, and as of recently, you have to choose the time frame you want to visit. Make sure that you print out the payment page and the confirmation page as they don’t email you a receipt or ticket. I took screenshots of these pages and emailed to myself to have a backup copy!
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2. Buy the train ticket from Cusco (Poray) to Aguilantes Calientes. The easiest option is to buy online through PeruRail or Inca Rail. We opted for PeruRail and chose the Explorer 33 Train. The two trains seemed very similar in price and amenities. Our roundtrip tickets were $130 each, leaving from Poray at 6:40 am and returning at 3:30 pm. The Poray train station has a small snack bar and barista if you need to stock up before the ride.
   
3. Buy the bus ticket from Aguilantes Calientes to Machu Pichu. Buy ahead of time as the line is painfully long! There are a ton of travel booths that sell these in Cusco, or you can likely arrange through your hotel. I wish we knew this ahead of time, as it would have saved us at least an hour. You can buy them Aguilantes Calientes, just someone on the street and they’ll point you to the store that sells them. Once you have the ticket, you have to wait in line for the bus that takes you up to Machu Picchu, which can be about an hour. You can’t miss this line!
   
4. Arrange transportation to and from the Poray train station. You can arrange through your hotel or find a travel booth to book a taxi ahead of time from where you’re staying. The Poray station is about 30 minutes from the center of Cusco. Our roundtrip transportation was $9 USD.

Once on the train from Poray, it’s a 3 1/2 hour ride to Aguilas Calientes, the town right below Machu Pichu. It was a beautiful ride through the Peruvian countryside. The train was pretty nice; it had slightly reclining seats and big windows. There were snacks and water available for purchase onboard. Most of the seats faced each other and had a table in the middle. Since we were traveling with two friends, this worked out perfectly.

When arriving at Aguilas Calientes, there are two options – take the bus or hike on foot to Machu Picchu. The hike is 6km and straight up a mountain to get there. We were really glad we didn’t do the hike, mostly because it would have taken hours and been very strenuous. The part we messed up was we didn’t buy the bus ticket from Aguilas Calientes to Machu Picchu beforehand. There is an option to buy it in town in Cusco for a few extra sols, so do that, and you’ll thank yourself later for all the time you saved. The line for bus tickets to Machu Picchu was about an hour-long, and we didn’t even go during high season. The bus tickets were about $28 USD, and then we had to wait in another line for the bus to Macchu Pichu.