In this guide you’ll discover how to get to Machu Picchu in Peru from Cusco.
Whether you’re traveling on a bootstrap budget as a backpacker, living large(r) as a flashpacker or visiting on a couples getaway there’s an option to travel to Machu Picchu for you.
Such is life, the cheapest way to visit Machu Picchu involves a lot of walking, even if you’re on a tour. The train is the most convenient option (but you’ll pay a steep price).
How to get to Machu Picchu by Bus + Collectivo from Cusco
To get to Machu Picchu by public transportation, you must first go to Santiago bus terminal. This is about a 20 minute walk from downtown Cusco. From there, you can get a bus for 15 soles to Santa Maria. This journey is approximately 4 hours. It is important that you get this bus as early as possible (first bus of the day) as it takes a full day to get to Agua Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu.
When you arrive at Santa Maria, look for a collectivo headed for Hydro Electrica. This should cost around 10 soles per person and take around 2 hours. They collectivo wont go until it is full. An issue is that you might struggle to find a collectivo going all the way to Hydroelectrica and just to the town before of Santa Teresa. If you need to walk between these towns it takes around 2 hours.
From Hydroelectruca, it is a 2 hour walk next to the train line to reach Agua Calientes. Don’t worry this walk isn’t half as dangerous as it sounds. Trains only run this route a few times a day and go very very slowly due to the very large number of tourists walking. They also make a very loud honking noise to let you know they are coming.
This journey will take a full day and you will need to stay the night at Agua Calientes before venturing to Machu Picchu the next day. The next day from Agua Calientes you can either complete a steep uphill 1.5 hour hike to reach Machu Picchu or catch a bus which costs $12 USD one way.
Private Transfer from Cusco to Machu Picchu
You can get a transfer from your hotel directly to Hydro Electrica with any tour agency in the city centre. They all sell this transfer at different rates. We negotiated 55 soles pp round trip. We would recommend this option as it only costs 5 soles more per person and you do not have to change transport at the town of Santa Maria. We found a company which was also flexible with our return date. We just needed to contact them the day before we wanted to leave. You need to negotiate your terms with the company.
The transfer still requires you to complete a 2 hour walk from Hydro Electrica to Agua Calientes. There is an option of getting a tourist train for this leg for 30 USD pp one way (the same train that costs locals 5 soles) but most people chose to walk. If you have bags, it is an extra 10 soles per bag.
As with the above option, the next day from Agua Calientes you can either complete a steep uphill 1.5 hour hike to reach Machu Picchu or catch a bus which costs $12 USD one way.
Machu Picchu Train from Cusco
The train is the most expensive option but is also the most convenient if you have unlimited funds. You don’t have to complete the 2 hour walk from Hydro Electrica to Agua Calientes if you take the train however, you do need to make your way from Cusco to Ollantaytambo as the train departs from there. To get a collectivo/transfer to Ollantaytambo, it will cost up to 15 soles per person. We saw two companies that run this route Peru rail and Inca rail and the price ranged from $50 to $100 each way per person depending on the time of day you travel.
More Peru Travel Blog Posts
If you’re visiting Peru from Lima, make sure you check out these Peru travel posts to make sure you don’t miss any unbelievable destinations in Peru or nearby Bolivia.
We recommend the bus from Lima to Cusco via Ica, Peru which is the gateway to the incredible Huacachina desert oasis.
From Ica we enjoyed some of our most adrenaline-filled activities on our South America itinerary including sandboarding and riding in a dune buggy up crazy steep sand dunes.
Salar de Uyuni: Okay, this one isn’t actually Peru. However, it is one of the most iconic places on any South America itinerary – the magical mirrored salt flats in in Bolivia. You know, the place where the endless white salt flats distort perceptions and make it possible to recreate cool optical illusions like being chased by a monster dinosaur toy.
Of course, we wouldn’t dangle that carrot in front of your without telling you how to get there from Ica or Machu Picchu/Cusco.
You should catch the bus from Cusco to La Paz (how to do it) > we recommend stopping at the awesome Copacabana (Bolivia, not Brazil) and Isla del Sol.
There’s even a crazy Bolivian festival where the Bolivians dress like Peaky Blinders and get drunk and perform choreographed dances around town. I digress …
So, you’ve reached the La Paz from Cusco. There’s tonnes of things to do in La Paz like visiting a witches market. But you want to know about the Salt Flats.