Seeing the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is a dream for journey vacationers worldwide. In case you’re questioning how you can get to Machu Picchu in Peru, you are in the fitting place.
I have been lucky sufficient to journey to Machu Picchu on three events: the Salktany trek as a budget-conscious backpacker, on an all-inclusive group tour, and reserving every part independently.
This text focuses on the final method, the steps required to prepare a visit to Machu Picchu independently.
Planning Your Journey
As soon as you’ve got determined to go to Machu Picchu in South America, you will want to determine what sort of expertise you need and the way a lot money and time you’ve got received.
Let’s assume you are occurring a one-week trip (as I did on my most up-to-date go to with Kel).
One-Week Itinerary
Here is a quick overview of the logistics concerned:
- Ebook a roundtrip flight from your house metropolis to Lima, Peru.
- Make a lodge reservation for Lima.
- Ebook a roundtrip flight from Lima to the town of Cusco.
- Prepare a personal switch from the Cusco airport to Ollantaytambo prepare station.
- Purchase prepare tickets to the city of Aguas Calientes and again to Cusco.
- Reserve a lodge for one night time in Aguas Calientes.
- Purchase a Machu Picchu ticket (timed entry). Select your circuit properly.
- Rent a tour information (required to enter Machu Picchu).
- Purchase a roundtrip shuttle bus ticket from Aguas Calientes to the primary entrance of Machu Picchu (or you possibly can spend one hour climbing up the mountain without spending a dime, as I did the primary time).
- Prepare for a personal switch from the Cusco prepare station to your lodge.
- Fly from Cusco again to Lima.
- Depart Lima for dwelling.
That is so much to wrap your head round, and arranging it your self is time-intensive. It wasn’t till my third journey to Machu Picchu in Peru that I noticed how sophisticated it’s to get there.
Impartial Journey vs. Group Tour
My first two visits have been run by tour operators, one a trek with a neighborhood company and the opposite a G Adventures tour I received in a drawing.
As I started designing the third journey, my girlfriend noticed the work concerned. She stated she would’ve booked a gaggle tour had I not embraced the planning required.
I need that effort to be of service to you, too. However if you happen to get to the tip and notice you’d somewhat pay for a gaggle tour to make life simpler, I would not blame you!
There isn’t any greatest method to see Machu Picchu. Do what’s going to work greatest for you and any journey companions.
My greatest takeaway from determining how you can get to Machu Picchu in Peru was that purchasing your entrance tickets first and constructing your journey round that day is greatest.
Machu Picchu Tickets
As a result of recognition of Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Web site, the Peruvian authorities has been implementing new guidelines to enhance the location’s sustainability.
Whereas these measures can current challenges when planning, they’re meant to guard and protect the archaeological web site.
Since 2019, these rules embrace timed-entry tickets assigned to particular circuits (routes) by way of the Inca ruins.
Vacationers should follow the route assigned to the ticket they purchase, and you are not allowed to backtrack.
The difficult half is that not all routes see the identical views or options. Being compelled to decide on a circuit means lacking out on some areas and vantage factors on the ruins.
I recommend having a way of the flights and trains you wish to schedule however not shopping for these tickets till you’ve got finalized your entry to Machu Picchu.
Selecting a Circuit
Even for somebody who has visited Machu Picchu in Peru earlier than, it may be troublesome to visualise and examine the completely different circuits.
The official authorities web site, the place you should purchase tickets on-line, is on the market in English and Spanish. There you possibly can see maps of all 5 circuits by way of Machu Picchu.
The occasions indicated under are a tenet for the Machu Picchu web site and don’t issue within the time wanted for facet journeys on Circuits 3, 4, and 5. You are given further time if you happen to select these tickets.
- Circuit 1 – Machu Picchu solely (2 hours)
- Circuit 2 – Machu Picchu solely (3 hours)
- Circuit 3 – Machu Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain (1.5 hours)
- Circuit 4 – Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu (additionally spelled Waynapicchu) or Huchuy Picchu (2.5 hours)
- Circuit 5 – Machu Picchu and Inca Bridge (1.5 hours)
The 1.5 to 2-hour hike to Inti Punku, the Solar Gate, will not be allowed right now. The one wait to see Machu Picchu from the Solar Gate is if you happen to do the Inca Path trek, as that is the place you will enter the ruins.
Except you’ve got examine and studied the ruins intimately, it may be laborious to know what you are lacking out on once you select one circuit over one other.
Making Your Choice
The simplest method to slender your selections is to resolve if you need a circuit with a facet journey, equivalent to climbing the favored Huayna Picchu. Because it’s solely an choice on Circuit 4, your choice is made.
When Kel advised me she wished a birdseye view of Machu Picchu, I assumed she meant the view from atop Huayna Picchu, which I would first climbed in 2011. Subsequently, I purchased our entrance tickets for Circuit 4.
It wasn’t till we arrived on the ruins that we realized she was referring to the traditional postcard picture (taken on the Guesthouse), which is simply out there on Circuit 1 and Circuit 2.
She took the mix-up in stride and received an sudden mountain climb out of the expertise.
Shopping for Tickets On-line
Whereas you should purchase tickets by way of the Peruvian authorities web site, it isn’t essentially the most user-friendly expertise.
UPDATE: As of January 21, 2023, the federal government has indefinitely closed Machu Picchu and the Inca Path to vacationers on account of anti-government protests in Machu Picchu Pueblo (sometimes called Aguas Calientes), Cusco, and Lima.
Per NPR, “Vacationers who had already purchased tickets for Machu Picchu from January 21, 2023, till one month after every time the protests finish will be capable of receive a full refund, the Tradition Ministry stated.”
Alternatively, I like to recommend shopping for your tickets to the Machu Picchu citadel by way of a tour-booking web site like Get Your Information or Viator. They’re higher designed and simpler to make use of.
I purchased our non-refundable Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu Entrance Ticket (Circuit 4) on Get Your Information. Each the doorway to Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu have particular occasions.
We selected the 8 a.m. time slot to enter Machu Picchu. Later, I discovered this selection meant we may enter Machu Picchu as early as 7 a.m. to start Circuit 4. 7 a.m. was the time on our ticket.
That is as a result of it could possibly take 40 minutes or extra to succeed in Huayna Picchu, and our entry to Huayna Picchu was from 8 to 9 a.m. Sounds complicated, I do know.
And in case you are late and miss coming into Machu Picchu between 7 a.m. and eight a.m., they will refuse entry to the park.
In that occasion, you’d solely be capable of get in on the identical day if you happen to may receive a brand new timed entry for later within the morning or afternoon. As you will see, that may throw off the remainder of your itinerary and journey plans.
Our Expertise
I consider 8 a.m. (actually 7 a.m.) is the very best time for Circuit 4 as a result of it presents a pleasant steadiness between sleep and having time within the park.
We nonetheless had an early morning:
- 5:30 a.m. breakfast at our lodge
- 6 a.m. briefing with our native information
- 6:30 a.m. shuttle bus to Machu Picchu entrance
- 7 a.m. enter Machu Picchu
- 8:30 a.m. climb Huayna Picchu
The tickets have been $88 per particular person ($176 for 2 folks). I additionally purchased our roundtrip shuttle bus tickets from Aguas Calientes to the Machu Picchu entrance for an extra $35 per particular person.
The identical non-refundable 8 a.m. Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu ticket is on the market on Viator for $84 per particular person ($168 complete for 2 folks).
As soon as you purchase the ticket, you will obtain affirmation by way of e-mail, and at the least with Get Your Information, a second e-mail with the precise entry ticket from a neighborhood tour operator.
Hiring a Machu Picchu Information
We acquired emails for our Machu Picchu tickets from Get Your Information and the native tour firm, emphasizing that an official tour information should be employed to enter Machu Picchu. It is a park regulation.
Being a budget-conscious traveler, I researched this on-line. I discovered reader feedback on different blogs saying a information is not required, or they weren’t questioned upon coming into Machu Picchu and not using a information.
Nevertheless, given our tight schedule, and it was Kel’s first journey to Machu Picchu, I did not wish to danger any last-minute issues.
We employed a licensed, English-speaking personal information, Linder, for 2 hours for $78.
Getting a information was simple to rearrange by way of the tour operator that offered our Machu Picchu tickets. I may’ve additionally paid for the information after I purchased the doorway and bus tickets.
A gaggle tour would’ve been $25 per particular person, or $50 complete, by way of the identical operator.
Shuttle Bus Tickets
Along with your Machu Picchu ticket and guided tour, I like to recommend shopping for a roundtrip ticket for the shuttle bus from Aguas Calientes to the doorway of Machu Picchu.
The roundtrip value is about $30 per particular person for international guests, give or take a couple of {dollars}. Just like the entry prices, it is considerably much less for Peruvian nationals, college students, and kids.
This can be a comparatively low-cost method to save your self the time and vitality of climbing up the mountain for an hour (whereas watching others within the buses whiz by you). I converse from expertise.
I used to be so excited on my first go to to Machu Picchu that I awoke round 5 a.m. and climbed up the mountain by way of the trail crossing by way of the numerous switchbacks utilized by the buses.
In case you’re in good bodily form however are liable to movement illness or need the added problem, by all means, go for it!
The views aren’t that nice as a result of foliage, and it will nonetheless be darkish if you happen to depart early within the morning.
Resorts in Aguas Calientes
Now we’re making some progress. Whereas you may get to Machu Picchu in Peru as a day journey from Cusco, it would be a protracted, tiring day that I would not advocate.
I’ve spent the night time earlier than my visits to Machu Picchu in a lodge in Aguas Calientes on all three journeys.
It is a small city, simple to get round on foot, and presents alternatives to help this distant neighborhood (by way of shopping for meals at eating places, lodge stays, buying, and so on.).
Anticipate fundamental however comfy lodging; this is not the place for luxurious inns. All of the supplies and assets on the town should be introduced in by way of the prepare tracks or on foot.
I booked one night time at Tierra Viva Machu Picchu by way of Reserving.com for $118. There are cheaper selections, however I favored that this one is adjoining to the river working by way of city.
Examine all of the lodge costs in Aguas Calientes. It solely takes about ten minutes to stroll from one facet of city to the opposite, so location would not matter an excessive amount of.
Professional Tip: Regardless of the city being named after scorching springs, they don’t seem to be a lot to take a look at, not to mention get into. It’s kind of of a stroll to succeed in them, and I wasn’t impressed.
Practice Tickets to/from Aguas Calientes
Except for trekking, the one method to attain Aguas Calientes, and due to this fact Machu Picchu, is by prepare.
There are two prepare firms to select from: Peru Rail and Inca Rail. Each supply quite a lot of service ranges and departure occasions. The one luxurious prepare is Peru Rail’s Belmond Hiram Bingham.
The prepare schedules can be found on every firm’s web site. We used Peru Rail, and I purchased the tickets by way of their web site.
The 1:27 p.m. Vistadome prepare with panoramic home windows departing from the city of Ollantaytambo for Aguas Calientes was $95 per particular person and took 90 minutes.
Cusco to Aguas Calientes
In case you’re staying in Cusco for at the least one night time earlier than going to Aguas Calientes, you possibly can catch an early-morning prepare from the town’s prepare station (a couple of 30-minute taxi journey from the historic middle).
This is not a foul concept, as Cusco’s elevation is larger than Machu Picchu, so the time spent acclimatizing may help you keep away from altitude illness if that is a priority.
Lima to Aguas Calientes
If you wish to journey from Lima to Aguas Calientes in a single day, like we did, then you definitely’ll want a morning flight from Lima to Cusco and a personal switch from the Cusco airport to the Ollantaytambo prepare station.
Our Expedition prepare from Machu Picchu (Aguas Calientes) to Cusco departed at 3:20 p.m. It was $72 per particular person and took 4 hours and 25 minutes.
I do not know whether or not it was the prepare or the tracks, but it surely was a bumpy prepare journey.
Upon arrival on the Cusco prepare station within the night, there weren’t many taxis round, however we nonetheless managed to get one.
It took one other 20 to half-hour to succeed in our lodge close to the Plaza de Armas within the historic middle.
Switch from Cusco Airport to Ollantaytambo Practice Station
If you must get from the Cusco airport to the Ollantaytambo prepare station, you possibly can both present up and negotiate with a taxi driver on the airport or ebook a switch forward of time.
I selected the latter and once more used the corporate that had despatched us our Machu Picchu tickets. The two-hour personal switch was $25 per particular person.
This can be a related quantity to what I discovered when researching the price of a taxi journey once you present up on the Cusco airport.
On Get Your Information, a personal switch was going for about $55 per particular person, so it pays to buy round.
Flying to/from Cusco
The Alejandro Velasco Astete Worldwide Airport is Cusco’s predominant airport. There are direct flights from Lima by a number of carriers all through the day.
SKY Airline and Viva Air Peru are low-cost carriers with day by day flights between Lima and Cusco. The bigger and pricier LATAM Airways additionally covers this route.
It is about an 80-minute flight, with a bit of a couple of hour up within the air.
We used SKY Airline for our roundtrip flights between Lima and Cusco, and the expertise was wonderful.
If I have been to ebook Sky Airline flights a couple of months from the day I am writing this text, the bottom fare could be $14 every method and $50 complete. Anticipate to pay further for seat choice and checked baggage.
Professional Tip: Costs can improve fairly a bit throughout peak season (dry season) as demand soars. Your only option for a visit in the course of the excessive season (suppose U.S. summers from June to August) is to ebook months upfront to get the occasions and says you like. The wet season is in January, and greatest averted.
Flying to/from Lima
And eventually, we arrive on the flights to/from Lima or wherever you resolve to enter and exit Peru.
I like to start with Kayak or Skyscanner to get an outline of carriers and prices.
We ended up flying from Austin to Lima by way of Miami with American Airways. I used 49,029 Chase journey factors value $735 to cowl the price of my roundtrip flight.
Try my story on journey hacking to study extra about how one can earn free flights.
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In case you’re nonetheless with me, I recognize your time and hope this info helped reply any questions on how you can get to Machu Picchu in Peru.
The extra time you possibly can afford to spend on this journey, the extra relaxed will probably be. Nevertheless, I can now attest to doing it in 7 days and 6 nights if time is brief.
One final tip. There’s rather more to Peru than Machu Picchu. From the desert shoreline, as soon as dwelling to historical civilizations like Chan Chan, to the snow-capped mountains round Huaraz and the Amazon rainforest of Tambopata, Peru is unimaginable.
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He is been to 66 nations and lived in Colombia and Peru. Learn the full story of how he turned a journey blogger.
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