How to Get to Machu Picchu (2023) - with prices

10 Dec

When visiting Peru there is one thing right on top of most people’s list: visiting the ancient archaeological site of Machu Picchu.

Located a couple of hours away from Cusco, there are many ways you can reach the Inka ruins.

You can either go on a multi-day trek that finishes at Machu Picchu, you can take the train, you can take a minivan or a combination of busses and end it with a little hike.

All these options have quite different price points, so we will break them down for you. Whether you are on a budget, want to experience nature or want to spoil yourself with a bit of luxury, we have you covered!

Starting with the cheapest and ending with the most expensive way to get to Machu Picchu, these are your options:

1. Public bus or public minivan – Santa Maria – Santa Teresa - Hidroélectrica – Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu

2. Private Minivan – Hidroélectrica – Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu

3. Train – Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu

4. Multi-Day Trek

Note: Prices and conversion rates as of January 2023

Here is a price breakdown of all the options:

To reach Machu Picchu, you always have to get to the town of Aguas Calientes. There are no roads leading all the way to there, so your options are taking a train or walking next to the train treks. This is way less dangerous than it sounds. There is so many people doing this, even the hikes to Machu Picchu take that route.

The first two options are the most budget-friendly and are quite the same from the moment you arrive at Hidroélectrica. Option 2 has been established over the past 3-4 years and saves you a lot of hassle. In the end the prices for Option 1 and Option 2 are quite similar, so we would suggest you try Option 2.

Option 1: Public Transport

Cusco to Santa Maria

You get up quite early and make your way to the bus station called Quillabamba. You should be at the station no later than 8am. That way you will not have any time pressure and arrive in Aguas Calientes before the sun sets and you will have enough time to rest before the next early morning. From here you ask for the bus to a town called Santa Maria. The ride will cost you around 20 PEN.

On your way to the station, you will be most likely stopped by minivan drivers that offer the same route for 40 PEN. You can try to haggle, telling them you know the bus is only 20 PEN and if you are lucky, they might offer you the ride for 30 PEN. It totally depends on your preferences, if you like to go by bus or minivan. The time it takes, around 5 hours, is about the same.

Be aware: The drivers will always tell you the minivan is leaving “ahorita”, which means now. In the end, they will always wait until the whole minivan is filled up, even if they tell you they won’t. You might wait up to about 30 minutes until all seats are filled. Most likely not more though.

Also: The drive is quite windy, so if you suffer from motion sickness make sure that you take some pills.

Santa Maria to Hidroeléctrica

When you arrive in Santa Maria you might want to have a quick lunch, or if you are not hungry yet, can wait until you arrive at Hidroeléctrica, which is another hour's ride away.

You can either get a colectivo or a taxi to Santa Teresa and there change to another transport to Hidroeléctrica. Transport in Santa Maria leaves at the crossroad that leads to Hidroeléctrica, you literally cannot miss it.

Usually, you could get a transport all the way from Santa Maria to Hidroelétrica, but at the moment there are road works and streets close at certain hours of the day. For that reason the journey is broken in parts so that the drivers don’t get stuck in either end of the journey.

Hidroeléctrica to Aguas Calientes

From Hidroeléctrica you hike along the train treks to Aguas Calientes. The hike is about 2-3 hours and is quite easy. You also don’t have to worry about getting lost or the hike being dangerous. There are plenty of other people doing the same hike.

When you are in Aguas Calientes, there are a variety of hotels and guesthouses. Most of them are not incredibly modern, but they all have a bed and a hot shower. That is all you need after a long day. We can recommend Usgar Machu Picchu Hostel, with dorm beds starting from 40 PEN.

As the town is incredibly touristy, most restaurants are tourist traps as well. None of the places there are going to be super cheap, but we can recommend Chef House, for a decent value for money and tasty food.

You will want to get an early night as you have to get up quite early the next day, specifically around 4 am. That is when you want to start your hike to Machu Picchu.

Hike to Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes

If you don’t take the bus, it will be around a 15-minute walk to the lower entrance of Machu Picchu, which opens at 5.00 am and from where you will hike up for about an hour. If you want to be early, you have to be fast and the hike is a little tough, but totally worth it.

You can also take a bus, which you can pre-book the night before. The first busses leave from 5.30 am and cost around 50 PEN one way. You should buy your tickets the night before and be in line at around 4.40 am to catch the first bus.

For the way back, make sure you are at the lower entrance again at around 12-1 pm, so you can be back at Hidroélectrica between 2 and 3 pm for your ride home. You will catch a taxi again, and then the local bus. Or you might be able to get a seat on a minivan that goes directly to Cusco.

Option 2: Private Minivan

Cusco to Hidroeléctrica

Instead of taking the bus and a taxi, there are transport companies that offer direct rides from Cusco to Hidroeléctrica. Depending on how full they get the van, you will pay around 100 PEN round trip. Pre-pandemic the price used to be around 70 PEN, but with the current restrictions, drivers are not allowed to fill the vans up completely and thus charge a bit more per person.

You can just ask in your hotel/hostel and they most likely will help you arrange the journey. The minivans leave at around 8.30 am from or close to Plaza de Armas. They will give you all the details when you arrange it.

Make sure, you arrange everything when you arrive in Cusco, preferably a couple of days before you intend to go to Machu Picchu. At the moment with the pandemic, the minivans might not go every day because there are fewer tourists.

This way is way more convenient than the first option, as the driver will also pick you up on the way back from Hidroeléctrica, so you don’t have such a strenuous way back.

Make sure to get his phone number, in case you are running late after leaving Machu Picchu. Usual pick-up times from Hidroélectrica are between 2 pm and 3 pm.

The rest works like in Option 1.

Option 3: Train

Cusco to Aguas Calientes

This is probably the most comfortable option to reach Aguas Calientes. The train doesn’t directly leave from Cusco. The closest station is a bit on the outskirts of the city of Poroy. There are bus transfers to the station and sometimes that is even included in your ticket. Just ask when buying the ticket.

Many people also want to explore the Sacred Valley with the quite famous salinas, salt mines, or the ancient ruins in Ollantaytambo. Conveniently, you can take the train from Ollantaytambo or even Urubamba as well. It is completely up to you and your itinerary.

There are two companies that sell train tickets to Aguas Calientes: Peru Rail and Inca Rail.

Both companies offer four different options of services: from just a normal train ticket to a quite luxurious experience.

The journey lasts around

3 hours and 15 minutes from Poroy
2 hours and 30 minutes from Urubamba
Less than 2 hours from Ollantaytambo

The costs of the tickets differ seasonally and of course, depend on the type of service you choose.

Generally for both companies tickets start from around 459 PEN round trip, with discounts during low season and higher prices, if the demand is particularly high.

If you need to catch a bus or minivan to the train stations from Cusco, the prices are

To Poroy: around 5 PEN
To Urubamba: around 15 PEN
To Ollantaytambo: around 20 PEN

Arriving in Aguas Calientes the procedure is the same as laid out in Option 1.

Option 4: Trekking

There are a lot of options for trekking to Machu Picchu. You have the classic Inca Trail, the Salkantay Trek or the Jungle Trek – all in different lengths, for different prices and with many, many different companies.

All the treks will end in Machu Picchu and of course, the transport back to Cusco is usually always included.

Make sure to book the Inka Trek a couple of months in advance because this one needs a permit.

For the Salkantay Trek, there are different price options. The more luxurious one with better accommodation, service and food will be around 2000 PEN. The budget option starts from 600 PEN in low-season.

The Jungle Trek also starts from 600 PEN and is more for everyone, who is not that much into hiking but wants to get some adventure in, like rafting and zip-lining.