Home > Build your trip > Inca Trail & Machu Picchu modules > Markets and mañana Machu Picchu

Markets and mañana Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu by train

Route: Cuzco - Sacred Valley - Machu Picchu - Cuzco (or vice versa)

If trekking up the mountains with a heavy backpack isn’t really your cup of tea but you still want to see Machu Picchu during your Peru trip, then this Machu Picchu by train trip is a good alternative to our treks. You’ll cover part of the route with a small group and guide and you can spend the other days as you please.

From Cuzco you’ll visit the Sacred Valley and visit Machu Picchu independently. The focus of this Machu Picchu by train tour is on local culture and plenty of time to relax. It is a varied tour, with a bit of everything, but all at a relaxed pace.

To explore the Sacred Valley in comfort by private car with driver, take a look at our Sacred Valley tour. We have many other modules that you can add onto this Machu Picchu by train trip. Take a look at our Peru tours, or for a longer itinerary our Peru holidays.

Duration	4 days / 3 nights Departure Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday	Accommodation	Double room with breakfast (browse our photos here). Comfort level 3 (see accommodation)
Price	£248 per person - based on 2 people sharing. £298 per person - based on 2 people sharing in our upgraded accommodation.	Includes	Transport, 2 nights accommodation with breakfast, Sacred Valley excursion with guide and lunch, Machu Picchu entrance fee.
Transport	Minibus Cuzco- Ollantaytambo, train Ollantaytambo- Aguas Calientes- Cuzco	Excludes	Entrance fee Ollantaytambo fort (approx £12), return bus Aguas - Calientes-Machu Picchu (approx £10).

Day 1: Cuzco - Pisac - Ollanta(ytambo)

In the morning, you’ll be picked up by minibus to begin your Peru trip, and together with your English-speaking guide, you’ll make your way to the Sacred Valley. The valley gets its name from the many sacred Inca sites scattered around the area. On the way, you’ll stop off at a scenic viewpoint overlooking the valley before driving on to the village of Pisac. Tuesdays, Thursday and Sundays (we’ll adjust your itinerary if necessary) are the busiest market days, when locals flock here from all across the valley to trade their goods in the busy market square. It used to be mainly fruit and vegetables, but these days you’ll find stalls selling everything under the sun, especially souvenirs like hand-made rugs, pottery and jewellery. Haggling is all part of the game on day one travelling to Machu Picchu by train.

Machu Picchu by train- Valleys and streams

The Pisac ruins lie just outside the village itself. Depending on what time you’re done shopping in the market, you can take a taxi up to the ruins and walk up to the Sun Temple (1 hour). Just let your driver know what you want to do. The ruins allegedly rival those at Machu Picchu and, from the top of the hill, there’s a wonderful view across the mountain ridge running in between two valleys and the endless rows of terraces. If you prefer to stay in the village, find a nice spot for lunch on the square overlooking the market. Later on your Machu Picchu by train tour, you'll continue further into the valley past the villages of Yucay and Urubamba.

The road follows the fast-flowing Urubamba river and, on the way you can catch a glimpse of the Las Salinas salt pans, thousands of basins carved into the mountain side that have been used for salt extraction since the Inca times. Tomorrow you'll be able to take a closer look at the basins.

At around 2.30pm you'll arrive at Ollanta(ytambo), a small village on the railway from Cuzco to Machu Picchu, where you'll visit the ancient fortress above the village. This fortress was the only place where the Incas managed to hold off the Spaniards, by riddling them with arrows from behind the thick rock walls. The huge rocks that form the impenetrable walls of the fortress weighed over 50 tonnes and were transported here down the river.

After you've visited the fort, it's time to say goodbye to your fellow travellers and you'll be dropped off at your hotel for the first night of your Machu Picchu by train tour; a small authentic posada close to the rail tracks. It might take a while before you can effortlessly pronounce the name if this village, but before you know it, you'll be captured by the relaxed atmosphere, friendly locals and charming accommodation of this little hideaway in the valley.

Day 2: Ollanta

On day two of your Machu Picchu train tour, you're free to do as you please. Your fortress ticket is still valid and, if you’re up early, it’s worth climbing up there around 7am. Perched high above the village, you can watch the sun come up and listen as the cockerel crows and the village slowly wakes up. If you want to make your stay in Ollanta even more relaxed, we can arrange an upgrade to our comfort hotel just outside the village for about £13pp.

There are a couple of restaurants and cafes in the village, as well as a small museum and a local market. Ollanta is a small place with just over 2000 inhabitants so there’s not much going on, but life here trundles along and, after lively Cuzco, the peace and quiet is actually very pleasant. The countryside around Ollanta is very lush and green. One of the best ways to see the valley on your Peru trip is on horseback, cantering through the countryside surrounded by the rural sounds of birds singing in the trees, the rush of the river and donkeys heehawing in a nearby field. Don't worry if you're not an experienced rider, the horses are very tame and they know their way.

If you're interested in going horse-riding during your Machu Picchu by train tour, please ask at the hotel reception when you check in. The horses might be grazing in a field far up in the valley so it takes some time to collect them. You'll almost certainly have good weather on your horse ride; the valley is sheltered from wind and rain by the towering peaks of the Andes mountains. A two-hour trek will cost you around $10 per person.

If you prefer to take a closer look at the salt pans on your Peru trip, you can take a collectivo to Urubamba (1 Sol), a small village 30 minutes drive away. From here, you can take another taxi to the Las Salinas salt pans and from here you can follow the trail downhill to the Urubamba-Ollanta road (2 hours' walk).

Day 3: Ollanta - Aguas Calientes

From the hotel, take a taxi to the tiny station at Ollantaytambo where your train leaves at 9.30am. After chugging up the mountains for 1 ½ hours, the train pulls into Aguas Calientes. This small but lively village is the gateway to Machu Picchu. Everyone on their way to or from the ruins passes through here, so there’s a constant flow of travellers, buses and trains.

It’s a somewhat chaotic scene when you arrive, so you’ll be met at the train station by someone from your hotel. Once you’ve checked in, you can spend the rest of day three of your Machu Picchu by train tour getting to know the village. Instead of having a main square, the centre of Aguas Calientes is actually based along the rail tracks which run straight through the village. There are over 50 restaurants and cafes along the tracks so you won’t have any trouble finding a place to eat. In the afternoon, take a dip in the hot springs (where the village gets its name from) or go on a hike through the surrounding hills to one of the nearby waterfalls.

Day 4: Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Cuzco

On the fourth day of your Peru trip, you’ll need to be up at the crack of dawn to catch one of the first buses at 5.30am up to the entrance of Machu Picchu. It’s about 20 minutes by bus up a steep sandy road. You could walk, but it means you won’t get there until late morning. Arriving early in the day means you can explore the ruins in relative quiet before the crowds of day-trippers from Cuzco start arriving around 10.30am.

Besides, the ruins are at their most magical at dawn, as the sun slowly creeps up behind the mountains and the veil of mist lifts to reveal the ancient Inca city in all its glory. Only when the mist has lifted can you begin to grasp the sheer size of the complex, a real highlight of your Machu Picchu by train tour.

Machu Picchu by train - Visiting the ruins

As part of your Machu Picchu train tour, you’ll visit the ruins without a guide. The history, the purpose and even the decline of this Inca city still remains a mystery, so no guide would be able to tell you exactly what happened here. Wandering among the temples, houses and corridors you can decide on your own theory. If you’d like to have an English-speaking guide anyway, you can book one at the entrance.

One fact that has been proven is that the Incas managed to keep Machu Picchu hidden from the Spaniards and it wasn't until 1911, when an American archaeologist discovered the overgrown and deserted ruins by accident, that Machu Picchu was finally revealed to the outside world. If you have the time and the stamina, you can climb one of the two peaks at Machu Picchu (either 20 minutes or 2 hours walk).

Having explored the ruins for a few hours, you might be feeling a little peckish, so its time to get some lunch. There's a restaurant at the entrance (busy and touristy) or you could take the bus back to Aguas Calientes and find a spot at one of the rail side cafes. There's time for a final stroll along the souvenir stalls before picking up your bags at the hotel and boarding the train to Cuzco in the afternoon. You'll be travelling backpacker class which means you’ll be joined by lots of fellow tourists so you can swap your Peru trekking stories and relive the experience. You'll arrive back in Cuzco in the late evening. Get off the train at Poroy and take a taxi back to the centre of Cuzco, the final stop on your Machu Picchu by train tour. Because it's quite late by the time you arrive and you'll probably be feeling tired at the end of the long day, we suggest booking your accommodation in advance.

From Cuzco you can fly back to Lima or continue your Peru trip east to stay at our Peru Amazon Jungle Lodge.

Machu Picchu by train - Accommodation (Click to enlarge)

Click here for the quote request Form

Return to the overview of our Machu Picchu holidays

Or check out our wider range of Peru tours

Follow Rickshaw Travel and be inspired...