Machu Picchu Day Trip From Cusco 2023
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Last Updated on August 8, 2023 by James Bustamante
This situation happens with a lot of travelers. You don’t have a lot of time available but want to visit Machu Picchu as quickly as possible?
That’s a straightforward task with the appropriate plan. So below, we’re going to go through the steps to take a Machu Picchu day trip from Cusco, also known as the Machu Picchu Express Tour.
Most travelers coming to Peru usually want to spend as much time in Cusco and Machu Picchu as possible. The standard route involves spending 3-4 days in Cusco and 1-2 days in Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu.
Table of Contents
Book Your Day Trip To Machu Picchu
Day trips and activities for multi-day tours usually include:
- A Cusco city tour.
- A Sacred Valley Tour.
- Train rides to Aguas Calientes.
- A guided Hike to Machu Picchu.
This itinerary ends with a train ride back to Cusco. There are, of course, several alternatives to this 6-7 day Machu Picchu travel itinerary.
The express tour into Machu Picchu can also feature a few alternatives. Let’s go through the essential Machu Picchu day trip from Cusco outline below:
Machu Picchu Day Trip Outline
- Pick up at your Cusco hotel and transfer to Ollantaytambo train station near the Sacred Valley.
- Train to Aguas Calientes.
- Machu Picchu Guided Tour.
- Return Train Ticket to Cusco
As you can see, the day will be packed with travel time and activities. So now, let’s go through a more detailed itinerary of each section.
Machu Picchu Day Trip From Cusco Itinerary
The Machu Picchu day trip from Cusco itinerary is the shortest route to the Inca city. You’ll travel by road and train to reach the impressive citadel and return to Cusco the very same evening.
4:30 am – Pick Up at Your Hotel
We start the day with an early pick-up at your hotel in the city of Cusco. The driver will be ready to pick you up at around 4:30 am to make our way to the Ollantaytambo train station located about an hour away. Make sure to carry a day pack with
We arrive at Ollantaytambo station by 6:00 am and get ready to wait for the train. Depending on the package chosen, you will board either the Expeditions, Vistadome, or Hiram Bingham Train to the small town of Aguas Calientes
The driver will be ready to pick you up at around 4:30 am in the morning in order to make our way to the Ollantaytambo train station, located about an hour away. Make sure to carry a day pack with
6:30 am – Train to Aguas Calientes
Once we board the train, we’ll immediately be seated by the PeruRail or IncaRail staff.
The train ride takes anywhere from 1.5 hours to 2 hours and takes us through the fantastic Urubamba Valley. Your ticket will come with a snack and something to drink while you are on this gorgeous ride.
Please take this opportunity to view the sudden change in foliage as we get closer to the small town of Aguas Calientes. The train ride to Aguas Calientes through the Andean wilderness is one of the most beautiful rides in the world.
8:00 am – Arrival to Aguas Calientes and Consettur bus ride to Machu Picchu
Once we arrive at the train station in Aguas Calientes, we’ll walk out of the train with our daypacks and head to the shuttle station. You’ll notice the surroundings are vastly different than in Cusco.
The primary reason for the sudden change resides with Cusco being located in the highland region of Peru. In contrast, Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu’s location is in the cloud forest region at a much lower elevation.
The cloud forest is a point where the rainforest meets the highlands. The result is a much more humid climate and greener surroundings. If you were feeling a bit sick from the elevation and dry air in Cusco, being in Aguas Calientes will provide almost immediate relief.
The walk to the shuttle station takes from 5-10 minutes. On the way, we’ll pass by a street market and various restaurants offering everything from local cuisine, multiple items for breakfast, fruits, and even pizza. So if you skipped breakfast, now is the perfect time to get something to eat before boarding the shuttle.
8:35 am – We Board the Shuttle and Arrive at Machu Picchu
Once we reach the bus station, we’ll wait to board the vehicle. The bus ride up to Machu Picchu takes around 20 to 30 minutes, depending on weather and road conditions.
The ride is straight up through the winding paths surrounding the mountain—the bus ride offers some spectacular views of the surrounding valleys and mountains.
Once we arrive at the Machu Picchu entrance, we’ll proceed to get out of the shuttle and join our bilingual tour guide. Then, we’ll go through the ticket check and enter the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.
9:00 am – Machu Picchu Guided Tour
We’ve finally made it to the most anticipated destination, one of the new wonders of the world: Machu Picchu. Travelers agree, this place is full of energy, breathes history, and emanates culture, truly a fantastic place to admire.
The Machu Picchu guided tour starts at this point. In total, the tour will take around 2 hours, and once it has finished by 11, you can explore the Inca ruins on your own.
Some of the prominent landmarks and attractions in Machu Picchu Day Trip From Cusco that we’ll cover during the tour will be
Machu Picchu Guided Tour Outline
- Intihuatana.
- The Temple Of The Sun.
- Temple Of The Condor.
- Temple Of The Three windows.
- The Moon Temple (Reserved with Huayna Picchu permit)..
1:00 pm Leaving Machu Picchu
Once again, the group will get together at the Machu Picchu entrance by one in the afternoon. Then, we will head down the mountain back to Aguas Calientes at this point in the day. There is the option of hiking down the mountain which will take around 1.5 hours, or you can take the shuttle back to the town.
Some travelers prefer to take this opportunity to walk to Aguas Calientes due to the fantastic scenery provided. The impressive surroundings, such as the sun’s rays shining down on the mountains, make it quite the experience. However, this option is usually left for the more adventurous travelers.
1:30 pm Lunch in Aguas Calientes
Aguas Calientes
After the long hike in Machu Picchu, you’ll need some food and something to drink to replenish your energy. Take this time to visit one of the restaurants in Aguas Calientes for a nice lunch. You’ll find local food, vegan restaurants, pizzerias, and sandwich places all over.
Your restaurant is also an excellent place to wait while the train is ready to take us back to Ollantaytambo train station, so take your time with your meal and enjoy the last glimpses of this little town.
3:30 pm Return Train to Ollantaytambo Train station
The return train will take around 1.5 hours and go through a different route than the train to Aguas Calientes was on.
Enjoy the surrounding cloud forest as well as the beautiful Sacred Valley one last time. The train ticket will come with a snack as well as something to drink on the way to Ollantaytambo.
5:00 pm Arrival to Ollantaytambo station and shuttle Service to Cusco.
By 5:00 pm the train will arrive at the Ollantaytambo train station. We leave the train carefully and meet up with our driver at the entrance. Please make sure to have all your belongings on hand.
Once we leave the station, we will board our shuttle back to the city of Cusco. The total drive time will be anywhere from 1 hour to 1.5 hours.
6:45 pm Arrival at Cusco
The shuttle will arrive back in the city of Cusco near 7:00 pm and will end its journey near the main square.
What To Pack On Machu Picchu Day Trips?
The trip is only a day long, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to be well-packed and prepared for the day tour. So let’s go over some of the items you’ll want to include in your day pack.
- A rain poncho in case you are traveling during the wet season.
- Sunblock
- Chapstick or lip balm
- Hat or a cap
- Insect repellent.
- A Jacket or sweater in case it gets cold in the evenings.
- A water bottle
- A Camera or a good phone camera to take photographs.
Tips For Machu Picchu Day Trips From Cusco
There are a few ways to make your trip more enjoyable. For example, skip breakfast at the hotel. The guide and the private transport will be at your hotel, ready to pick you up anywhere from 4:00 am to 4:30 am.
Many travelers decide to have a quick breakfast or plan to get something from the hotel restaurant and eat it along the way. This can make you rush through your morning packing, and most people don’t like to rush through a meal. I would shiver at the idea of chugging my morning coffee while having to shove eggs and toast down my throat.
In addition, eating too quickly isn’t good for digestion, coupled with high elevation, which might give you a morning stomach ache, and you have a recipe for a bad time. So instead, wait until we arrive at the town of Ollantaytambo to have something for breakfast.
There are quaint little restaurants scattered in the village that are perfect places to enjoy the scenery while you sit down to have breakfast. There are also coffee shops in the train station if you don’t want to stray too far.
The second tip would be to take the Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes. You’ve made it this far, and now you must get to Machu Picchu. Why not get one of the best views on one of the most beautiful train rides in the world?
The vistadome line from PeruRail offers 180-degree views of the Urubamba Valley. It is an excellent way to see the landscapes from the train as we gently travel down to the cloud forest. This version of PeruRail is also more spacious and offers a better meal during the ride.
On the way back to Ollantaytambo, you can also take the vistadome due to the comfort and the mid-ride show that takes place. The downside is that you won’t see many of the same landscapes you did on the ride to Aguas Calientes. Also, since we travel back in the evening, visibility is minimal.
The third tip for the Machu Picchu Express Tour would be not to spend too much time in Aguas Calientes. If you were willing to spend the night, you would have time to go through the town, visit the hot springs, and see all the merchants.
Since this is an express trip, time is crucial. The best choice is to quickly get to the bus station and take the earliest shuttle available. Save your exploration of Aguas Calientes for after we visit Machu Picchu instead.
Tours To Cusco And Machu Picchu
Tours to Cusco and Machu Picchu will start in Lima. Then, we fly from the Peruvian capital city to the Velasco Astete airport in Cusco. For the first 24 to 48 hours, travelers should try to acclimate to the elevation. Remember, there is a protocol you should follow.
We can focus on day trips like the Rainbow Mountain tour, The Sacred Valley, or a hike to Humantay Lake in the following days. In addition, we can take tours to Cusco and Machu Picchu before or after other popular day hikes like the ones mentioned.
Make sure you have your desired dates picked out to book your tours to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Remember that the popular time to travel is over the dry season, which extends from late April to late August. While the weather will be agreeable for hiking and day trips, it will also have larger crowds on tours to Machu Picchu from Cusco.
Late March, April, September and October are excellent months with decently good weather with slightly fewer travelers than the high-season months. November and early December will have more rainy days and thunderstorms in the Peruvian highlands. Late December, January, and February will undoubtedly be the rainiest months.
Transportation From Cusco to Machu Picchu
There are a few ways to get from Cusco to Machu Picchu. The first and most widely used method of travel is to take transportation to the Ollantaytambo train station, located an hour and a half from Cusco. We then take a train to Aguas Calientes.
The total ride time is of almost two hours. Lastly, we take the tourist bus to the Machu Picchu entrance. This private transport, train, and shuttle program is the typical method we use for all-day trips to Machu Picchu from Cusco.
There are also multi-day hikes from Cusco to Machu Picchu, including the 2-day Inca Trail, The Classic 4-Day Inca Trail, and The Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. These include camping in the highlands before arriving at Machu Picchu a few days later.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed the Machu Picchu day trip from Cusco and that you take part in some of our other Peru tours. To book this tour, make Machu Picchu Reservations, or if you have any questions for our expert travel advisors, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via the form below
Frequently Asked Questions About Machu Picchu Day Trip From Cusco
Yes. There is an express Express Tour that picks you up in Cusco, goes to Machu Picchu, and ends back in Cusco that very evening.
Yes. With this schedule, the trip will start at around 4:30 am.
1. Sun Clock.
2. A water bottle.
3. A rain poncho.
4. Lip Balm or chapstick.
5. Insect repellent.
6. A backpack for your personal belongings.
7. A camera to take amazing pictures.
Each pass allows the traveler to enter Machu Picchu for a full shift. If you enter at 6am you’ll be able to stay until noon.
Yes visiting Machu Picchu is perfectly safe.
February is by far the wettest month of the rainy season so if you don’t like rain than avoid February.
Yes there are quite a few llamas and alpacas walking around Machu Picchu.
All guides are required to be at the very minimum bilingual and 100% of them speak English.
