Visit The Legendary Machu Picchu And Safe Some Money

The biggest attraction you’ll want to see in Peru is the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is the ruins of a pre-Columbian iconic Incan city in the Peruvian Andes. They are located on a mountain saddle 400 meters above the Urubamba River at an altitude of 2,430 meters above sea level, approximately 80 km northwest of the city of Cuzco.

Visiting Machu Picchu is not exactly a cheap affair. But we’ll show you a slightly cheaper option than the classic tourist route. Well, don’t worry. But we’d rather show you all of them :-).

Classic tourist route (most common)

Let’s first take a look at the route that most tourists choose.

From the city of Cuzco or Ollantaytambo you have to get to the town of Aguas Calientes, which is the starting point for visiting Machu Picchu. However, there is no road leading here, only a train. From both Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, it takes a couple of hours to get here by train. However, the cheapest return ticket will set you back $130.

From Aguas Calientes you can then reach the gates of Machu Picchu by bus, which runs from 5:30 in the morning at regular intervals. The journey takes about 30 minutes and a return ticket will cost you USD 24.
When you arrive at the gate, you must have already purchased a ticket in advance for the tour you want to take. You currently have 5 tours to choose from.

The Machu Picchu city tour only costs 152 PEN (41 USD). If you want to enter the surrounding mountains of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu, your ticket will cost 200 PEN (54 USD). It is possible to combine tickets to do more than one tour. However, even from the basic city tour, you’ll see that legendary view of Machu Picchu from the lookout above the city. To visit the city, you can hire a certified guide before entering. The guides speak excellent English and their knowledge is of a high standard. The price per person depends on the number of people in the group. You will pay around 140 PEN (38 USD) for the whole group.

A cheaper and more adventurous option

As one of our friends said, “I want to earn the view.”

You can take a minibus from Cuzco as far as possible and then walk to Aguas Calientes. In this case, the return trip will cost you only 70 PEN (19 USD). The minibus will take you to the hydroelectric power plant outside the town of Santa Teresa (Central Hidroelectrica). From here you have to walk 11 km along the tracks and the river to the town of Aguas Calientes.

This trip will take you almost the whole day. It is therefore necessary to spend the night in Aguas Calientes. In the morning you can skip the tourist bus and walk the 3.5 km to the gate of Machu Picchu. However, expect to sweat a lot :-).

Here you have the whole morning to visit the city and in the afternoon you have to go back the same way to be back in Cuzco at least by midnight. It’s a tougher journey, but even if you pay for accommodation in Aguas Calientes, it will be a few thousand cheaper than the train and bus.

For adventurers – Inca trail and Salkantay trail

If you are of a more adventurous nature, have more time and also more money, you can also go to Machu Picchu on your own via the well-known trails. The Inca Trail or the Salkantay Trail are for several days and, for example, you only need to walk the Inca Trail with a guide.

You’ll be rewarded with incredible views and a great feeling of overcoming yourself. Prices range from $500 USD and you can buy the trek from any agency in town, or the one recommended by us below.

How to arrange this whole trip?

If you want to have a completely hassle-free trip to Machu Picchu, just visit one of the agencies in Cuzco and simply purchase the entire trip. The agencies offer options with train, minibus and walking. They will arrange your train tickets, tickets to Machu Picchu and any accommodation in Aguas Calientes.

Going through an agency is definitely convenient, but some of them will charge really big bucks. For us, a combination of driving with an agency and arranging accommodation with tickets on your own is ideal. How about the different options?

I want to take the train but on my own without agency

In this case, just buy the train tickets, go to the station in Cuzco and set off. There are two train companies that run to Aguas Calientes. One is called Perurail and the other is called Incarail. You can buy tickets on the website: www.perurail.com and www.incarail.com.

Tickets for the bus to the Machu Picchu Gate do not need to be booked in advance. They can be purchased directly in the village of Aguas Calientes, a short walk from the bus stop. Specifically, at the office at 111 Sinchi Roca Street.

And then of course you need the actual ticket to Machu Picchu. Don’t hesitate too much to buy a ticket, as the total capacity of the town is limited to 2,500 visitors per day.

If you want to enter for example the Huayna Picchu mountain, you need to book your ticket even several weeks in advance. Admission must be purchased directly for a specific hour. However, there is no limit to the amount of time you can spend in the city. The official ticketing site is only www.machupicchu.gob.pe.

I want to take a minibus and then go on my own but without agency

In this case we still recommend you to visit an agency. However, only book a transfer to the Hidroelectrica. Each agency offers this service for 70 PEN (19 USD), which is exactly the same price as if you were going on your own.

The agency will pick you up at your hotel and take you directly to the power plant. Here, the driver will drop you off and tell you the time he will be waiting for you there the next day. Then it’s up to you to be there at the right time the next day.

If you don’t want to visit the agencies at all, you can go to Terminal de Quillamaba in Cuzco and hop on a minibus to Santa Teresa. From there you have to take a taxi the rest of the way. But it’s a much longer, more difficult journey and won’t save you a penny. Supposedly there are also several minibuses that leave directly from Plaza de Armas every morning to the power station, but we haven’t personally verified this.

From the power station, walk to the town of Aguas Calientes, where you can, for example, book accommodation via www.booking.com. Accommodation prices range from 12 USD per night depending on the quality of the accommodation.

If you want to save money on the bus ride to the gate of Machu Picchu, you’ll have to get up and walk there. Don’t forget your purchased ticket to Machu Picchu. You should ideally leave at 6am.

How did we do it?

We chose a mixed path and arranged our own tickets and accommodation. We used the Good Trips Peru agency (Av. El Sol 102 Cusco, WhatsApp: +51 989 812 716) for transportation to the hydroelectric plant. We walked 11 km from the hydroelectric plant and also chose to walk instead of taking the bus in the morning.

By the way we used the agency for other trips as well. When you book multiple trips with them at the same time, you get a much better price. You can find the agency a short walk from Plaza de Armas, or you can contact them via WhatsApp.

Tips for visiting Machu Picchu

If you take the same route as we did, there’s no need to take extra large supplies of food and water. Just 1.5 litres of water per person and some snacks. There are a few food stands along the way and there are plenty of shops, restaurants and cafes in the town of Aguas Calientes in a variety of price ranges. Just don’t let that be too much of a burden.

What to watch out for when visiting Machu Picchu

Really don’t underestimate buying your tickets early, especially if you want to visit Huayna Picchu. For the summer months, when it’s peak tourist season, you should plan on booking months in advance.

If you go into town in the early hours of the morning, there’s a pretty good chance it will rain, so be sure to bring either waterproof clothing or a raincoat. Around 8am, the clouds usually start to break up and the sun may even be shining by the time you leave. However, the weather here is more about luck, so it’s pointless to plan your visit according to the forecast. It’s just going to work out or not :-). Early in the morning, however, you have a great chance to see Machu Picchu without tourists, and it’s definitely worth it.