Exploring Machu Picchu

Exploring Machu Picchu

You can visit Machu Picchu on a day trip, but we recommend an overnight stay at the hotel near the entrance to the ruins or at a hotel in the town of Aguas Calientes, 8 km (5 mi) from the ruins. If you have only time for a day trip you'll have just a few hours at Machu Picchu, so bring a lunch with you; if you line up in the crowded cafeteria you'll have even less time, as you must leave to catch the bus back down to Aguas Calientes and the train back to Cusco. On the other hand, if you stay overnight you'll be able to wander the ruins after most tourists have gone. You'll also have time for a soak in the thermal baths in Aguas Calientes.

If you're a day-tripper, follow the crowd out of the rail station about a block away to the Consettur Machupicchu shuttle buses, which ferry you uphill to the ruins, a journey of about 20 minutes. Buy your S/40 round-trip ticket at a booth next to the line of buses before boarding. If you have the time to stay overnight, you'll first check in to your lodging and can come back later to buy a bus ticket. Buses leave Aguas Calientes for the ruins beginning at 6:30 AM and continue more or less hourly, with a big push in mid-morning as the trains begin to arrive from Cusco. The last bus up leaves about 1 PM. Buses start coming back down about 11:30 AM, with a last departure at 5:30. If you're a day visitor and heading back to Cusco, take the bus back down an hour before your train is scheduled to depart. If you stay in Aguas Calientes overnight, you'll also have time to buy your admission ticket to Machu Picchu itself at the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (Avenida Pachacutec s/n, open daily 6-noon and 1-5) in town just off the Plaza de Armas, thus avoiding the long high-season lines at the ticket booth at the ruins' entrance.

The illusion of being high above the valley floor makes you forget that Machu Picchu sits 2,490 meters (8,170 feet) above sea level, a much lower altitude than Cusco. This is semitropical highland forest. It gets warm here, and the ruins have little shade. Sunscreen, a hat, and water are musts. Officially, no food or drink are permitted within the ruins, but you can be unobtrusive with a bottle of water. Large packs must be left at the entrance. There are few signs inside to explain what you're seeing; booklets and maps are for sale at the entrance.