Getting Around

Getting Around

By Air: Aero Condor (www.aerocondor.com.pe) flies daily from Cusco to Lima. LanPeru (www.lan.com) connects Cusco with Lima, Arequipa, Juilaca, and Puerto Maldonado. Star Perú (www.starperu.com.pe) and TACA Peru (www.taca.com) fly from Cusco to Lima.

By Bus: Cusco's bus terminal is at the Terminal Terrestre on Pachacútec, not far from the airport. The best company running from Cusco is Cruz del Sur. Bus travel between the Cusco and the Sacred Valley is cheap, frequent.. and sometimes accident-prone.

By Car: For exploring the Sacred Valley, a car is the best option. The vehicular tourist route ends at Ollantaytambo. Cusco is the only place to rent a vehicle. However, you won't need or want to drive inside the city; heavy traffic, lack of parking, and narrow streets, many of them pedestrian only, make a car a burden.

By Taxi: Cusco's licensed taxis bear a black-and-gold checkered rectangle on each side, and a light-color official taxi sticker on the windshield. Fares are S/2 within the central city and S/3 after 10 PM. Have your hotel or restaurant call a taxi for you at night.

Honda Motokar taxis—semi-open, three-wheeled motorized vehicles with room for two passengers—ply the streets of Sacred Valley towns. Touring the Sacred Valley from Cusco with one of the city's taxis costs about US$50.

By Train: PeruRail's Andean Explorer departs from Cusco (at Wanchaq Station on Pachacutec) Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 8 AM for Puno, with a stop in Juliaca. The scenic journey takes 10 hours. There is no rail service between Lima and Cusco.

Two classes of daily service to Machu Picchu depart from Cusco's San Pedro station. Purchase tickets in advance from the PeruRail sales office at Cusco's Wanchaq Station or from a travel agency. Trains depart super early in the morning. The luxury Hiram Bingham service departs from the station in Poroy at 9 AM.