The train to Machu Picchu: what to know before you ride

Machu Picchu sits above Machupicchu Pueblo, the town also called Aguas Calientes, and the usual way to the town is the train. Two companies run it, PeruRail and Inca Rail, on the same line, which EFE describes as about 43 km long and mostly single-track. A train ticket does not include the entry to the site, and the site itself is a separate bus ride above the town.

Where to board

Ollantaytambo, in the Sacred Valley, has the most departures, and the ride from there takes about an hour and a half with either company. From farther away the trip grows longer. PeruRail gives about two and a half hours from Urubamba, about three and a half from Poroy, and about four and a half from San Pedro station in Cusco. Inca Rail's connection from Cusco, a bus from its office on Av. El Sol and then the train, takes 3.5 to 5 hours.

Timetables change with the season. In PeruRail's timetable for January to April 2026, there were no trains from San Pedro or Poroy. Travelers from Cusco took a bus from Wanchaq station and changed to the train in the valley. Check the timetable for your own dates, not last year's.

Classes

PeruRail runs the Expedition, the Vistadome, the Vistadome Observatory, and the Hiram Bingham, with Belmond. Inca Rail runs The Voyager, The 360°, The Prime, The First Class, and The Private. Every class runs on the same line, so the choice is about the carriage and the service on board.

Luggage and documents

Both companies allow one piece of hand luggage per person, 8 kg at most. PeruRail sets the size at 115 cm in height, length, and width combined in its FAQ, while another of its pages says 157 cm, so pack to the smaller figure. Inca Rail sets 118 cm. The rest can stay behind: PeruRail offers free storage in Ollantaytambo, and Inca Rail keeps locked bags at its Ollantaytambo ticket office.

One bag, one passport, and 30 minutes at the station before the train leaves.

Bring your passport. Both companies ask for it to board, and both ask you to be at the station 30 minutes before departure. PeruRail notes that the bus up to the site asks for it as well.

From the station to the gate

Buses climb from the town to the site in 25 to 30 minutes, according to PeruRail, and the bus ticket is separate from the train. The service is in transition: the long-standing operator's concession ended in September 2025, two companies have run the route since then, and a new tender was relaunched in September 2026. Check the current seller and fare when you plan. On foot, the climb takes about two hours, by PeruRail's estimate.

Timing the day

Entry is at the hour on your ticket, with a tolerance of 30 minutes in the low season and 45 in the high season. We found no official advice on how much time to leave between the train and the entry. PeruRail's own sample day leaves an hour between arrival in the town and entry at the site.

The line also stops at times. In October 2026, traffic halted twice for hours: on October 2, after an incident between a PeruRail and an Inca Rail train, with no one hurt, and on October 5, after a PeruRail local train broke down. On a mostly single-track line, one stopped train holds the trains behind it. Choose an earlier train than the timetable seems to require, and keep the evening after the return free of anything you cannot move, such as a flight. In our routes, Machu Picchu has a day of its own, kept apart from the other long days.

The road through Hidroeléctrica

There is another way in. PeruRail describes about six hours by road from Cusco, through Santa María and Santa Teresa, to the Hidroeléctrica station. From there, a train takes about 30 minutes to the town, or the walk about two and a half hours. PeruRail also notes that there is no public transport from Santa Teresa to Aguas Calientes, so the last stretch is the train or the walk.

We wrote about the full day in Machu Picchu from Cusco in one day, about the ticket in How to buy Machu Picchu tickets in 2026 and 2027, and about choosing a route in Which Machu Picchu circuit should you choose?.