Cusco to Machu Picchu is the classic Peru itinerary, and it works because the two sites are not just connected logistically — they are two layers of the same story. Cusco was the Inca capital. Machu Picchu was an imperial estate of the same emperor who rebuilt it, Pachacuti.
Start in Cusco. Two nights for the altitude. Walk Qorikancha (the Inca sun temple under the Dominican convent), the San Pedro market, Sacsayhuamán above the city. The train leaves from Poroy or Wanchaq (Cusco) or Ollantaytambo and drops you three and a half hours later in Aguas Calientes.
From the station, a 25-minute Consettur bus climbs to the citadel gate. Current entry uses three timed circuits — Circuit 2 is the standard route with the Temple of the Sun and the main terraces.
Peruways bundles the whole chain: Cusco stay, train (any class from Expedition to Hiram Bingham), bus and timed-entry ticket, with licensed guides who know the construction and the chronology rather than reading from a script.
Reserve at Peruways.
