Ollantaytambo station is where most travellers to Machu Picchu actually board their train. PeruRail and Inca Rail both run services from here down the Urubamba Valley to Aguas Calientes — a 90-minute ride that is cheaper and more frequent than the Cusco–Poroy option, which only runs seasonally.
From Ollantaytambo, you can pick the Belmond Hiram Bingham (PeruRail’s luxury service), the Vistadome or 360° observation trains, or the Expedition and Voyager budget services. All of them use the same single-track line that follows the river down to 2,040 m.
If you have an hour before your train, the Ollantaytambo fortress above the town is worth climbing. It is the only Inca settlement still laid out on its original grid, and Manco Inca defeated a Spanish cavalry force here in 1537 by flooding the terraces.
The station is small; arrive 30 minutes early and bring your passport (ID checked at boarding). Peruways books all four operators from Ollantaytambo plus the matching Consettur bus and entrance ticket, so you walk off the train in Aguas Calientes with the next two tickets already in your inbox.
