Aguas Calientes — officially Machu Picchu Pueblo — is the gateway town in the Urubamba gorge below the citadel. Everyone arriving by train stops here, and most travellers spend one night in town to catch the sunrise circuit the following morning.
Peruways’ Aguas Calientes package covers the whole chain: train from Cusco or Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes hotel, Consettur bus up to the citadel gate, timed-entry ticket, and a licensed Peruvian guide for the main circuit.
The sunrise angle is the reason to overnight. Catch the first bus (5:30am), be at the gate for the 6am entry, and the citadel is in valley mist with the sun breaking over the ridge about 20 minutes after you walk in. The moment the mist peels off the terraces is the one worth the hotel.
The town itself is small — three streets up from the river, hot springs at the top, a market on the main drag — and most things in it are oriented to the next day’s trip. A dinner at Indio Feliz or Treehouse is the local recommendation. Book at Peruways.
