The 110 km of track between Cusco and Machu Picchu is some of South America’s most scenic railway. PeruRail and Inca Rail both operate it, down the Urubamba gorge to Aguas Calientes.
Trip time is 3h20 from Poroy (outside Cusco) and 1h40 from Ollantaytambo (deeper in the Sacred Valley). Most travellers overnight in Ollantaytambo and take the shorter leg.
Service classes range from economy — PeruRail Expedition, Inca Rail Voyager — up to the Belmond Hiram Bingham, a 1920s-style Pullman with four-course lunch and open observation car. The mid-tier Vistadome and Inca Rail 360 are what most travellers end up on: oversized panoramic windows for the gorge section.
The route climbs through the Sacred Valley, drops into the Urubamba gorge after Ollantaytambo, and follows the river as the canyon narrows into cloud forest at Aguas Calientes. Veronica (5,682 m) is the peak visible on the ridge opposite for most of the ride.
Peruways books the train, Consettur bus and citadel entry on one confirmation. The train alone is one of those travel segments that stays in memory as much as the destination.
