PeruRail runs the main train service from Cusco to Machu Picchu — three service classes, same route. Starting from Poroy just outside Cusco, the full ride takes about 3.5 hours; from Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, it’s roughly 1 hour 45 minutes.
The route follows the Urubamba (Vilcanota) river down the Sacred Valley and into the gorge below Ollantaytambo. You pass the terraces at Pisac and Ollantaytambo, Veronica peak (5,750m) to the south, and the point where the valley narrows into cloud forest.
PeruRail’s classes: Expedition (the entry-level service with full windows), Vistadome (glass roof panels, food and drinks included, Andean music), and Belmond Hiram Bingham (Pullman carriages, lunch, bar car, live music). All see the same scenery; the Hiram Bingham turns the ride into an event.
Through Peruways you book the train, the Consettur shuttle up to the citadel, and the entry ticket together — one booking covers the day.
The train is the trip as much as the destination.
