If you’re planning the trip, Machu Picchu tours from Cusco are the mainstream way to reach the citadel. Cusco sits 90 minutes from the Ollantaytambo station and is the staging city for every route — train, Inca Trail, Salkantay. Below is a straight guide to the four options and the booking logic.

How to reach Machu Picchu from Cusco

Cusco at 3,400m is the old Inca capital and the launch pad for every Machu Picchu itinerary. There are four main routes:

  1. The train
    The mainstream option. Most trains leave Ollantaytambo (90 minutes from Cusco by road); a few leave Poroy near Cusco. The rail segment is 90 minutes to 2 hours through the Urubamba gorge. Operators are PeruRail and Inca Rail. Cabin classes range from the economical Expedition (PeruRail) and Voyager (Inca Rail) up to the luxury Hiram Bingham (Belmond), which runs once a day and is roughly 10x the budget price.

  2. The Inca Trail
    Four days of hiking, three nights in tents, finishing with sunrise through the Sun Gate on day 4. Permit-capped at 500 people a day (half of those porters and guides), so book 6 months out for high-season dates. The best way to approach the citadel if you have the time and the fitness.

  3. Alternative treks
    Salkantay (5 days, no permit cap, higher altitude pass at 4,630m) and Lares (3–4 days, Quechua village focus) both end at Machu Picchu. Different scenery, more flexibility on dates, and in some ways a quieter experience than the Inca Trail itself.

Booking the tour

Book early. The Ministry of Culture caps citadel entries at 4,500 a day, allocated by timed slot and circuit, and high-season dates sell out weeks ahead.

At PeruWays, the train, the bus and the citadel entry go into one checkout. We cover all four routes above, from the Expedition day return up to the Inca Trail four-day. Pick the format and we handle the inventory.

Why book with PeruWays?

  1. Local, licensed guides
    MINCETUR-licensed, English-speaking (plus French/German/Portuguese on request), with the archaeology background to explain the stones rather than just point at them.

  2. Personalised bookings
    Solo, family, group — the itinerary gets matched to the booking. Pacing, cabin class, hotel location are all discussed up front.

  3. One checkout
    Book the full chain on peruways.com. Train, bus, entry, guide — one email, one confirmation.

Plan your trip

Pick a date, pick a route, book it. Start at peruways.com.