Machu Picchu Day Tour: The Ultimate Trip from Cusco to the Lost City of the Incas
Experience the best Machu Picchu day trip in 2025! Enjoy a scenic sightseeing tour by train from Cusco to Machu Picchu, with breathtaking landscapes
Description
A Machu Picchu day trip by train is a fascinating way to reach the legendary Lost City of the Incas! One of the Seven Wonders of the World and a top tourist destination, Machu Picchu features stunning stone structures carved with incredible precision and detail. Built on a rugged, seemingly inaccessible mountain, it stands as the most remarkable achievement of the Inca civilization, combining breathtaking natural beauty with extraordinary engineering.
The Machu Picchu day tour starts early in the morning from your hotel. As you travel from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, take in the breathtaking scenery of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. From Ollantaytambo, take the train to Machu Picchu and enjoy breathtaking views as you approach this iconic site in the subtropical region of Cusco.
Upon arrival in Aguas Calientes (a small town located just below Machu Picchu), you will board a tourist shuttle bus that will take you directly to the entrance of this unique Inca citadel. There you will receive a guided tour. Take panoramic photos of the ancient Inca citadel and its magnificent surroundings.
In the afternoon, take the train back to Ollantaytambo and continue your journey back to Cusco. Book now and experience the unforgettable Machu Picchu Day Tour! Although much of the day is spent traveling by van and train, the experience is well worth it. In hindsight, you'll be grateful you booked this tour instead of regretting you missed out on such an extraordinary trip.
What to Expect
Machu Picchu Day Trip Overview
Sustainable Tourism: At Machu PicchuT, we are happy to promote and practice sustainable tourism by being eco-friendly and supporting local communities
Service Level: Comfortable private transport, activities and professional guided tour English or Spanish.
Physical Rating: Easy walking and hiking suitable for most fitness levels. Not too challenging66
Age requirement: 2+ / All travellers under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Type of Trip: Independent trips are either entire trips you take privately to a group tour. Local staff are available on 24/7
1 Day Machu Picchu Operator: Machu PicchuT Travel
Staff: A Machu PicchuT Representative in Cusco and a professional bilingual Tour Guide at Machu Picchu.
Transportation: Van, train, bus.
Machu Picchu Day Trip Itinerary
- Wake up early 05:00 and Private car Cusco - Ollantaytambo train station (1hr 30min)
- Ollantaytanto - train to Machu Picchu at 07:20
- Arrived to Machu Picchu town or Aguas Calientes at 9:00
- Meet with your guide and bus up to the citadel 9:30 aprox
- Guided tour of Machu Picchu 10:00 (2 hours)
- Take a break and visit Machu Picchu by yourself
- Train return to Ollantaytambo at 19:00
- Arrived to Ollantaytambo at 20:30
- Transfer by small private car to Cusco at 22:006
Highlights of the Machu Picchu Day Trip
- Comfortable and quick way on how to get to Machu Picchu.
- Opportunity to view the Sacred Valley of the Incas as well as subtropical nature on the way to the Inca citadel.
- Guided tour of Machu Picchu.
- Time off to explore and discover Machu Picchu on your own.
- An opportunity to take the panoramic picture
- Explore the lost city of the Incas
- Visit the temple of the Condor.
Itineray Details
Machu Picchu Day Tour
In the morning, we pick you up from your hotel and transfer your to a railway station (either at Poroy, which is 30 minutes far away from Cusco or at Ollantaytambo which takes 1 hour and 40 minutes from Cusco). There you board a train and travel for about 1 hour 45 minutes experiencing spectacular changeable landscapes passing through lush fields and colourful villages placed on the foothill of the Andes. The highlight of the way are wonderful views of mountains and the marvellous Urubamba River that runs through the Sacred Valley of the Incas. In the end, you reach Aguas Calientes, a town just below Machu Picchu, where our Representative welcomes you at the railway station to accompany you to a bus stop. There you get on a shuttle bus taking you up to the archaeological complex of Machu Picchu following a zigzag path for about 25 minutes.
Once in Machu Picchu, your Tour Guide introduces you the most important attractions of this antique Incan site such as its main square, the Sun Temple, Intiwatana (Sun Clock), the Royal Rooms, the Temple of the Three Windows and the Royal Incas Cemetery. This guided tour takes about 2 and half an hour and then you are given time off to explore around the complex and to climb Huayna Picchu (or Machu Picchu Mountain) to take some amazing panoramic photos of Machu Picchu. So please do not forget your camera and enjoy the visit of the "One of the New 7 Wonders of the World" !!
When you have enjoy the site enough, you take a shuttle bus down to Aguas Calientes where you can have lunch (not included in the package) in one of many lovely restaurants offering traditional Andean as well as international cuisine. Afterwards, you can visit the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes or the Museum of the Site (neither entrance of these is included in the package).
In the afternoon, we take a train back to Ollantaytambo (alternatively to Poroy) where our driver expects us in front of the railway station to transfer us to Cusco.
Included
What is included in this tour?
- Pre-trek briefing (Our guide will visit your hotel a day before the trek for your briefing)
- Entrance fee to Machu Picchu;
- Professional English Tour Guide;
- A train round trip to Machu Picchu (to choose your class, please check the Prices section);
- Meals: 01 Snack (Organic cotton bag)
- A shuttle bus Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - a round trip
- Private transportation Cusco-Ollantaytambo-Cusco;.
Not Included
- Pre & post tour accommodation,
- Meals nor beverages (excepting refreshment offered on trains),
- Travel insurance,
- Tips and baggage portage (please note: it is a custom to give tips in Peru; however, it is not obligatory),
- Other extras not mentioned.
Meals budget: Please allow USD 20 - 30 for meals not included.
Local flights: No local flight is included in the cost of the tours.
Tour Guide & A Representative
The Machu PicchuT tour guide will be waiting at the train station with your name. Once you meet, he/she will take you to the bus station.
All Machu PicchuT traveller group tours are accompanied by a Machu PicchuT Tour Guide, a Representative or an expedition team. The aim of our Tour Guides is to take a hassle out of our customers’ trips and to help them to have the best trip possible. The Tour Guides provide information on places visited, offer suggestions of what to see and to do, recommend a good place to eat and introduce to his/her colleagues. The Guides have a broad general knowledge of each country visited during a tour, including historical, cultural, religious and social aspects. We also use local Tour Guides where we think that more specific knowledge could add more enjoyment to visited places.
Perurail and Inca Rail trains
The Machu Picchu day trip is included the train round trip to Machu Picchu. Machu PicchuT work with the two company Perurail and Inca Rail, These companies train offer the best service from Cusco to Machu Picchu and back.
You can get to Machu Picchu and back by train in a very comfortable and environmentally friendly way. You can. read here which trains run, how to book and what else you should consider.
From Cusco to Machu Picchu
Wake early and you will catch the train to Machu Picchu, you decided on a worthwhile journey. The leisurely train ride takes you through the Sacred Valley. Overwhelming mountains rise up to the left and right, while you pass small villages again and again. The destination station is called Aguas Calientes
PeruRail - Expedition Train
Ollantaytambo - Machu Picchu
| |
Departure |
Arrival to Machu Picchu |
| Expedition 71 |
05:05 |
06:35 |
| Expedition 81 |
06:10 |
07:40 |
Machu Picchu to Cusco
| |
Departure |
Arrival to Ollantaytambo |
Arrival to Cusco |
| Expedition 74 |
14:55 |
16:31 |
18:30 |
| Expedition 84 |
18:20 |
20:05 |
22:00 |
| Expedition 86 |
20:50 |
22:50 |
23:50 |
IncaRail - The Voyager Train
Ollantaytambo - Machu Picchu
| |
Departure |
Arrival to Machu Picchu |
| The Voyager |
06:40 |
08:10 |
Machu Picchu to Cusco
| |
Departure |
Arrival to Ollantaytambo |
Arrival to Cusco |
| The Voyager |
14:30 |
15:56 |
18:40 |
| The Voyager |
19:00 |
20:41 |
22:30 |
| The Voyager |
20:20 |
21:59 |
23:00 |
Peru Rail from Cusco to Machu Picchu
Peru Rail is the only one that runs the route Cusco (Poroy) - Ollantaytambo - Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) and back. So book your trip to Machu Picchu as early as possible. It's best to do this as soon as you know when you want to go, because the train tickets are getting more and more expensive or towards the end only the expensive categories are available. There are 3 different booking classes, which differ in price and service:
- The Expedition Train
- The Vistadome Train
- Hiram Bingham - The luxury train to Machu Picchu
Inca Rail from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu
You could choose Inca Rail for the Machu Picchu Day Trip. Inca Rail only runs the route between Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes, not to Cusco. You can booking also online here via our website. Inca Rail also offers several ticket categories:
- Voyager Machu Picchu Train with normal windows
- 360° Inca Rail train with panoramic windows
- Voyager Machu Picchu Premiun rain
If you want more information about the panoramic train, please click on Vistadome train or 360 train Machu Picchu
Essential Information
Machu Picchu Entrance Hours
- During the validity of the health emergency, the daily schedule of tourist visits to Machu Picchu starts at 6:00 am and ends at 4:00 pm.
- There are 9 time ranges for visitors to enter the Machu Picchu citadel, the first time range is from 6:00 am to 7:00 am and the last from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm.
- Visitors must board a shuttle bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu, no later than 30 minutes before the time indicated on the relevant tickets.
Machu Picchu Tour Guide
The circuits for a tourist visit to the Inca Citadel are one-way and there are four defined circuits, the Machu Picchu guide will help you to give you more information:
1. Short High Circuit.
2. Long High
3. Short Low.
4. Long Low.
- From reopening until further notice, visiting hours will not be held at the Inti Huatana (Solar Clock) and Templo del Cóndor (Condor Temple) complexes, while the Temple of the Sun will not be available at all for tourist visits.
- Similarly, the alternative routes of the Machu Picchu citadel (Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu mountains, Puente Inka and Inti Punku - Sun Gate) will not be available for tourists visits until further notice!
Suggest Items
A kind of luggage you need to take with depends on a kind of tour you plan to undertake, a part of the country you like to visit, a year season and a length of your trip. In general, you should pack as lightly as possible because you carry your own luggage during most of our tours (however, there are not long walking distances – up to 30 minutes). We recommend you to keep weight of your luggage under 7 kg (20 lb.).
Most of travelers use a suitcase. However, a big backpack would be more suitable. In any case, please do not forget a small rucksack that you will need for daily travels (to carry your bottled water, camera, snacks, etc.). It is better to avoid a wheeled luggage and use luggage with shoulder straps.
What Kind of Clothing to Pack to Machu Picchu
Clothing to take with you depends on a year season in Peru and a part of country you plan to visit.
If you plan to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu (Andean mountain range or Altiplano), then we recommend you to take some trousers suitable for hiking, shorts, T-shirts and trekking shoes for the days; and sweaters, fleeces, hats, scarves and warm jackets for the nights. You also should take a sun protection cream, sun glasses and in some cases, mosquito repellent (depending on a route chosen). It is very convenient to have a light rain-gear available in a daypack (e.g. a waterproof poncho or jacket and/or waterproof trousers) as weather changes quickly and rains can suddenly occur. For more details, please check the below link of “What to Bring on the Inca Trail Expedition Tour”.
What to take on the Machu Picchu Day Tour
- Passport Original and copies
- Travel insurance(+ copies for a case of lost),
- Cash in USD or credit cards,
- Day pack (to carry your personal items during daily travels),
- Rain gear (a rain-jacket and a waterproof trousers or a rain poncho - this can be purchased in Cusco),
- Resistible footwear, waterproof trekking shoes are recommended,
- Sandals (for a higher comfort while at a hotspring in Aguas Calientes),
- Hat or a cap (to protect you against the Sun, rain as well as cold),
- Sun cream or sun block,
- After-sun cream or hydrating cream for face and body,
- Insect repellent– recommended minimum is 20% DEET (please note that no malaria has been reported during this trip!),
- Camera and its charger/batteries (please note that batteries are consumed quickly under cold conditions),
- Small towel and toiletries,
- Sufficient reserve of underwear,
- Swimsuit (to visit the thermal baths of Aguas Calientes),
- Snacks (biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, raw fruits, muesli, etc.)
Please note: we do provide a daily morning snack and our meal service is very complete and well supplied. The recommendation of taken own snack applies only for customers who like a specific snack that might not be in our menu.
- Bottled water for the first morning and a water bottle.
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