Machu Picchu Travel Answers

That is the right route but we were recommended to stay a couple of days in Cuzco to acclimatise to the altitude because altitude sickness can be very debilitating. I don't know how long you need to acclimitise and whether you could do it in Aguas Calientes instead of Cuzco. What we did that I would recommend to anyone who has some extra money and really wants to have a special MP experience is to stay up at the hotel at Macchu Picchu. You get to see the sun rise and set with only a few other people there and it's magic. It is expensive though because you not only have to pay the very high rate at that hotel but you also have to stay in their hotel in Cuzco as well which is also very expensive.

Actually, the train starts in Cusco, so you don't need all day to get to Ollantaytambo. I know that when we flew in, we had to overnight in Cusco because our travel links did not allow us to catch the train the same day. We flew in to Cusco from Iquitos via Lima and landed there later in the afternoon after the last train had left. While not necessarily ideal, a lot of people were doing this as a daytrip from Cusco while we were there. Early train from Cusco, arriving at MP around 10:00AM or so and taking the train back to Cusco mid-afternoon, which would let you overnight in Cusco and fly out the next day to Lima to make your connection back home. You'll have to check the train / airline schedules. I'm sure things have changed in the last 8 years since we were there. So three days, likely doable; but four would be required to do an overnight trip, depending on your flight schedules. By the way, Cusco is "at altitude", but Machu Picchu is not, so acclimatization for MP is not an issue. With Peruvian government restricting the number of visitors to the site, you would probably want to look at getting tickets ahead of time.

Sometimes there are weather/visibility issues at the Cuzco airport and the flights are delayed or postponed so don't make your connection in Lima too tight.

Hey everyone, thanks for the information. I am still a little confused though. MP is actually at a lower altitude than Cuzco? So why do people stay in Cuzco? Why not just go directly to MP (I think I saw some less expensive hotels there?), spend a night in a hotel there and then come back to Cuzco for a day or two?

Yes Cusco is at 3,399 m / 11,152 ft while Aguas Calientes (the town just below Machu Picchu) is at 2,040 m /6,690 ft. In fact, according to an MD friend who does altitude medicine, tells me that elevations below 2,134m / 7,000 ft are not considered to be at altitude, so you should not experience altitude related issues. And yes, people do go directly to Machu Picchu (we did that, more or less). Why do people stay in Cusco? Much more to see there. Cusco was the capital city of the Incan Empire and there are Incan and Spanish ruins to visit. There isn't a lot to do in Aguas Calientes, so people stay there to visit the ruins and then move on.

In addition people who are hiking to MP have to start and acclimatize in Cuzco. Also as GrumpyDiver said Cuzco is much more interesting than Aguas Calientes so people tend to spend time there.

So, perhaps in arriving from Peru on a Friday, I stay overnight, that night in Aguas Calientes and go to MP all day Saturday and then go up to Cuzco on Sunday? Spend Sun/Mon and head out for Lima and home on Tuesday? I would like to go to the Pisac ruins and market, is that easy from Cuzco? I heard the market is fabulous on Sunday!