Lima Travel Forum

Hi vters!

I'm planning to go early in machupichu to see the sunrise and trek to

huayna pichu - should i stay one night in aguas calientes or in

ollantaytambo? (im also planning to stay in cusco for 3 nights)

thanks!

you will have to stay in aguas calientes if you plan to go to machu picchu at sunrise.

right, you've to be at AC
at ollantaytambo you could go by bus or also by taxi and it will be cheaper then take the train in Cusco, beside that you could also take an earlier train to AC and go to MP before all people from Cusco and more chances to climb huayna pichu, not for sunrise.... you may want to stay 2 nights in cusoo, one night at ollantaytambo (there is and interesting Inca site there) and 1 night at AC, and you've more chance to have good weather.

thanks qfinesilver!

should we purchase in advance the train tickets and machupicchu entrance tickets in cuzco?

or do we just buy it when we get to aguas calientes?

There are more (cheaper) places to stay in AC as it is a mini Cuzco as I think you will find. Spent 4 days there and left Thurs morning. There was a rail strike on 1/2 when we arrived so the trains to MP were full. Check out Perurail.com. I would buy the seats at least a day in advance. We bought ours at the Huanchac train (in Cusco) station which is a 10-15 min down hill walk from Plaza de Armas. Buy your round trip if you can since the trains can fill up if you try and buy your return on the day of. We paid $48 USD each way for the backpacker train. On the way back the train stopped and the attendant advised us we could pay 6 soles to catch one of three buses back to Cuzco or wait an hour more which would have made for a 5 hour ride back....this left many people irked. While it was only 2 bucks people on the train were not happy with PR.
Buying the pass to MP can be purchased quickly in AC for 124 soles, so no need to buy in advance.
Don't forget to take drinks/snacks with you on the train as food prices are bit of a joke.

hi cgf thanks for your suggestion

anyway you mentioned the inca ruins in ollantaytambo - what is the name
of the place?

do we really have to stay in ollantaytambo for one night
in order for us to see it?

thanks for the advice flynboxes!

since we will be going to AC from Cuzco
what mode of transportation should we take?

does the cuzco-MP train stops at AC town itself?
(wherein you switch for the bus to MP)

or is there a separate train route that goes from
cuzco to AC?

(read in another post that some people spend a night in
ollantaytambo then they take a bus/taxi to AC)

Arnold- the train starts in Cusco from San Pedro station and ends in AC. We did a day trip to Ollantaytambo from Cuzco which cost $10 USD and lasted 9 hours sans lunch. Ollantaytambo is more impressive from a logistical standpoint since the quarry is much further away from the actual site than MP...MP just has more to look at. If you want to catch the sunrise then AC is your best bet to spend the night as it is .25 miles from the base of MP or a 30 min bus ride from AC to the entrance to MP. Keep in mind the whole process is VERY commercial.
You also might want to consider the Intipunku trail (Sun Gate)...take the Inca Trail from the entrance to the park and head to Intipunku. LP says you are supposed to pay $3 to do it(we did not). I got half way up with my girlfriend prior to her pooping out on me and still enjoyed the view. Will post some pics later. This trail is also easier than Huayna. The bus ride is $7 RT from AC to the gate at MP.

thanks for your reply flynboxes

let us know when you have posted your pics already

more info about Ollantaytambo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ollantaytambo

I did like Ollantaytambo, much more then Cusco (not altitude is the main problem there in Cusco, but pollution is), there are plenty of service between from Cusco to Ollantaytambo and viceversa, much cheaper and FASTER then train. BTW there is an hostel inside the station, I do not remember the name now.
The trip from Cusco to Ollantaytambo it will cost more if it's done by train, check timetable and cost here
http://www.perurail.com

keep on mind one night in AC is too little and two could be too much, someone else like me would stay also more, but it becames too expensive to stay in a "only tourist place", I mean... there are more things to be seen somewhere else; when you kept 2 days and one night it enough, just in case if first day is raining or cloudy (but it could be cloudy/raining/shinshine for more).

enjoy Peru.

the hostel inside the station is at Ollantaytambo
I did not know about any road from Ollantaytambo to AC, only train, this is new for me... beside the inca trail (no cars can do it), I did not know about road. Anyway the train is a good way to go to AC, there are no cars there.. but I still wonder how they took the buses there....