You have seen the spectacular images of Machu Picchu, a lost city in the mountain ridge. But have you ever questioned how people ever get there? This is because it is answered by a vibrant distinctive town at the base of the mountain called Aguas Calientes. Which is the necessary entrance point to the ancient citadel. However, there is one shocking rule about this town, there are no cars.
There, the town cannot be approached even by road. It is officially known as Machupicchu Pueblo whose sole purpose is to serve tourists visiting the Inca ruins. Squeezed into a deep ravine that has been excavated by the Urubamba River. It is bordered by high mountains and jungles, the rough terrain renders an impossible task in terms of building a road. This implies that all tourists come by road by train in a beautiful trip along the river, by hiking the multiday Inca Trail, or by hiking a shorter trail of the Short Inca Trail as a more approachable hike to Machu Picchu.
Aguas Calientes is the busy base camp of your adventure which will be the last place to stay. As soon as you enter the place, you are surrounded by the bustle of people. The key to a wonderful and easy trip is to move around this center.
Travel Guide Peru: How to travel between Cusco and Aguas Calientes
The trip from Cusco to Aguas Calientes is nearly always two parts. Although some trains depart right out of Cusco, it is more likely that you will start your adventure. Which can be viewed as a 90minute drive through the Sacred Valley, then, after that, the last portion of the trip will take place by train. It is a road and rail service that is the most usual and effective route to Machu Picchu base.
There is a town known as Ollantaytambo which is the main train station. This is a more direct and short ride along the river, as well as giving you a greater range of scheduling choices, not having to get to Cusco to start your train trip. This attractive town boasts its own fair share of impressive Inca remains, it is the normative jumping off point on the last leg to Aguas Calientes.
There are two main options to take to reach the Ollantaytambo train station to Cusco. To be comfortable and convenient, a taxi service will be paid as a personal. To have a cheaper (and local) experience, you can use colectivo, which are shared vans that depart a specified location in Cusco as soon as they are full.
After getting to Ollantaytambo, the best experience of the trip starts. The train is winding along the small gulch and on one side the loud river Urubamba and on the other a deep green range. There are two major companies who operate this amazing ride. It simply depends on your pocket and comfort levels that you would like to have.
Rail vs. Incas
As far as the scenic train ride to Aguas Calientes is concerned, you can choose two principal companies: PeruRail and Inca Rail. The two companies are secure, dependable and follow the same spectacular path on the Urubamba River. They have so many different types of services that they offer instead of focusing on whether it is Inca Rail or PeruRail, they must be similar in service offerings, which differ very little in both brands.
It is just like picking your train car: you can pick a flight with various classes based on the budget. The normal or expedition type is your cheap ticket comfortable, clean and with very nice windows. The next tier higher tends to have panoramic glass ceilings and extended wider windows to have an immersive view. Lastly, luxuryclass trains are a firstclass train experience with a fine dining experience, a live music experience, and an openair observation car. The choice would just be whether you would prefer a relatively uncomplicated ride or a more of a scenic adventure.
Regardless of the company or the class you want to take, the one biggest piece of advice that I can give you is to reserve your tickets as early as possible. Machu Picchu train tickets, particularly in the high season between June and August, may be sold many months beforehand.
Getting the best Moments
When you get off your train in Aguas Calientes, you are already at the foot of the ancient citadel. Which is not all, there is one last climb. You can get to the entrance gates in two ways: by bus, which takes 25minutes or by foot which takes a difficult 90 minute walk. The great majority of visitors use the bus, which is zigzags on a twisted road. The official ticket office is a building you just could not miss. It is situated in the center of the town in the river. You should keep in mind that you have to bring the passport because without it you cannot buy the roundtrip bus tickets.
And the adventure that has time and energy to offer those as adventurous as their spirit lets them be. The great hike of Aguas Calientes. This is not a side street walk, it is a rocky mountain hike along a long set of stone steps that follow the bus road. It is physically strenuous even though it is free and rewarding. The bus allows your legs to stretch out to the vast ruins. In fact the hike is a rough and unforgettable warm up to the real thing.
The Big Issue: Cusco Day Trip or Aguas Calientes Overnight?
Whether to have a day trip or an overnight tour is up to your endurance of a very long day. A day trip saves you the expense of the hotel room but comes at a very demanding schedule that may easily take 16 hours. The Cusco day trip is a common experience in which you are woken up early in the morning. Lets spend numerous transfers, several treasured hours with the ruins and get back to your hotel much later at night. It is efficient, but it may also be tiresome.
The answer is yes, a resounding yes to most people in staying overnight in Aguas Calientes. The most important benefit is the opportunity to reach the entrance of the citadel. Ideal before the initial trains with daytrippers go through the Sacred Valley. Spending the night, it is possible to take one of the first buses to the top of the mountain. Enjoy the morning fog and the relative silence of the place. This is one of the simplest tricks to not be in the crowd and make the visit more magical and not in a rush.