Machu Picchu is not an easy or cheap place to get to.  Getting there takes time, effort and patience.  There are a number of ways you can arrive at Machu Picchu:

• You can take a train from Ollantaytambo (2 hours) or Cuzco (4 hours) to Aguas Calientes town;
• You can hike the Inca Trail (booked out months in advance);
• You can hike one of the alternative Inca trails via a tour operator. Both of these has extra activities included like zip lining, mountain biking, a visit to the hot pools.
• You can take public transport or your own transport to Santa Teresa town via a long, steep, endlessly curvy mountain pass, get a taxi to the Hydroelectric station and then take a train or walk to Aguas Calientes town from where you can visit Machu Picchu.

Aguas Calientes is the service town for Machu Picchu.  Hundreds of thousands of tourists pass through this town every year to get to Machu Picchu either by taking a 30 minute bus from the town, or hiking up a steep 1.5 hour trail to the site. There are no roads into the town, making it isolated, and a total pain to get to.

We’re not organised tour group people and like to hike on our own terms having the ability to stop and take in the sights as we like.  We originally thought we’d take the train to Ollantaytambo but when we started doing the math this trip to Machu Picchu was going to be very expensive.   $300 USD for the train, and then we still had to add on accommodation and entry ticket to Machu Picchu costs.  By the way the ticket to Machu Picchu is exorbitantly expensive.

In the end we decided that the best option for us was to drive the car to Santa Teresa, a small town on the other side of the Valley.  Continue reading →