A2Z Languages - Cusco, Peru

Train

Cusco has two train stations, one near the end of Avenida Sol serving Puno and Arequipa and another next to the main city market serving Machu Picchu and Quillabamba. The train for Puno leaves at 8 am daily, except Sunday, and takes about 10hours. It passes through Juliaca at about 5 pm, allowing you to connect with the nightly train from Juliaca to Arequipa which leaves at about 8.45 pm. The Machu Picchu train departs several times a day and is the most frequently used train in Peru.

There is a bewildering variety of trains. Some go only as far as Machu Picchu while others continue to Quillabamba at the end of the line. Some are express and others are local, stopping everywhere. The electric autovagon is generally smaller, faster and more expensive than other trains. Often an extra train runs during the height of the tourist season. There is no other way to get to Machu Picchu by public transport. There are no roads and the helicopter services of the 1970s was stopped because the vibration of the choppers was damaging the ruins. Even if you choose to walk in along the Inca Trail, you must take a train to Kn88, the starting point of the trek. Everyone traveling to and from Machu Picchu uses the train (except hikers coming in from Mollepata or Chilca).

Ollantaytambo station can be reached by road. This enables travelers to visit the Sacred Valley ruins by bus and then continue from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu without returning to Cusco. All trains stop here. The tourist train's schedule to and from Machu Picchu requires passengers to travel between Cusco and Ollantaytambo by railway company bus. The halt at Km88 is where hikers leave the train to being the Inca Trail. Only the local train stops here.

The Cusco train station has two entrances with separate ticket windows. The right hand entrance serves the tourist trains; the left hand entrance is for the local train and the Quillabamba autovagon. The ticket offices are usually open from about 6 am but close for 1 or 2 hours several times during the day. The station entrance for the Quillabamba autovagon is to the side of the building.

Bus

Cusco has no central bus terminal. For buses to Pisac, go to Avenida Tacna, about 1 1/2 km east of the town center, where a line of minibuses waits to leave at frequent intervals throughout the day. Buses to Urubamba leave from the Ormeño office on Avenida Huascar, about 1 km east of the centre. Tourist buses leave at 2 pm daily from the Plaza de Armas, at the corner by the tourist office, and go to Sacsayhuaman, Qenko and Tambo Machay. The round trip takes about 4 hours and costs $2, including a Spanish speaking guide. Tourist buses to Pisac and Ollantaytambo leave at 8 am and cost about $5, also with a local guide.

For Chinchero, there is a service from Avenida Arcopata. Frequent trucks and minibuses leave on Sunday morning for the market. On other days of the week, go as early as possible and be prepared to wait; services are infrequent and erratic. The fare is about 30c. Trucks for Limatambo, Mollepata and on to Abancay and other destinations leave from here most morning but, as is usual with truck services, there is no set time.

Air

Cusco's airport is an International airport with twice-weekly flights to La Paz, Bolivia. All departures and arrivals are in the morning because winds often make landing and takeoff difficult in the afternoon. There are two or three direct flights a day t Lima and at least one a day to Arequipa and Puerto Maldonado with Faucett and AeroPeru airlines. There are usual daily flights to Ayacucho and several a week to Juliaca. Same-day connections to Tacna via Arequipaand to most northern cities via Lima can be organized, but allow several hours connecting time as flights from Cusco are frequently very late.

When flying from Cusco to Lima, check in as early as possible to get a seat on the right-hand side of the plane for the best views of Salcantay's 627-metre peak. Some pilots like to fly quite close to the mountain and the views are stupendous. Occasionally a different route is taken over Machu Picchu, but not often.

A taxi from the airport to the centre of Cusco costs a little over $1; the local bus costs a few cents.

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