Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu 2-Day Tour by Train from Cusco

The Sacred Valley of the Incas

The Sacred Valley follows the Urubamba River between Pisac and Ollantaytambo, a fertile green corridor about an hour from Cusco and several hundred metres lower, with a milder climate that made it the breadbasket of the Inca empire. Its slopes are lined with stone terraces still farmed today, and its towns mix Inca walls, colonial churches and busy markets.

Day one of this Sacred Valley tour from Cusco crosses the high plains and descends into the valley with views of the snow peaks of the Urubamba range. Your guide explains how the Incas engineered the land, and the drive between the sites follows the river past villages and maize fields. It is the perfect introduction before Machu Picchu, because you see where the Inca people lived and farmed.

Pisac and its Inca terraces

Pisac guards the eastern entrance to the valley. High above the colonial town, a great Inca complex spreads along the mountain ridge, with sweeping curved agricultural terraces, ceremonial buildings of fine stonework, watchtowers and the largest known Inca cemetery, carved into the cliff opposite. From the terraces the view down the Urubamba Valley is one of the best in the region.

In town, Pisac is also famous for its handicraft market, where stalls sell textiles, ceramics and silver jewellery. On this tour the guide explains the site and its role as a royal estate and defensive post. Note that the entrance to Pisac is not included; it is covered by the regional tourist ticket that you buy on the day, so bring cash.

Ollantaytambo, the living Inca town

Ollantaytambo, at the western end of the Sacred Valley, is the best-preserved Inca town in Peru: families still live in houses on the original Inca street grid, with stone water channels running beside the lanes. Above the town, steep terraces climb to the temple area, where six enormous pink granite monoliths stand, hauled from a quarry across the river. Here the Incas also won a rare victory against the Spanish in the sixteenth century.

The guided visit shows you the terraces, the fine walls and the fountains at the foot of the site. Ollantaytambo is also the railway station for Machu Picchu, so at the end of day one you board the train here. As at Pisac, the entrance to the Ollantaytambo site is paid separately with the tourist ticket.

The train to Aguas Calientes

From Ollantaytambo the railway follows the Urubamba River as it drops into a deep canyon, leaving the dry valley for cloud forest. The journey takes about an hour and a half to two hours, with rushing rapids, steep green walls and glimpses of snow peaks. In the default option you ride the tourist train; the panoramic train options add extra windows in the roof for views of the mountains above.

The train ends in Aguas Calientes, also called Machu Picchu Pueblo, a small town squeezed between the river and the mountains at about 2,040 metres. There is no road from Cusco, which is why the train is the way most travellers reach Machu Picchu. In the hotel options you sleep here, ready for an early start up to the citadel.

Machu Picchu with a guide

Early on day two you board the bus that zigzags up from Aguas Calientes to the entrance of Machu Picchu, with views over the Urubamba canyon. Built in the fifteenth century as a royal estate and hidden from the Spanish, the citadel stands on a ridge at about 2,430 metres, framed by the peak of Huayna Picchu, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

Your certified guide leads you through the terraces, stairways, temples and plazas and explains the history and engineering of the site, a visit of two to three hours. Entry circuits are assigned by availability when tickets are issued, with priority for Circuit 2, the classic route, then Circuits 3 or 5 and finally Circuit 1. Afterwards you return by bus to Aguas Calientes for lunch.