Machu Picchu
An Inca citadel on a saddle between two peaks, the Urubamba far below in its gorge, reached by rail along the river and a road of hairpins to the gate.
- Arrival
- Alejandro Velasco Astete, Cusco · CUZ
- To the citadel
- About 3 h 30 by train from Cusco, then the bus
- Private jets
- Into Cusco, then rail and road
- Best time
- April to October
The city
A city of stone above the cloud forest.
Pachakuteq had it built around 1450; Hiram Bingham brought it to the world's attention in July 1911. Its plazas, temples and stepped fields spread along the ridge, with Huayna Picchu rising behind as a lookout. UNESCO lists it as a World Heritage site, and it is counted among the New Seven Wonders.
The ruins sit lower and warmer than Cusco, with orchids and humid forest on the slopes. The village below, Machu Picchu Pueblo, grew up round the railway, and buses climb from there before dawn, every fifteen minutes. The Sanctuary Lodge suggests two full days, time for the mountain as well as the citadel.
- Intihuatana A stepped pyramid crowned by the stone the Incas used as a solar clock.
- Temple of the Sun The sacred enclosure where the sun was worshipped, once open only to priests and the Inca elite.
- Huayna Picchu The peak behind the citadel, 2,720 m high, which the Incas used as a lookout.
Arriving
By air to Cusco, then by rail.
No road or runway reaches the citadel from outside the gorge. The journey runs by air to Cusco, then by train down the Urubamba to Machu Picchu Pueblo, and finally by bus up the switchbacks, about twenty-five minutes, to the entrance.
- Lima 1 h 00
- Bogotá 2 h 55
- Barbados 4 h 30
- Antigua 4 h 55
- Amsterdam 13 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
April to October.
Afternoons hold at about 25 °C all year in the forest round the ruins. From May to August rainfall stays under 25 mm a month, while January to March bring more than 135 mm and frequent cloud. PromPerú gives April to October as the season.
- 24° J 138
- 25° F 141
- 25° M 151
- 25° A 62
- 25° M 23
- 25° J 17
- 25° J 22
- 25° A 24
- 26° S 44
- 25° O 75
- 26° N 86
- 26° D 121
Where to stay
Beside the railway, below the ruins.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
Two tables below the citadel.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Peru. One table is a Fodor’s Choice with a tasting menu; the other is the restaurant of the town’s five-star hotel.
- Qunuq Fodor’s Choice Andean fusion $$$$ Sumaq Hotel, Machu Picchu Pueblo
- Café Inkaterra Signature restaurant, Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel Novoandina Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, by the river
Elsewhere in Peru
More reasons to come.
- Lima Clifftop Miraflores, and some of the most celebrated kitchens in South America.
- Cusco The Inca capital, its walls under colonial churches, at 3,400 metres.
- Sacred Valley Lower and milder than Cusco, the place to sleep before Machu Picchu.
- Arequipa The white city, built of volcanic stone, near the Colca canyon.
- Paracas Where the desert meets the ocean, with sea lions on the Ballestas islands.
Flying to Machu Picchu?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.