Machu Picchu on my own!

What do I need to go to Machu Picchu on my own?

If you don't want to book with an agency, these are the steps to follow:

1. Check for availability on your travel dates, go to the governmet's website, on the left side of the screen you can choose what you want to do: only Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu & Huayna Picchu (1G or 2G, these are the schedules to start hiking the Huayna Picchu), Machu Picchu + Museum or Machu Picchu + Machu Picchu Mountain.

2. If you want to do Machu Picchu + Machu Picchu Mountain or Machu Picchu + Huayna Picchu, we recommend you to arrive the day before to Aguas Calientes, this way you will be rested and fully enjoy the experience.

3. Once you have your entrance tickets to Machu Picchu (to see the prices, you can go to our post "Tickets to Machu Picchu), buy your train tickets, major companies are: PeruRail & IncaRail. The advantage of one over the other is that PeruRail has departures to/form Poroy - Cusco and Ollantaytambo, which means more options! whereas IncaRail has departures just to/from Ollantaytambo.

4. Once you purchased your train tickets, check if they depart from Poroy - Cusco or Ollantaytambo. To go to the train station you will ned to take a taxi, the prices are: to Poroy - Cusco 25-30 nuevos soles approx (USD 10-12) and Ollantaytambo 100-130 nuevos soles approx (USD 40-52).

5. The train will arrive to Aguas Calientes, from where you will have to either walk or take the bus up to The Citadel of Machu Picchu; you can buy just one way or a round trip ticket.

6. Check the time you will arrive to Poroy - Cusco or Ollantaytambo Station,and arrange some transportation back to the Historic Center - Cusco, you can talk to the taxi driver that took you in first place.