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Although Machu Picchu is the most popular place in Peru, you would be a little disappointed to know that there is no direct route from Lima, the capital of Peru, to Machu Picchu. Once you have landed in Lima, you must reach Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca empire. The distance between these towns is more than 700 miles. You can fly from Lima or take a bus for a long and difficult journey. Once you arrive in Cusco, you have to make another trip to get to Aguas Calientes, which is the closest city to Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu, the famous ruin is only a few miles from Aguas Calientes. You can walk or take a bus to get there. Now let us analyze the whole matter in a more elaborate way.
Lima to Cusco
Most people arrive in Lima through an international flight. If you arrive in Lima with enough time, you can surely stay there for a night or two, and move around the city. Many cases people arrive in Peru with a budget of 4/5 days. In those cases, you need to arrange your flight so that you get there in the morning. Most of the popular flights land early in the morning at the Lima airport. So you can take another flight from Lima to Cusco in a few hours. They have 3/4 good airlines in Peru, and some of them offer flights every few hours from Lima.
But you should not buy the tickets from the airport, but when you buy the international ticket, make the connecting flight to Cusco on the same morning. The flight time from Lima to Cusco is only one hour, so you can arrive in Cusco early in the afternoon on the same day. There is another alternative route. You can take a bus to get to Cusco. Although it is a long journey. There are few good bus companies that you can choose from, like Ormeno or Cruz del Sur. They have luxury buses that run between Lima and Cusco. If you are not in a hurry, you can choose the bus instead of the plane, since they are really very cheap. The plane will cost you around US$100.00 for a one-way trip. While you only need 30.00/40.00 US$ for the luxury bus trip to Cusco. But remember that the buses take around twenty hours to get to Cusco.
Cusco to Aguas Calientes
Once you arrive in Cusco, you can stay one night here or transfer to Machu Picchu the same day. It depends on how many days you plan to stay in Peru. Cusco is a historical city. If you can spend some time there, you will certainly enjoy the city. But if you’re in a hurry, take the afternoon train from Cusco to get to Aguas Calientes. The train ride is scenic and although you will have to sit for more than three hours inside the train (the distance is 70 miles), it will be a pleasant experience.
There are many hotels in Aguas Calientes to sleep. If you are in a high season, I recommend that you book a room well before you get there.
Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu
You can wake up very early in the morning to take the bus to reach the ruins of Machu Picchu. It’s less than two miles and you need around twenty minutes to get to the ruins. Aguas Calientes is a very small town. They only have buses for transportation. you can easily explore the city on foot. They have two bus stations in the city, one is in the middle of the city, very close to where the train stops, another is at the end of the cities, towards Machu Picchu. Taking the bus from Aguas Calientes is easy, the ticket office is at the bus stations and the bus leaves the city for the ruins of Machu Picchu at a short interval. So take a bus, enjoy the little 20 minute ride, get to Machu Picchu and enjoy the impressive Machu Picchu.