Bus from Cusco to Hidroeléctrica for Machu Picchu
From €40 per person
See availability →A Cusco to Hidroeléctrica bus is the overland way toward Machu Picchu: shared tourist transport with hotel pick-up and a long, scenic drive. One-way or round-trip.
The bus from Cusco to Hidroeléctrica is the budget-minded way to reach the foot of Machu Picchu by land. The day is about the road itself: a drive of roughly six hours, depending on traffic and road conditions, in a shared tourist vehicle with a professional driver, starting with pick-up from your hotel in Cusco.
The scenery changes as you go. The route goes through Abra Málaga, then drops through Santa María and Santa Teresa, where the landscape turns greener and the air gets warmer, before ending at Hidroeléctrica, the point from which Aguas Calientes can be reached without a train.
- A seat in a shared tourist vehicle out of Cusco
- Collection at your Cusco hotel
- A professional driver at the wheel throughout
From Hidroeléctrica, travellers heading on to Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu, can walk about 13 km in roughly 3 hours at their own pace. The path follows the railway line, so keep an eye out for passing trains and follow the safety signs.
When you book you choose between a one-way ticket to Hidroeléctrica or a round trip that also brings you back to Cusco. Keep in mind that the service stops at Hidroeléctrica. Getting on to Aguas Calientes is your own affair, and meals, a hotel, site tickets, the train back and any guide are not covered.