How to Book the Machu Picchu Tour By Car 2 Days
1. Check availability
Press BOOK NOW to open the calendar and pick your date. What is available depends on Machu Picchu entrance tickets, transport, hotel rooms in Machu Picchu Pueblo, guides and the operating conditions of the day. A date showing on the calendar is not final until our reservations team has verified every service and sent you written confirmation.
2. Choose how many travelers, and which category
Enter the number of participants and the correct category for each: adult, eligible student, child or Andean Community citizen where it applies. Student bookings must meet the official requirements and include a clear photograph of both sides of a valid university card. At this point you can either pay the USD 70 non-refundable deposit per person or settle the full price.
3. Enter the traveler details
Fill in the form accurately for everyone: full name exactly as printed on the passport, passport number, nationality, date of birth, WhatsApp number with country code, email, hotel in Cusco, dietary needs, any relevant medical conditions and an emergency contact. The entrance ticket is issued to one named traveler for one date, so these details have to be right.
4. Add optional services
Subject to availability, you can add Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu Mountain, a hotel upgrade, round-trip bus tickets between Machu Picchu Pueblo and the citadel, private transport or other extras. All carry an additional cost and all are limited, so request them as early as you can rather than closer to the date.
5. Pay
Once you have reviewed the reservation, continue to the secure payment platform. Debit and credit cards are accepted, and bank transfers can be arranged in advance. Card payments online carry a 3.99% processing fee. You receive a transaction receipt immediately, and our team sends the final confirmation once availability is verified — normally within 24 hours.
Booking in person in Cusco
You can also reserve at our office at Portal Nuevo 270, Plaza Regocijo, one block from the Plaza de Armas. Our staff will check availability with you, help you choose the best Machu Picchu circuit, go through accommodation options, add any extras, complete the traveler details and take payment.
Terms and Conditions
Deposit and confirmation
A non-refundable deposit of USD 70 per person opens the reservation. It goes primarily toward buying the official Machu Picchu entrance ticket and locking in the essential services. Your booking is fully confirmed only once payment has arrived, every service has been verified and our team has issued the final written confirmation.
Cancellations and refunds
The USD 70 deposit cannot be returned, because it is spent immediately on non-refundable tickets and confirmed services. If you paid in full, you may recover whatever remains after deducting the deposit, the tickets, hotel costs, transport, meals, optional services, processing fees, bank charges, currency conversion and any other cost we cannot recover.
Changing your date
Date changes depend on availability of entrance tickets, hotel rooms, transport, guides and any optional services. Because an issued Machu Picchu ticket generally cannot be modified or refunded, a new USD 70 deposit per person is required for the new date, along with any price difference, hotel penalty, transport charge or additional service cost.
Names and passport details
The name you enter must match your passport exactly. Name changes and transfers to another traveler are generally not permitted. If your passport is renewed or replaced after booking, contact us immediately — updating the number may be possible under official regulations, and if the change was recent we recommend carrying both the old and the new passport.
Paying the balance
If you paid only the deposit, the balance is due at least 24 hours before departure. You can settle it online, or in person at our Cusco office in cash — US dollars or soles — or by card with the applicable processing fee. Missing that deadline can mean services that are not yet confirmed being suspended or cancelled.
Circuit and entrance time
Both are determined by official availability at the moment your reservation is processed. We always aim for the most complete option still on sale, but no specific route can be promised before the ticket is actually purchased. Your confirmed circuit and entry time appear clearly in the final booking confirmation.
Transport and the unguided walking sections
Tourist transport between Cusco and Hidroeléctrica is included. The walks between Hidroeléctrica and Machu Picchu Pueblo are done independently, without a guide. Following the directions given, keeping to the recommended pace and reaching Hidroeléctrica before the return vehicle leaves are the traveler’s responsibility. The vehicle departs on a fixed schedule and cannot wait.
Hotel accommodation
One night in Machu Picchu Pueblo is included at the category stated in your reservation. Upgrades, hotel changes and special arrangements depend on availability and may cost extra, and cancellations or modifications can incur penalties under the hotel’s own conditions.
Getting in touch
For changes, cancellations, passport updates, dietary requests or anything else, write to machupicchureservations@gmail.com or message us on WhatsApp at +51 974 217 700. Our team is available daily from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and all modification or cancellation requests must be made in writing.
Machu Picchu Tour By Car 2 Days — The Complete Travel Guide
This is the cheapest legitimate way to reach Machu Picchu from Cusco, and it is a genuinely good trip. It is also the one most often booked by people who have not understood what they signed up for. This guide is here to make sure you are not one of them.
How the route actually works
There is no road to Machu Picchu Pueblo. That single fact explains the entire product.
The train exists because the valley has no vehicle access. The overland alternative gets you as close as any vehicle can — the hydroelectric station at Hidroeléctrica — and from there you walk the remaining 11 km beside the railway line. It takes about three hours and it is almost entirely flat, following the Vilcanota River through tropical forest.
You do that walk twice: in on Day 1, out on Day 2. That is roughly six hours of walking, on top of five to seven hours in a vehicle each way.
Who this suits, and who it does not
It suits travelers who are fit enough to walk 11 km comfortably twice, who would rather spend the money on something else, and who find the journey part of the appeal — because the drive over the Abra Málaga and down into the cloud forest is one of the more spectacular road trips in Peru.
It does not suit anyone with knee or back problems, anyone travelling with small children, anyone on a tight schedule at the end of the trip, or anyone who wants the arrival at Machu Picchu to be restful. If any of those apply, the train version costs more and is the right call.
Day 2 is the long one. An early start, the citadel, 11 km back to Hidroeléctrica, then six to seven hours on the road, reaching Cusco between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. It is a full day by any standard. Do not schedule a flight for that night.
The circuit is not something you choose
Machu Picchu entry is sold by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture under a circuit system, and the circuit you get depends on what is still available when your ticket is bought. This matters more than most travelers realise, because the circuits are not equivalent.
Circuit 2 is the classic route: the postcard viewpoint plus a full walk through the citadel. Circuit 1 is panoramic only — you see Machu Picchu from above but do not enter the ruins themselves. Circuit 3 covers the lower sectors without the classic viewpoint.
If the classic circuit matters to you, book at least four months ahead. It is the first to sell out, and no operator in Peru can conjure one that the government has already allocated.
What you will spend beyond the tour price
Budget for the shuttle bus between Machu Picchu Pueblo and the citadel: roughly USD 12 each way. You can walk instead — about 4 km uphill, 1.5 to 2 hours on stone steps, starting around 4:30 a.m. in the dark — but after 11 km the previous day, most people take the bus at least one way.
Then there is lunch on Day 2, drinks, snacks and anything else along the route. Card payment is unreliable outside Cusco, so carry cash in soles.
Altitude works in your favour here
Unusually for Cusco, this trip goes down rather than up. Machu Picchu sits at about 2,430 m, well below Cusco’s 3,350 m, and Aguas Calientes lower still. Altitude sickness is not the concern on this route.
Heat and humidity are. The valley is subtropical, the walk is exposed for long stretches, and the sun at this latitude is stronger than it feels. Sunscreen, a hat and more water than you think you need.
When to go
The dry season, roughly April to October, gives the best chance of clear views over the citadel and a firmer, more pleasant walk along the railway. The wet months bring heavy afternoon rain, and while the site is atmospheric in cloud, you may not see much of it.
Rain also affects the road. The overland route crosses mountain terrain that can be disrupted by landslides in the wettest months, which is worth factoring into your plans if your schedule has no slack.
Practical points before you book
This tour starts at our office, not at your hotel — 6:30 a.m. at Portal Nuevo 270, Plaza Regocijo. Leave your main luggage there free of charge and carry a daypack.
Bring the original passport you booked with; it is checked at the entrance and must match the ticket. Wear shoes you have already walked downhill in. And if you are planning to walk up to the citadel on Day 2, pack a headlamp, because that climb happens before dawn.
