Without the trekking
Every route to the citadel that does not involve sleeping in a tent — by train in a day, overnight at the foot of the mountain, overland through the cloud forest, or privately with your own guide.
12 tripsfrom £150 per person
The Cusco ruins, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu across three days, entirely private. Your own vehicle and guide, two nights in 3-star hotels, the Vistadome Observatory train both ways, and three hours inside the citadel with a Machu Picchu specialist.
The whole Cusco region in four days with nothing left to arrange — airport transfers, a guided city tour, the full Sacred Valley circuit, the train to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu with a guide. Two nights in Cusco, one at the foot of the citadel.
Four days entirely private — your own guide and vehicle, a sunset city tour of Cusco, the upper Sacred Valley through Chinchero, Moray and the Maras salt pans with a chef-prepared picnic lunch, and Machu Picchu with a private guide before the Vistadome Observatory train home.
Chinchero, Moray and the Maras salt pans on day one, then Machu Picchu at your own pace on day two. No trekking.
Two days run entirely privately — the upper Sacred Valley through Chinchero, Moray and the Maras salt pans with a chef-prepared picnic lunch, a four-star hotel at the foot of the citadel, and Machu Picchu the next morning with your own guide before the Vistadome Observatory train.
A mid-morning departure, an afternoon to yourself in Aguas Calientes, then the citadel first thing with a guide. The gentlest way to see Machu Picchu, and the one we recommend to anyone who has just flown in.
A pre-dawn start, the train down the Urubamba gorge, two and a half hours inside the citadel with a guide, and back in Cusco for dinner. No trekking, no overnight bag.
Machu Picchu in a single day on the Belmond Hiram Bingham — restored 1920s Pullman carriages, a bar car, live music and gourmet dining both ways, a guided visit to the citadel in between, and afternoon tea at the Sanctuary Lodge beside the gate.
The cheapest honest way to reach the citadel. You cross the Andes at 4,316 m by road, drop into the jungle at Hidroeléctrica, walk three hours along the railway to Aguas Calientes, and are at the gate when it opens the next morning.
A full Sacred Valley day, a night in Ollantaytambo, then the overland route to Hidroeléctrica with a long soak at the Cocalmayo hot springs, the flat riverside walk into Aguas Calientes, and Machu Picchu with a guide before the train home.
Five days from the airport and back. A guided city tour, the full Sacred Valley, the train to Machu Picchu with a guide, and then Rainbow Mountain on day four — by which point you have had four nights at altitude and can actually enjoy it.
The most complete week in the Cusco region without a multi-day trek. City tour, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, then Humantay Lake and Rainbow Mountain as separate day hikes once you have acclimatised — with the Red Valley added when conditions allow.
Tell us your dates and how much walking you want to do, and we will tell you which of these fits — including when the honest answer is one of the cheaper ones.
