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Cusco: Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu 2-Day Tour with Train

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Duration2d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Two Days in the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu from Cusco

You're picked up from your Cusco hotel and spend day one moving through the Sacred Valley's three main sites — weaving workshops, salt mines, and Ollantaytambo Fortress — before taking the train to Aguas Calientes. Day two starts before dawn with a guided tour of Machu Picchu at sunrise, followed by free time to explore or climb the mountain, then the train and drive back to Cusco. Hotel pickup, all transport, meals, entrance fees and one night's hostel stay are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Sacred Valley and Ollantaytambo visit

Pick up from hotels at 6:30 am
Visit Chinchero church and plaza
Tour Maras Moray and Salineras
Enjoy lunch buffet in Urubamba Valley
Visit Ollantaytambo Fortress and Temple of the Sun
Take train to Aguas Calientes
Check in at accommodation
Briefing for Machu Picchu visit
Free time in Aguas Calientes town

Day 2 — Machu Picchu guided tour

Wake up around 4:30 am
Take bus to Machu Picchu at 5:30 am
Enter Machu Picchu at 6:00 am
Private guided tour of Machu Picchu for 2 hours
Optional climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain
Free time at Machu Picchu
Return to Aguas Calientes
Train back to Ollantaytambo
Transfer to Cusco city

The Experience

So you're thinking about doing the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu in one trip without spending a week on it? This is the way most people actually do it — you get picked up from your Cusco hotel at 6:30 am on day one, and by that evening you're in Aguas Calientes looking at the mountain you're about to climb. The first day moves through three archaeological zones: Chinchero with its colonial plaza and church, then Maras and Moray where you see the Inca salt mines still in use and those massive circular terraces carved into the earth. Lunch is a buffet in the Urubamba Valley, and then you're at Ollantaytambo Fortress — the Temple of the Sun there is 3.5 meters of precisely cut stone that held during the Inca civil war. From there you take the train to Aguas Calientes, where your guide briefs you on what's coming tomorrow and you either rest or soak in the thermal waters if you're not too tired.

The second morning starts at 4:30 am — no getting around that. You're on the bus at 5:30 am heading up to Machu Picchu, and if the timing works you catch the sunrise over the citadel just as your guide is walking you through the entrance around 6:00 am. The guided portion is two hours, which is enough to understand the layout and the main structures without feeling rushed. After that you're free to climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain if you've booked one of those, or just wander the terraces and temples on your own. The train back to Ollantaytambo leaves at a set time — you need to be at the station 30 minutes early — and then your assistant picks you up and drives you back to Cusco, dropping you at San Francisco Plaza.

The group stays small, capped at 15 people, which means you're not shuffling through Machu Picchu in a crowd of 200. You get a professional guide who speaks English or Spanish, and the hostel overnight in Aguas Calientes is included so you're not paying extra for accommodation. Everything that usually costs separately — the train, the bus up the mountain, the entrance fees, breakfast, lunch — is already in the price, which takes the guesswork out of budgeting.

What’s included

Hotel pickup from Cusco.
ground transportation to Ollantaytambo.
entrance fees to Chinchero, Maras, Moray, and Ollantaytambo.
lunch buffet in Urubamba Valley.
round-trip train Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes.
one night hostel accommodation in Aguas Calientes.
breakfast on day two.
bus transport from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu and back.
two-hour guided tour of Machu Picchu at sunrise.
professional English or Spanish-speaking guide.
return transport to Cusco.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Conde Travel

Is this one for you?Right for travelers who want to see both the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu without arranging separate transport, hotels and guides — the fixed itinerary and included train mean you move through four major sites in two days without negotiating logistics at each stop.