Quick Answer
Getting Around Peru: The Train Closure Just Ended, So Here’s What Actually Runs
A wildfire broke out near km 107 of the Ollantaytambo-Machu Picchu line on August 4, 2026, sending rockfall onto the tracks and stranding hundreds of travelers at Cusco and Sacred Valley stations. PeruRail suspended service, at least ten scheduled trains were cancelled, and Peru’s Ministry of Culture opened a force-majeure window letting stranded visitors rebook or refund their Machu Picchu entrance tickets.
Service resumed the next day, August 5, 2026, once the tracks were cleared. That’s the headline for anyone booking now: the line is running again, but check current status before you lock in a date, because this kind of closure can happen again with little warning.
Here’s the rest of Peru’s transport picture, route by route, so you can plan the Lima-Cusco-Sacred Valley-Machu Picchu loop with real numbers instead of an old blog post.
Trains: PeruRail vs Inca Rail to Machu Picchu
PeruRail and Inca Rail are the only two rail operators serving the Ollantaytambo (or Poroy/Cusco) to Aguas Calientes route, the gateway to Machu Picchu. Neither company competes on the route itself, only on class and schedule, so the real choice is which departure point and cabin class fit your trip.
Departure point matters for price. Ollantaytambo departures run around $30-50 cheaper than Poroy/Cusco departures in the same class, on either operator, because the Ollantaytambo route is shorter. If your itinerary already routes through the Sacred Valley, starting the train there saves money over boarding in Cusco.
| Class | Operator equivalent | Around fare (round trip) | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | PeruRail Expedition / Inca Rail Voyager | around $80 | Standard seating, large windows |
| Mid-tier | PeruRail Vistadome / Inca Rail 360 | around $140-180 | Panoramic windows, onboard snack |
| Luxury | PeruRail Sacred Valley | around $280-350 | Dining service, lounge-style seating |
| Ultra-luxury | PeruRail Hiram Bingham | around $500-600 | Full dining car, live music, observation deck |
These fares are aggregator estimates, not live operator quotes: perurail.com and incarail.com’s booking sites were not answering price checks when we verified this guide, so treat every figure here as a starting range and get the current price directly from the operator for your dates.
Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu: The Last Leg
The train drops you in Aguas Calientes, not at the ruins themselves. From there, most visitors take the Consettur shuttle bus, running every 10-15 minutes from around 5:30am for a 20-25 minute climb. A round trip runs around $35 (some sources cite closer to $24 for a narrower fare class), one-way around $23. Confirm the current fare with Consettur before you go.
Budget travelers can walk it instead: a roughly 1.5-2 hour uphill trail runs from town to the entrance, free, steep, and a genuine alternative to the bus fare.
Lima: Metropolitano, Metro and the New Airport Terminal
Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport opened a new terminal on June 1, 2025, about three times the size of the old one at roughly 270,000 square meters. The upgrade changed how you get there: the main access road shifted from Av. Elmer Faucett to Av. Morales Duárez, reached by bridges with no pedestrian sidewalk, so walking in from a nearby street is no longer an option.
| Option | Around cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Official taxi counter (Taxi Green, Taxi 365, Taxi Directo) | varies by distance | Fixed pickup zone in arrivals; avoid unofficial drivers soliciting inside |
| VIP remisse (CMV Remisse) | higher than standard taxi | Pre-arranged, higher comfort tier |
| Uber / Cabify | varies | Separate designated pickup zone at the terminal |
| Shared shuttle (QuickLlama) | around $6/person | Door-to-door to Miraflores, live Booking.com listing |
| Airport bus | check current status | Referenced by several 2026 guides as a fixed-route option to Miraflores; confirm it’s still running post-terminal-move before counting on it |
The ride from the airport to Miraflores typically takes 45-70 minutes, more at rush hour. Book a shuttle or ride-hail in advance if you’re landing late or jet-lagged.
Once you’re in the city, Lima runs two backbone systems:
- Metropolitano BRT: S/3.20 for a trunk-route trip, S/3.50 with a feeder route, S/1.60 for students. Load the reusable “Lima Pass” card (around S/4.50 to buy) at any station; turnstiles are card-only, no cash. Transfers within the same trip are free.
- Metro Line 1 has run since 2011-2014 (34.6 km, 26 stations, elevated). Metro Line 2, underground and driverless, opened a partial line in December 2023; the planned interchange station with Line 1 (28 de Julio) is built but not yet open to the public. A new interoperable transit card for Line 2 launched in July 2026.
For everything else, Uber, Cabify and inDrive all operate normally in Lima and are the safer alternative to hailing a street taxi, which typically runs without a meter. If you do flag one, agree the fare before you get in.
Buses: Cruz del Sur and Oltursa for the Lima-Cusco Overland Route
If you have the time, an overnight bus is the cheapest way to cover the roughly 1,100 km between Lima and Cusco, and it skips the flight-delay risk altogether.
| Operator | Around fare (First Class) | Around journey time |
|---|---|---|
| Cruz del Sur | around $64 | around 22.5 hours |
| Oltursa | around $58 | around 23.5 hours |
| Budget operators (general range) | around $25-29 | varies |
| Most comfortable classes (general range) | up to around $68 | varies |
Cruz del Sur and Oltursa are the two names most guides point to for a reliable First Class overnight service, with reclining seats and onboard service. Budget operators undercut them by roughly half but with less comfort and a less predictable schedule. These fares come from aggregator cross-checks, not the operators’ own live fare pages, so confirm the current price directly with Cruz del Sur or Oltursa before booking.
Flights: LIM-CUZ in Under 90 Minutes
Flying is the fast option between Lima and Cusco, and for a short trip it usually beats a full day on a bus.
- Fare range: around $37-125 one-way, with round trips commonly $70-130 in shoulder season. JetSMART and SKY tend to run cheaper than LATAM.
- Flight time: about 1h15-1h30 nonstop.
- Airlines: LATAM Airlines Perú, SKY Airline Perú and JetSMART Perú all fly the route daily, nonstop.
- Booking window: fares booked 6+ weeks out are typically cheaper than last-minute bookings, with the best average pricing window cited around 40 days before departure. Treat this as directional guidance, since fares move daily.
- Activate before you fly: data works on arrival
- Plans for 200+ countries from a few dollars
- Keep your number; no physical SIM swap
Get your eSIM active before you land so maps, ride-hailing apps and hotel messages all work from the arrivals hall onward. See our full Peru eSIM guide for current plan pricing, or browse the wider eSIM hub for other destinations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the PeruRail train to Machu Picchu running in 2026?
Yes, as of August 5, 2026. A wildfire near km 107 of the Ollantaytambo-Machu Picchu line caused rockfall onto the tracks on August 4, 2026, and PeruRail suspended service, stranding hundreds of travelers. Service resumed the next day once the tracks were cleared, and Peru’s Ministry of Culture ran a force-majeure rebooking window for affected Machu Picchu ticket holders. Check perurail.com/protest-machu-picchu for live status before you book.
Should I book PeruRail or Inca Rail?
Both run the same Ollantaytambo (or Poroy/Cusco) to Aguas Calientes route and are the only two carriers on the line, so pick by class and departure point rather than brand. Ollantaytambo departures run around $30-50 cheaper than Poroy/Cusco departures in the same class on either operator, so compare perurail.com and incarail.com directly for your dates.
How do I get from Lima’s Jorge Chávez airport into the city?
The new terminal, open since June 2025, moved the access road to Av. Morales Duárez with no pedestrian walk-in option, so you need a ride. Official taxi counters (Taxi Green, Taxi 365, Taxi Directo), a VIP remisse desk, a separate Uber/Cabify pickup zone and shared shuttles like QuickLlama (around $6/person) all serve the terminal, with the ride to Miraflores typically taking 45-70 minutes.
What’s the cheapest way from Lima to Cusco?
A first-class overnight bus with Cruz del Sur or Oltursa is the cheapest way, with fares typically around $58-64 for a roughly 22.5 to 23.5-hour ride. Budget bus operators run as low as around $25-29, but flying is faster: LIM-CUZ fares run roughly $37-125 one-way in shoulder season on a 1h15-1h30 nonstop with LATAM, SKY or JetSMART.
Do I need to rent a car to get around Peru?
No, and this guide doesn’t recommend it for the Lima-Cusco-Machu Picchu-Sacred Valley route. Domestic flights, PeruRail or Inca Rail, Cruz del Sur and Oltursa buses, and Lima’s Metropolitano and Metro cover these cities without the mountain roads, altitude and unfamiliar traffic rules that come with self-driving here.
How do I get from Aguas Calientes up to Machu Picchu itself?
Most visitors take the Consettur shuttle bus, which runs every 10-15 minutes from around 5:30am for a 20-25 minute ride; a round trip runs around $35, one-way around $23 (some sources cite closer to $24 round trip, so confirm the current fare with Consettur). A free alternative is the roughly 1.5-2 hour uphill walking trail from town.
Sources
- PeruRail and Inca Rail operational statements on the 4 August 2026 line closure and the 5 August resumption, plus PeruRail’s live status page at perurail.com/protest-machu-picchu. Checked 6 August 2026.
- Rail fares (PeruRail/Inca Rail), Cruz del Sur and Oltursa bus fares, and LIM-CUZ flight fares are demand-driven and were cross-checked against aggregator listings rather than quoted from operator booking systems, since those sites were not directly reachable during this research pass. Book direct with the named operator for a live price.
- Lima’s Jorge Chávez new terminal (open since June 2025) and its access-road change, cross-checked across multiple 2026 airport guides.
- Shared shuttle (QuickLlama) fare from a live Booking.com listing. Checked 6 August 2026.
- US State Department travel and passport-validity guidance: travel.state.gov. Checked 6 August 2026.
Plan Your Peru Transport Now
VoyageHacks checked the wildfire closure and the new Jorge Chávez terminal against PeruRail, Inca Rail and multiple 2026 airport-guide sources in August 2026, and the shared-shuttle fare against a live Booking.com listing. Train, bus and flight fare bands come from published 2026 fare tables and aggregator cross-checks rather than a live operator quote, since perurail.com, incarail.com and the bus operators’ own booking pages were not directly reachable during this research pass. The short version: confirm the Machu Picchu train’s status at perurail.com before you build a schedule around it, pick Ollantaytambo over Cusco/Poroy as your departure point to save money, and choose bus or flight for Lima-Cusco based on how much time you want to spend versus save.
Find flights to Cusco | Compare Cusco hotels
Start with the Peru travel guide for the full month-by-month picture, then check the Peru itinerary for how this transport reality shapes a route, and the Peru budget guide for what transport actually adds to a daily spend. Confirm entry rules on the Peru visa guide , avoid common missteps with the Peru etiquette guide , and grab a travel eSIM so maps and ride-hailing work from the airport onward. Compare hotels in Lima, Cusco, Ollantaytambo or Aguas Calientes for your route, and see our city guides for Lima , Cusco , Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley .