{"id":9666,"date":"2025-10-08T12:34:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T12:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=9666"},"modified":"2025-10-08T12:48:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T12:48:34","slug":"machu-picchu-by-car","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Machu Picchu by Car."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Traveling to <strong>Machu Picchu by car<\/strong> is possible, but it&#8217;s not a direct trip. There is no road that reaches <a href=\"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/machu-picchu-by-train-full-day\/\"><strong>Machu Picchu<\/strong>,<\/a> as it is located deep in the Andes Mountains and can only be reached by train or on foot. However, there is a popular <strong>&#8220;alternative route by car + hike&#8221;<\/strong> that many travelers use to save money and enjoy more adventure. This trip begins very early in the city of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.cusco.gob.pe\/\">Cusco<\/a><\/strong>, passing through picturesque villages in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pachaexpeditions.com\/cusco-tours\/cusco-to-sacred-valley-peru-tour-sacred-valley-trip-from-cusco\/\">Sacred Valley of the Incas<\/a><\/strong>, until you reach the <strong>Malaga Pass,<\/strong> the highest point of the trip where the scenery is spectacular. However, this place is often cloudy due to its altitude. The other side of the mountain is the entrance to the jungle, and the climate is humid. On the descent, there are also local villages and a wide variety of landscapes covered with typical flora of the area. Enjoy this experience and don&#8217;t let anyone tell you otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Machu Picchu by Car Step-by-Step: (v\u00eda Hidroel\u00e9ctrica)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Total travel time:<\/strong> 7\u20138 hours driving + 2\u20133 hours walking<br><strong>Route:<\/strong> Cusco \u2192 Ollantaytambo \u2192 Santa Mar\u00eda \u2192 Santa Teresa \u2192 Hidroel\u00e9ctrica \u2192 Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Cusco \u2192 Santa Teresa \/ Hidroel\u00e9ctrica<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Distance:<\/strong> 210 km<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Duration:<\/strong> 6\u20137 hours by car<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can go with:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>tour van or shuttle<\/strong> (many agencies in Cusco offer round-trip service for $20\u201330 USD).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Or drive yourself (you\u2019ll need a sturdy car \u2014 the road includes mountain curves and gravel sections).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll pass through <strong>Ollantaytambo<\/strong>, <strong>Abra M\u00e1laga (4,300m)<\/strong>, and <strong>Santa Mar\u00eda<\/strong>, then descend to <strong>Santa Teresa<\/strong> and finally <strong>Hidroel\u00e9ctrica<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Hidroel\u00e9ctrica \u2192 Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Option 1:<\/strong> Walk 10 km (2\u20133 hours) along the train tracks \u2014 scenic and easy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Option 2:<\/strong> Take a short local train (~$12 USD each way).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Aguas Calientes \u2192 Machu Picchu<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>From the town, take:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>bus<\/strong> (25 minutes, $12 one way), or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hike up<\/strong> (1.5 hours, steep but free).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tips to Travel<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Book Machu Picchu tickets and entry time<\/strong> in advance (official site: <a><strong>https:\/\/www.machupicchu.gob.pe\/<\/strong><\/a>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bring <strong>cash<\/strong>, as card machines often don\u2019t work along the route.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wear <strong>layers<\/strong> \u2014 weather changes fast.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If driving yourself, <strong>start early<\/strong> (5\u20136 a.m.) and avoid night driving.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can stay overnight in <strong>Aguas Calientes<\/strong> or <strong>Santa Teresa<\/strong> (which also has hot springs).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9667,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":""},"class_list":["post-9666","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>By Car to Machu Picchu | Explore the Andes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Machu Picchu is possible by car, but this trip isn&#039;t direct, as it&#039;s located deep in the Andes and can only be reached by train or on foot.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"By Car to Machu Picchu | Explore the Andes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Machu Picchu is possible by car, but this trip isn&#039;t direct, as it&#039;s located deep in the Andes and can only be reached by train or on foot.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Salkantay Expeditions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61576288937850\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-08T12:48:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1921\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/machu-picchu-by-car\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/machu-picchu-by-car\\\/\",\"name\":\"By Car to Machu Picchu | Explore the Andes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/machu-picchu-by-car\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/machu-picchu-by-car\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-08T12:34:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-08T12:48:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"Machu Picchu is possible by car, but this trip isn't direct, as it's located deep in the Andes and can only be reached by train or on foot.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/machu-picchu-by-car\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/machu-picchu-by-car\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/machu-picchu-by-car\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg\",\"width\":1921,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"machu picchu by car\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/machu-picchu-by-car\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"blogs\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Machu Picchu by Car.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Salkantay Expeditions\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Salkantay Expeditions\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/logo.png\",\"width\":1221,\"height\":676,\"caption\":\"Salkantay Expeditions\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/salkantayexpeditions.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/profile.php?id=61576288937850\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"By Car to Machu Picchu | Explore the Andes","description":"Machu Picchu is possible by car, but this trip isn't direct, as it's located deep in the Andes and can only be reached by train or on foot.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"By Car to Machu Picchu | Explore the Andes","og_description":"Machu Picchu is possible by car, but this trip isn't direct, as it's located deep in the Andes and can only be reached by train or on foot.","og_url":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/","og_site_name":"Salkantay Expeditions","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61576288937850","article_modified_time":"2025-10-08T12:48:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1921,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/","url":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/","name":"By Car to Machu Picchu | Explore the Andes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-08T12:34:50+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-08T12:48:34+00:00","description":"Machu Picchu is possible by car, but this trip isn't direct, as it's located deep in the Andes and can only be reached by train or on foot.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg","width":1921,"height":800,"caption":"machu picchu by car"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/blog\/machu-picchu-by-car\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"","item":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"blogs","item":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Machu Picchu by Car."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/","name":"Salkantay Expeditions","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/#organization","name":"Salkantay Expeditions","url":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/logo.png","width":1221,"height":676,"caption":"Salkantay Expeditions"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61576288937850"]}]}},"featured_img":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/mapi-by-car-blog.jpg","coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/author\/041495e408952029bab104ac313e7217\/","display_name":"salkantayexp"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 6 months ago","modified":"Updated 6 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 8, 2025","modified":"Updated on October 8, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 8, 2025 12:34 pm","modified":"Updated on October 8, 2025 12:48 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","tax_additional":{"translation_priority":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/?taxonomy=translation_priority&#038;term=optional\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Optional<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Optional<\/span>"],"slug":"translation_priority","name":"Translation Priorities"}},"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/9666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salkantayexpeditions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}