Machu Picchu-Latest Information About Visiting

The May 13 Cusco newspaper indicates that June 30 is still the expected date that rail service will resume between Cusco and MP. Most of the track is ready to go, but the section from Chilca (kilometer 77) to Piscacucho (kilometer 82), has four points remaining to be repaired, with the most critical at kilometer 79.

I also found a news article about the intended implementation of an on-line internet system to purchase e-tickets for admission to to MP. The article indicates that the tickets are still being sold in Cusco, in Aguas Calientes, and at the entrance to MP. The article follows:

Cusco, May 13 (ANDINA). Cusco’s National Institute of Culture (INC) will soon implement the sales system of electronic tickets to enter the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu and other archaeological sites, in order to provide a better service to tourists.

At present, there are three points of sale: the citadel’s entrance, the Machu Picchu town (formerly called Aguas Calientes), and San Bernardo Street in the city of Cusco, which are opened only during office hours.

Which is why, the proposal is to have unlimited points of sale so that the tourist can purchase the entrance ticket directly and from any part of the world. The visitor would have to make a deposit to an account.

The cultural institution plans on signing an agreement with the Banco de la Nacion to make the payments by three methods: credit card (Visa), Multired Card, and cash.

To that end, the INC-Cusco servers will be connected by Internet with the bank’s network.

I've been monitoring the PeruRail website to see if the temporary rail schedule to MP continues to change. The last two days, the entire PeruRail website seems to be down. At first, I thought they were updating the temporary information again, but it seems as though it must be having technical problems.

The PeruRail website is back up, and it appears there have been only some minor cosmetic changes made, so perhaps this is the "final" temporary schedule. However, the schedules on the "Temporary Services" page and the "Temporary Time Schedules" page are not exactly the same.

I tried to change my ticket for a now-canceled train using the reprint function, and it still doesn't work. It is still more than 30 days out, but I thought they may have changed something related to this while the website was down. (I was informed previously by PeruRail that tickets could not be exchanged until the travel date is fewer than 30 days in the future.)

I tried to change my ticket a couple of more times within 30 days of our travel, and the "Reprint Tickets" function still did not change my tickets. I finally emailed the railroad, and after a few days, I received a response and new reservations.

I tried to change my ticket a couple of more times within 30 days of our travel, and the "Reprint Tickets" function still did not change my tickets. I finally emailed the railroad, and after a few days, I received a response and new reservations.

Glad you got it resloved and now have new reservations.

How soon do you leave?

We are going on Aug 7th but our MP tickets were purchased as part of a tour package. Not sure if I could withstand the stress of running into snags :eek:

Sure hope you will return and give us a full review :D

Peru Rail website now shows normal services of all three (3) passenger services : Backpackers, Vista Dome and Haram Bigham between Cusco - Sacred Valley & Machu Pichu will resume on 01 July, 2010 .

j2ink-

Km 79 is the spot I reported about where the river had washed away the entire shore. It has been refilled and raised 2 m. That portion was complete over two weeks ago when we were there. They were getting ready then to lay down the railroad ties further inland than they used to be. According to today's paper that work has started out. So far, PeruRail has been ahead of schedule whenever the cited a firm date. So that's good news for everyone, especially the residents who have really suffered from the catastrophe.

Looking forward to reading your report (and xcountry's) when you return.

M

Peru Rail website now shows normal services of all three (3) passenger services : Backpackers, Vista Dome and Haram Bigham between Cusco - Sacred Valley & Machu Pichu will resume on 01 July, 2010 .

I'm not sure what you are looking at. The PeruRail website is still showing the temporary services schedule under all of the links. This is the website:

http://www.perurail.com/web/tper/tper_a2a_home.html

If you click on any of the links, they all show the same schedule, which includes a bus ride from Cusco or the Sacred Valley.

Glad you got it resloved and now have new reservations.

How soon do you leave?

We are going on Aug 7th but our MP tickets were purchased as part of a tour package. Not sure if I could withstand the stress of running into snags :eek:

 

Sure hope you will return and give us a full review :D

We leave on June 24 and plan to spend three days in the Sacred Valley before visiting MP on the 28th (hopefully). Before the train tracks washed out, the planning didn't seem as though it would be too stressful. However, the many changes in the train schedule, reports about limitations of where to purchase admission tickets, and whether they were going to limit the number of people visiting the site each day really created the confusion. If they don't change things again before June 30th, I should be in good shape. By the time you visit, everything should be back to normal.

I'm not sure what you are looking at. The PeruRail website is still showing the temporary services schedule under all of the links. This is the website:

 

http://www.perurail.com/web/tper/tper_a2a_home.html

 

If you click on any of the links, they all show the same schedule, which includes a bus ride from Cusco or the Sacred Valley.

j2ink-

I was curious too. If you go to the "Book Online" box and enter any date in July, you'll get the new schedules.

And you are right, planning was no problem at all until the floods!

M

A third railroad has been authorized to operate service to MP beginning in July:

Lima, Jun. 08 (ANDINA). Andean Railways corporation, a new railway operator in Cusco-Machu Picchu route, today announced that it will conduct the last technical and regulatory inspections of railcars as soon as Machu Picchu rail is completely opened, so that operations can be implemented in July.

Andean Railways chief executive Jose Daniel Amado expressed his confidence that the rail line will be restored by the end of June.

Fetransa -the concessionary operating Cusco-Machu Picchu rail route- has announced the reopening of 77, 78 and 79 of railroad will occur in end-June.

Amado highlighted that Andean Railways will operate only two railcars at first and the rest will be available until early July.

Andean Railways has been authorized to operate by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MTC) since early May, because it met the Peruvian law requirements, Amado recalled.

My husband and I are considering a cruise which would include a stop at an access point Callao/Lima Peru for two day stop on Oct. 26 through 27. We would like to tour Machu Picchu and can take a tour from the boat, but the cost is very high. I wondered if there is an alternative tour we could take. We can pick up the cruise again on Oct 28th in Pisco, Peru.

I would be interested in any suggestions including costs.

JG

You would be insane to do an overnight trip to MP. You would be a prime candidate for altitude sickness. The tour would be : from sea level fly to Cusco (10,000+ ft) on Oct 26, MP on Oct 27th (maximum 3 hours in MP - not enough!), fly back to sea level Oct. 28. You would be much better off going to MP at the beginning or end of your cruise and taking 5 nights (4 full days) to do it. This is the minimum to enjoy the whole area without getting sick. There is a lot more to see than just MP. You can do it on your own for a lot less than the ship would charge for 3 nights/2 full days.

Cusco, Jun. 20 (ANDINA). Authorities in the Peruvian region of Cusco have banned commercial helicopter flights to or from the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu and the surrounding 125 square miles (323 square kilometers), according to a regional ordinance published on Saturday. The Regional Government of Cusco said that, as a state-run institution, it is responsible for fostering the conservation of biological diversity and protected natural areas.

Local wildlife organizations have been pushing for several years to ban commercial helicopter flights to the Inca citadel because they affect species such as spectacled bears, vicunas, guanacos and birds.

Regional authorities also mentioned that the noise of helicopter rotors affects habitat for the red-plumed Andean cock of the rock.

Hi j2ink -

how are your travel plans coming? Any luck in Lima?

M

Here is link to webpage for Vistadome train which quite clearly says from 01 July,2010 .

http://www.perurail.com/web/tper/poroy_machu_vistadome.html

I totally agree with Marazul, 2 days is way too short of a time to see MP. You would be better off to book a private tour at the beginning or end of your cruise, since you are in the neighborhood. I would bet that you could do a longer trip to MP for about half the price since cruise lines make about 50% on all shore excursions.

Peru Rail website now shows normal services of all three (3) passenger services : Backpackers, Vista Dome and Haram Bigham between Cusco - Sacred Valley & Machu Pichu will resume on 01 July, 2010 .

kuldalai, I thought that when you wrote "PeruRail website now shows normal service..." you meant the train service operating "now." Apparently you were just adding more information supporting the fact that normal service will resume on July 1.

Hi j2ink -

how are your travel plans coming? Any luck in Lima?

M

I decided not to get a full tour of Lima with a guide. I'm essentially renting a taxi with an English-speaking driver for 10 hours. I've arranged an itinerary with many stops, including shopping, lunch and dinner.

I'm not a big fan of tour guides, so this will be a DIY tour of Lima for us. I've done this several times before in other cities, where the driver takes us where we want to go, and then he will be waiting for us when we finish. Then, off to the next stop.

Good deal. Don't forget to post when you get back.

Cusco, Jun. 22 (ANDINA). Cusco (kilometer 0)-Machu Picchu (kilometer 110) railroad will be fully reopened on Friday and operators will resume its operations normally from Cusco, Poroy and Ollantaytambo stations but with some speed restrictions. Ferrocarril Transandino S.A. (FTSA) -concessionaire of the route in the south and south east of Peru- recalled that after two months of work, the rehabilitation of the Piscacucho (kilometer 82)-Machu Picchu railroad was finished on March 29.

From June 20 to 25, FTSA and the rail operators will test out the Poroy (kilometer 18)-Machu Picchu road with cars and locomotives so that they get use to the new stretch and guarantee a safe operation.

Although, operators will be able to resume their operations in the entire railroad since June 25, they will have to do it under certain speed restrictions during the first three months (July, August and September).

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I'm not sure what this means for those of us who have train tickets for June 26-June 30. i tried to check the PeruRail website tonight, but it apparently is not operating at the moment.

The PeruRail website is back up this morning, but no changes were made in the schedule. Looks like I'll have to deal with changing the tickets when I get there. I'll post a report when i return...

j2ink-

as best as I can find out, the regular train schedule (Vistadome, Hiram Bingham, etc.) will still restart on July 1. The tickets you have should still be good for the time indicated. Sorry, I can't get any more details. Hope it works. Have a great adventure!

M

Apparently, PeruRail decided to keep the temporary schedule through June 30, probably because every ticket would have needed to be reissued for the period June 25-30.

In any event, we took a taxi to Piscacucho on June 28, and it was quite an experience. A few miles into the one-lane trip, we ran into a Peruvian standoff with long lines of traffic trying to go both ways. It was finally resolved, and we arrived at the Piscacucho loading platform without any further incident. There was a light rain falling, and the scene reminded me of something out of a movie. The tops of the mountains were shrouded in clouds, and the trains waiting below had an eerie appearance. After waiting on the platform, we needed to walk down-hill to the train, which was about 150 meters away. The train cars were very nice, and the trip to MP was scenic, but uneventful.

When we arrived in MP, the rain was continuing to fall. Instead of going though the main entrance, we proceeded directly to the guard tower area, which was about a 15 minute hike up hill. When we reached the top, the rain had nearly stopped, but the clouds were hanging low around the mountain tops. Fortunately, when we reached the top, most of MP was visible, and the view was stunning. No matter how many photos you have seen of MP, nothing can prepare you for the real thing. The weather cleared as the day progressed, and we had a wonderful time and got some really great photos.

j2ink-

welcome back! Glad everything worked out. PeruRail sure added to our adventures, but it's good everything is back to normal for all future travelers.

And, I agree, MP is extraordinarily beautiful. I bet you also got some dramatic pictures of those clouds on the mountain tops behind Huayna Picchu.

Marazul