Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town)

Altitude: 2,040m (6,690 ft) Population: 1,600 Phone code: 84

The town below Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes is the train from Cusco’s final stop.

From here, just a few blocks from the train station, you can catch a 20-minute bus up a winding mountain road to the park entrance. To avoid crowds at Machu Picchu, we recommend staying one night at Aguas Calientes and taking the bus up to Machu Picchu before the first train arrives in the morning.

Aguas Calientes is an unremarkable town, and you won’t want to spend more than one night there, but there are several international restaurants and tourist-friendly hotels that live off the Machu Picchu crowds. There are some nice hikes in the area with decent bird-and butterfly-watching.

Other places nearby Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Town): Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail, Andahuaylillas and San Pedro, Yucay, Pisac, Cusco, Ollantaytambo, Urubamba, Cusco: South of the Plaza de Armas and Chinchero.