Pickup at 3.15 to 3.45 am approximately (depending on your hotel location) and we start our drive to Ollantaytambo where we will take the 6.40 am train to Aguas Calientes, arriving at around 9.00 am after a beautiful journey through the incredible landscapes of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. From Aguas Calientes we will take a shuttle bus to the site of Machu Picchu, where our guide will be waiting for us. There will be a guided tour of the site where we will see the most important monuments like the Royal Quarters, the Main Plaza, the Circular Tower, the Sacred Sun Dial, the Temple of the Three Windows, amongst others. Once the guided tour has finished you will have time to explore the site by yourself until the end of ticket time allows, when we will take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes (the pirce of the ticket back is not included) in time to catch the train back to Ollantaytambo. From there we will board a private bus back to Cusco (you will be left at the main square, there is no drop off at your accommodation).
As standard we try to purchase the morning entry tickets for this tour (6am to 12 midday) but if only afternoon tickets are availalble (12 midday to 5.30pm) then there is some free time in Aguas Calientes in the morning. Also return train times can vary depending on availability and which entry ticket is purchased. If possible the 19.00 train ticket is purchase which measn a return to Cusco around 22.30pm, but sometimes the 21.50 train is used which returns around 1am in Cusco.
