[Originally published October 7, 2009] There’s a new train service running between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes, offering an alternative for travelers to reach Machu Picchu.
After holding an exclusive concession for more than a decade, Orient Express PeruRail has had to make room on the tracks for a competitor, Inca Rail, which is now in its first full month of operation with eight carriages transporting passengers in plush comfort along the Urubamba River rail line.
(A third rail company, Andean Railways, was also granted permission to add its trains to the route and is expected start operations before the end of the year.)
Schedule & Fares
Inca Rail, offering new train service between Ollantaytambo & Machu Picchu
Executive Class:
One Way:
Leave from Ollantaytambo at 16:36hrs – Arrival to Aguas Calientes at 18:09hrs
Leave from Ollantaytambo at 11:35hrs – Arrival to Aguas Calientes at 13:05hrs
Return:
Leave from Aguas Calientes at 14:02hrs – Arrival to Ollantaytambo at 15:32hrs
Leave from Aguas Calientes at 19:00hrs – Arrival to Ollantaytambo at 20:32hrs
Price One way : $40.00
Price Round trip : $80.00
First Class:
One Way:
Leave from Ollantaytambo at 06:40hrs – Arrival to Aguas Calientes at 08:01hrs
Leave from Ollantaytambo at 11:35hrs – Arrival to Aguas Calientes at 13:05hrs
Return:
Leave from Aguas Calientes at 08:30hrs – Arrival to Ollantaytambo at 10:10hrs
Leave from Aguas Calientes at 14:02hrs – Arrival to Ollantaytambo at 15:32hrs
Rick Vecchio, Fertur’s director of development and marketing, was educated at the New School for Social Research and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He worked for Pacifica Radio WBAI and as a daily reporter for newspapers in New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts. Then in 1996, he decided it was time to realize a life-long dream of traveling to Peru. He never went back.
While serving as Peru country manager for the South American Explorers from 1997-1999, he fell in love with Fertur's founder, Siduith Ferrer, and they married. Over the next six years, he worked as a correspondent for The Associated Press. Meanwhile, Siduith built the business, which he joined in January 2007.
Now he designs custom educational and adventure tour packages for corporate and institutional clients, oversees Fertur’s Internet platform and occasionally leads special trips, always with an eye open for a good story to write about.
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