Aguas Calientes

Aguas Calientes, officially Machupicchu Pueblo, sits at 2,040 metres in a narrow gorge where the Aguas Calientes stream meets the Urubamba, and it has no road connection to the rest of Peru - everything arrives by train, or on foot along the tracks from Hidroeléctrica. It exists to serve Machu Picchu: hotels stacked up the slopes, restaurants with touts on the street, a craft market between the station and the bridge, the bus terminal for the switchback road up to the site, and thermal pools at the top of the town that give it its name and which are functional rather than lovely. Staying the night is what most people do in order to reach the site early, and the town is expensive because it can be. It has flooded seriously more than once, most notably in 2010 when the railway was cut for weeks.

History

A few farming families settled here in 1901, and in the late 1920s the place became a busy camp for railway workers, called Maquinachayoq, "the place with a little train", in Quechua. The railway was completed in 1931, foreign visitors began to arrive for Machu Picchu, and the town grew up around them (Wikipedia, Aguas Calientes, Peru).

What you'll find

• The gorge setting - a town wedged between steep forested walls and two rivers.
• The station and market - the arrival point and the craft market beside it.
• The bus terminal - departures for the switchback road up to Machu Picchu.
• The hot springs - the thermal pools that named the town.

When to go

April to October. An overnight is the standard, to be on an early bus. Train tickets and Machu Picchu entry both need booking well in advance.

What to expect

Expensive for everything - rooms, food, buses. Persistent restaurant touting on the main streets. The hot springs are basic and often crowded. No road access, so plans depend entirely on the train. Rain is frequent even in the dry season.

Nearby

Machu Picchu is above the town; Ollantaytambo is the railhead down the valley.

Key facts