The Hiram Bingham Train to Machu Picchu

The Route and the Rolling Stock

The train runs from Poroy near Cusco, from Rio Sagrado in Urubamba or from Pachar in the Sacred Valley, down to Aguas Calientes, the station town below Machu Picchu. The line is 914 mm (3 ft) narrow gauge track. Wikipedia lists the consist as five cars: two dining cars, a lounge car, a lounge and observation car and a kitchen car. The Luxury Train Club says each of the two dining cars has 42 seats. Belmond describes the carriages as 1920s Pullman style, with period furnishings and polished wood interiors, and caps the train at 84 passengers. An observatory carriage is set aside for viewing the scenery.

If you would rather earn the citadel on foot and ride home by train, the Private Short Inca Trail, for example, returns on a Vistadome business class train.

Food and Drink On Board

Meals are part of the ticket in both directions. Passengers have brunch on the outbound journey and dinner on the return, and the return meal is a four-course dinner. Belmond describes the on-board dining as fine Peruvian food, with local and international cocktails available.

The Luxury Train Club adds that the fare includes non-premium beverages and a wine selection, and that the outbound starts with a welcome cocktail. Live music and performances are part of the on-board programme. The on-board currency is the US dollar, and Belmond accepts cash in dollars or soles plus Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

What the Fare Includes, and What It Does Not

Belmond lists the inclusions clearly. The ticket covers access to the station VIP lounge, a bilingual guide at Machu Picchu subject to availability, one guide for every group of 14 passengers according to the reseller Ffestiniog Travel, a private bus transfer between Aguas Calientes station and the citadel, and a tea experience at Sanctuary Lodge on the outbound journey only. The Luxury Train Club times the citadel tour at 13:00 and the Sanctuary Lodge tea at 16:00.

The single most important exclusion is entry to Machu Picchu itself. Belmond states that the Hiram Bingham ticket does not guarantee entry to the citadel, because entrance tickets are managed separately by the Ministry of Culture. Luggage is limited to one piece of hand luggage up to 5 kg (11 lb) and no more than 157 cm in total of height, length and width. Dress code is smart casual, with what Belmond calls an informal explorer-style look encouraged, and the Luxury Train Club suggests adding rain protection, sun protection and comfortable shoes.

No trek in the comparison includes this train. The closest is the Luxury 4-Day Inca Trail at $6,222 per person, which lists an exclusive luxury train back to Ollantaytambo or Poroy without naming the class, so do not assume it is the Hiram Bingham.

The Published Timetable

Ffestiniog Travel gives the fullest published schedule, with a morning departure from Poroy and an evening return that puts you back near Cusco at night. The Luxury Train Club puts the journey at about 3 hours 15 minutes each way, while Ffestiniog gives 3 hours 20 minutes and other sources about 3.5 hours. For comparison, the standard PeruRail services from Ollantaytambo take about 1 hour 30 minutes, because they start much closer to Machu Picchu.

From Urubamba the Hiram Bingham takes about 2 hours 30 minutes and from Ollantaytambo nearly 2 hours, per Salkantay Trekking.

Fares, Conflicts and Running Days

Fares come from reseller and review pages rather than Belmond's own site, so treat the figures as reported. Ffestiniog Travel reports fares from about $540 one way and about $1,000 round trip, and also mentions a $750 full-day package figure. Salkantay Trekking lists the round trip at $950. Against that, the same source lists PeruRail Expedition round trips at $140, PeruRail Vistadome at $190, and Inca Rail round trips at $140 for the Voyager, $150 for the 360 and $398 for First Class. Inca Rail 360 one-way fares are separately reported at about $95 to $140. The gap is wide, and the Hiram Bingham costs far more than the standard round trips.

On running days, Belmond's own pages do not state the season or the days the train does not run, so no schedule of dark days can be given here.

If $950 to $1,000 for a day return is more than the trip justifies, some of the treks in the comparison bundle a standard train into the price. The 4-Day Inca Trail with Panoramic Train returns on the Vistadome for $798 per person total, permits and Machu Picchu entry included.

Every Train To Machu Picchu Compared

Three train families serve the route. PeruRail runs the Expedition, the Vistadome and the Vistadome Observatory. Inca Rail runs the Voyager, the 360, the Prime and the First Class. Belmond runs the Hiram Bingham. The PeruRail classes each take about 1 hour 30 minutes from Ollantaytambo, and all routes finish with a 25 to 30 minute Consettur bus ride up to the citadel, unless you ride the Hiram Bingham, where the bus transfer is part of the fare.

The price gap is wide. Salkantay Trekking lists round trips at $950 for the Hiram Bingham, $190 for the Vistadome, $140 for the Expedition, $140 for the Inca Rail Voyager, $150 for the Inca Rail 360 and $398 for the Inca Rail First Class. Ffestiniog Travel reports Hiram Bingham fares from about $540 one way and about $1,000 round trip. The two Hiram Bingham totals differ, so treat $950 to $1,000 as the published round trip range and check current fares before booking.

What separates the Hiram Bingham is not just the wood panelling of the 1920s Pullman carriages. It carries at most 84 passengers, has two dining cars and two bar cars, an observatory carriage, a welcome cocktail and brunch outbound, a four-course dinner on the return, a guide for every group of 14 passengers, tea at Sanctuary Lodge, live music and access to the station VIP lounge. The other classes listed here do not mention a guided citadel visit or that tea.

The Vistadome and Vistadome Observatory give you ceiling windows and live cultural performances on the return, and the Observatory adds an open-air balcony carriage with a transparent roof, a bar and an audio tour. The Inca Rail 360 has an open-air observation car and panoramic windows with UV protection, and the reference fare runs about $95 to $140 each way. The Inca Rail First Class seats 30 passengers and adds a bar-lounge car, live saxophone, a Wine Ceremony and a three-course menu with wine pairing and a welcome pisco sour. The PeruRail classes are about 1.5 hour rides from Ollantaytambo, not a full day out.

On timing, the Hiram Bingham is also the slowest. Salkantay Trekking gives Poroy to Aguas Calientes as 3 hours 15 minutes, Urubamba as 2 hours 30 minutes and Ollantaytambo as nearly 2 hours, against about 1.5 hours for the PeruRail classes from Ollantaytambo. You pay more for a longer journey and get meals, drinks and entertainment for the difference.

The line from Cusco to Machu Picchu runs on 914 mm (3 ft) narrow gauge track, and PeruRail's Vistadome cars are refurbished German Ferrostaal railcars from 1965. Onboard currency on the Hiram Bingham is the US dollar, with cash in dollars or soles plus Visa, MasterCard and American Express accepted.

Which Return Train Each Trek Uses

No trek on this site includes the Hiram Bingham. Every listing that names its return train names a standard class such as Vistadome or Expedition, so if you want the Belmond service you book it separately on top of your trek.

Here is what each tour actually puts you on. The Luxury 4-Day Inca Trail at $6,222 per person returns by an exclusive luxury train to Ollantaytambo or Poroy, but the class is not named, so do not assume it is the Hiram Bingham. The Premium 4-Day Inca Trail Trek at $1,499 leaves the train out entirely as a listed exclusion. The Private 5-Day Inca Trail at $1,710 returns by train and bus to Cusco, class not stated, and The 7-Day Salkantay and Inca Trail at $1,555 uses a tourist train back to Ollantaytambo that the listing calls panoramic. The 4-Day Inca Trail with Vistadome Train at $835 includes a return train whose class depends on the date, with a $20 Vistadome upgrade, The 4-Day Inca Trail with Panoramic Train at $798 returns on the Vistadome panoramic train, and The 4-Day 3-Night Inca Trail Trek at $998 and The 4-Day Small-Group Inca Trail at $980 both return on the Expedition. On the short trail, The Short Inca Trail with 4-Star Hotel at $585 (class depends on the date) and The 2-Day Inca Trail with Vistadome at $592 use the Vistadome on the return, The Private Short Inca Trail at $756 uses Vistadome business class, The 2-Day Short Inca Trail Tour at $653 offers tourist or panoramic class, The Premium Express Inca Trail at $1,032 offers Vistadome or Expedition depending on the option, and The Private One-Day Inca Trail at $596 returns on the Vistadome glass-roof train to Ollantaytambo.

The Hiram Bingham leaves Machu Picchu at 5:50 p.m. and reaches Poroy about 9:16 p.m., with dinner served on board, so it could suit the last day of a trek only if your citadel ticket and circuit allow a late afternoon finish. The included private bus between Aguas Calientes station and the citadel removes one transfer. Buy the train for the day your trek ends, keep your main luggage in the free PeruRail storage at Machu Picchu station available from 5:00 to 22:00, and note the Hiram Bingham hand luggage allowance of one piece up to 5 kg (11 lb) and 157 cm total dimensions. PeruRail classes allow up to 12 kg. Belmond states that the train ticket does not guarantee entry to Machu Picchu, because entrance tickets are managed separately by the Ministry of Culture, so your trek operator's permit and ticket remain the item that gets you inside. The full route and its day-by-day logic sit in the Inca Trail guide, and the wider comparison of luxury Inca Trail tours lives on the homepage. Prices and schedules in this section come from the operators and resellers cited above.