Machu Picchu town or Aguas Calientes Information

Machupicchu Town (Aguas Calientes)

It is a small town with 3,400 residents and an average of 1,500 daily tourists. The urban and commercial area is located, and visiting the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is necessary.

It is located at 2,300 meters and 06 kilometers away, about one hour and 30 minutes of hiking from the archaeological zone.

To reach the historic Citadel of Machupicchu, you will first arrive at Aguas Calientes, the nearest town to Machupicchu (1,700 m.s.n.m.). Both trains and helicopters arrive first in this town. This is where most tourists spend the night and savor delicious typical meals, drinks, and nights of partying in the different discos; besides, several omnibuses and combis will take you to the enigmatic Citadel of Machupicchu and Puente Ruinas.

Machu Picchu Pueblo has hotels and restaurants for tourists, train stations, craft markets, hot spring baths, and essential public services.

Recommendation
Spend the night in Macchu Picchu Pueblo (if you can). This way, you can get up early, climb the citadel, and watch the sunrise.

What’s in Machu Picchu Pueblo?

Thermal Baths

Eight hundred meters from Aguas Calientes, in the direction of the east, are the famous thermal waters that give their name to the city. They are sulfurous waters at different degrees of temperature that emerge from the rocky subsoil.

The hot springs offer travelers one of the best experiences during the Inca Trail. They are located more than a kilometer east of Aguas Calientes, which takes its name from this beautiful natural space. The access time to the hot springs is from 5:00 am to 8 pm, and the price rate is ten soles for international tourists, five soles for national tourists, and three soles for local visitors. The water obscured due to the sulfur emanations from the rocky soil of these pools has formed these famous thermal baths, offering several pools of natural water that oscillate between 38 and 46 degrees of temperature. The infrastructure has lobbies and toilets as well as small drinks stores.

The pools or conditioned pools present the essential infrastructure for a thermal bath. The average temperature of these waters is between 38 °C and 46 °C.
There are also lobbies, hygienic services, and a small snack bar. Who can visit them between 5 am and 8 pm?

General services

Hot water, the anteroom, and the entrance gate to the Citadel of Machupicchu are familiar in a small town. There is also water, electricity, fixed and cellular telephony, radio and television, ATM cards, Visa, Internet access, and foreign currency exchange houses.

Location of Machu Picchu Pueblo

It is located in the Department of Cusco province of the Urubamba district of Machu Picchu, which covers 32,592 hectares and is sheltered by the snow chains of Salkantay to the south and Veronica to the north.

Macchu Picchu is at 2430 m. It was undoubtedly one of the essential urban creations of the Empire of the Inkas, situated in an extraordinary location in the middle of a rainforest.

The climate of Machu Picchu Pueblo

Warm and humid, with an average annual temperature of 16ºC (60.5ºF) during the day. Rainy season from November to March.

The tourist services of the city:

Public services are limited and scarce. There are ATM banks and ATM offices, a ticket sales office for the archaeological zone of Machu Picchu, a police station, an IPerú office, a post office, pharmacies, a small medical center (Health Center), restaurants, Internet cafes, public telephones, souvenir shops, and gifts, and a craft market adjacent to the train station.

The Gardens and Mandor Waterfall

On the other hand, the gardens of Mandor offer one of the most beautiful places in the surroundings, so it is highly recommended to those visitors who want to enjoy these wonders of nature represented by a set of beautiful gardens surrounded by a series of cataracts. Likewise, the waterfalls of these gardens have made this one of the reserved spaces of the biosphere considered a sanctuary for many native species of flora and fauna. Undoubtedly, visitors will contemplate the diversity of bird species, such as the hummingbirds or roosters of the rocks, which are the typical national birds of this area. It is a sensational spectacle with its famous exhibitions during mating rituals. The gardens remain open all day, and admission is free. Still, it recommends visiting according to the bus schedules that lead to the area. The walking tour offers a massive attraction for visitors: it is approximately an hour to go Through beautiful jungle landscapes guided by the railway line from Aguas Calientes to Santa Teresa.

The schedule is all day at the Mandor waterfall since a family lives at the entrance.

The Butterfly House of Machu Picchu

We will all visit Machu Picchu, Peru’s most crucial attraction and one of the seven new wonders of the world, but little is known about the newly created butterfly.

The butterfly is a 15-minute walk from Aguas Calientes, following the road that will take us to Machu Picchu. The visit usually lasts between 15 and 20 minutes, and inside, a guide will show you all the species of butterflies that live in the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu.

It also offers the opportunity to learn about the biodiversity of Machu Picchu’s sanctuary and the mysterious and fascinating world of butterflies.