Rains in Peru

15th March 2010

We have received official notification from the Peruvian Tourist Board that the railway link to Machu Picchu will officially reopen on 29 March, with scheduled passenger services resuming on 1 April. The route to Machu Picchu will be in two parts following the resumption of services - the first part of the journey between Cuzco and KM82 (the start of the Inca Trail, also known as Pisacucho) will be by road, then the remainder will be by rail to Aguas Calientes. Bus services between Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu citadel will run as normal.

Although no official announcement has been made on the repair work to the Inca Trail, it is widely expected that the trekking route will reopen on 1 April to coincide with the opening of the historical sanctuary itself. We will update this information once we have a definite reopening date for the trail, but we are confident that the Exodus trekking groups who are due to start their treks in April will be able to do so as planned.

11th February Update

Following the recent floods and landslides in southern Peru, we have received updates from our local operator about access to Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is currently closed while the road from Aguas Calientes to the site is repaired, and work is now well underway on restoring the rail link between Aguas Calientes and Cuzco. We expect the Inca Trail to reopen as normal on 1 March, and the rail link should be operating again by 31 March.

Although we will continue to monitor the local situation carefully, this news means that we will be operating all trips departing on or after 27 March as planned, with no changes to their daily itineraries.

If you are thinking of travelling to Peru, we would advise you not to delay booking your holiday this year - Inca Trail permits are still selling as quickly as ever for the peak trekking months, and the local economy, to which tourism contributes so much, will recover much more quickly if visitors continue to come to Peru and experience its unique culture, landscapes and archaeological sites.

News: 29th January 2010

You have probably seen the recent news about the heavy rains and landslides which have affected southern Peru, and the problems this has caused in the Machu Picchu area.  Events such as these are quite common at the height of Peru's rainy season. Although officially the rainy season runs from November to March, the heaviest rains generally fall in January and February, and landslides are a frequent occurrence.  

In recent years, landslides have damaged both the railway line from Cuzco to Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail, but the local authorities have always worked hard to repair the damage as quickly as possible and our tours have not been affected by events in the rainy season. At present, it is estimated that repairs should allow tourists to visit Machu Picchu within the next 6 to 8 weeks, and we are in regular contact with our local partners in Cuzco to keep up to date with developments on the ground.

We believe the majority of our itineraries will be unaffected by recent events, but as of 3 February we have cancelled our first departure on the Inca Trail (10 March) and will be reviewing the remainder of March trips within the next few days.

All April departures are scheduled to run as planned, with no changes envisaged to itineraries, but we will be constantly reviewing the situation in Peru until we are sure that all services have returned to normal.