Machu Picchu by car: The backpacker's alternative

Heading to Machu Picchu? You can skip the train and the Inca Trail.

The Peruvian government is in the process of constructing a highway that will allow tourists to arrive to Aguas Calientes by car, and while the work is not finished, it has already provided an alternative route for backpackers to reach the famed ruins.

Having already tried the classic train trip once, I decided to use a recent visit to Machu Picchu to try out this cheaper, more adventurous alternative. In some ways, we got more of an adventure than we expected.

The two-day tour began at 7 a.m. in Cusco. My partner and I were whisked away by car, through Ollantaytambo and the small town of Santa Rosa, where we got lunch, and finally arrived at Santa Teresa.

The finished road ends in Santa Teresa, and turns into a mud track, littered with potholes and hugging precarious cliffs. After a total journey time of seven or eight hours, during which we had a spectacular view of the Sacred Valley, we reached a hydroelectric plant along the Urubamba River.