Road construction with long full closures | Warning

May 2nd, 2023 by Nox_aroundtheworld

The opening hours are 9-9h30; 12h-13h; 15h-15h30; and after 18h30. On the first way we drive at night and took more than an hour with a jumper citroen but had no real difficulty as we were very careful. on the way back we tried faster because WE didn't want to get stuck in the middle of thé road and took about 40 minutes.

March 14th, 2023 by delphine.fort-signoret

Indeed a dangerous road. We did not make it with our 2WD Fiat Ducato mainly because the floor was wet and slippery. Still road hours restrictions because of maintenance work.

For us best was to leave your car in Santa Maria and take a crazy driver minibus (one until Santa Teresa and one until Hydroelectrica) and then walk to Aguas Calientes.

November 19th, 2022 by someunexpectedjourneys

Another update: even though the sign only mentions 2 km of construction, this is plain wrong (at least as of 11/2022): all the way to hidroelectrica (closed point to Machu Picchu that you can reach by car) is under construction, with mostly single lane dirt track . So it's more like 30-40km of construction, that's also why it can take between 4-7 hours from ollantaytambo to hidroelectrica, while the train only needs 1:30h. it's also 150km one way driving vs 35km bee-line from ollantaytambo to hidroelectrica.

November 19th, 2022 by someunexpectedjourneys

it seems like my picture for the timetable wasn't uploaded, so here in text as well:

Monday to Saturday:
7:00-9:00 closed
9:00-9:30 open
9:30-12:00 closed
12:00-13:00 open
13:00-15:00 closed
15:00-15:30 open
15:30-18:00 closed

It seems like Sunday should be open.

It is unclear if it is open before 7:00 and/or after 18:00. We did manage to drive through at 18:30 after waiting 3 hours. Even the police in Santa Maria didn't know how to read the timetable.

November 19th, 2022 by someunexpectedjourneys

The road from Santa Maria to Santa Teresa is under construction, with full closures from Monday to Saturday and only an opening for 30 minutes every 3 hours (see timetable on picture). I am not sure if it is supposed to be closed completely after 18:00 or 19:00, but we were able to pass after 18:00 (in the dark). If you arrive after 15:30 in Santa Maria, you will need to drive most of the way (single lane dirt track with unclear signage and steep cliffs) in the dark. Worst, the traffic (when it is open, will be opened both ways, so lots of negotiation about right of way with stubborn taxi and bus drivers). I wouldn't recommend it at the moment, taking the train from Cusco or ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu is a much more stress free experience even though it is crazy expensive. Not sure if there are reliable ways to check the state of construction in advance, but I would avoid it while it lasts.