Road construction with long full closures | Warning

December 26th, 2023 by ATeamOnTheRoad

Agree the road is not paved, but certainly drive’able in a Mercedes Sprinter 2wd.
We didn’t occur any delays or stops on route.

September 26th, 2023 by roaming_dutchies

Didn’t read the comments before going here. Road is small and very muddy on some parts but not inaccessible or dangerous. Some road works on a Tuesday around 5.30PM, not more than 10min wait

August 10th, 2023 by anschnallenabfahrt

The road is quite adventures in a 6m VW Crafter. But totally doable without 4x4 like it is written in the comment before :)
We also had to wait a bit here and there because of the constructions, but nothing over 20Min. They actually did not excactly opened the road like it is written officially at the first construction- stop. Was more like they just waited until a few cars were there and than opened it.

The whole road seems to be under construction… and they are building a tunnel. Once in the future I think it will be a very good and wider road.

But until than: I think every car / van / bus / big rig can do it! Just keep it slow and patient.

We needed from Ollantaytambo to the hidroelectrica something around 5,5h in total.

June 4th, 2023 by Gatogoesglobal

after all the negative information below we were a bit stressed about driving this road. Really not necessary! The road is very doable for any type of car! We even saw a low sports car. You do not need a 4*4, not even when wet. The road isn't dangerous either, pretty much like most mountain roads. We drove up on a Sunday when there are no road works. Some oncoming traffic but we were surprised about how wel. behaved everybody actually was, much better than in many parts of Peru. we drove down on a Wednesday between 12-13h. We are a slow van and made it within the hour, with very little traffic coming from the other side. Didn't see a single touring car only smaller vans. And it is not like the whole toad is blocked either. There are 3 parts where the time frame is valid, the rest of the road can be driven the entire day. The first part of the roadworks, (with a time frame) coming from Cusco took us only 8. minutes to drive. The two other parts of roadworks are after Santa Teresa and took us 20 min to drive up. There are also some roadworks on the rest of the road but without a timeframe. During 12-13 it is clear that everyone is at lunch.

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 hannokolvenbach

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 hannokolvenbach

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 hannokolvenbach

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.