Quick Summary: Colectivos, the shared vans locals use, are the cheapest way from Cusco into the Sacred Valley, and they leave from two places: Calle Puputi for Pisac and Calca, and Calle Pavitos, by Puente Grau, for Chinchero, Urubamba and Ollantaytambo. Fares published in 2025 and 2026 run from about S/5–8 (US$1.50–2.30) to Pisac up to S/10–20 (US$2.90–5.80) to Ollantaytambo, rides take 45 minutes to 2 hours, and vans leave when full. Use them for day trips and valley hops, but book a taxi when a train is waiting: PeruRail's first trains leave Ollantaytambo at 05:05 and 06:10. For which towns to visit, start with our Sacred Valley travel guide.
Where to Catch Them in Cusco
Some guides send everyone to Calle Pavitos. In fact Cusco has two main colectivo stops, one for each road into the valley.
- Calle Puputi, for the Pisac road: vans for Pisac, Calca and Urubamba (the long way, via Pisac) leave from a small colectivo station on Calle Puputi, behind the Colegio Garcilaso (Along Dusty Roads, updated March 2026; AB Expeditions, updated October 2026). Wikivoyage also lists older, slower buses for Pisac and Calca from Avenida Tullumayo.
- Calle Pavitos at Avenida Grau, for the Chinchero road: vans and shared cars for Chinchero, Urubamba and Ollantaytambo gather on Calle Pavitos near Puente Grau (Where Goes Rose, updated July 2026; AB Expeditions). Wikivoyage also lists buses to Chinchero and Urubamba from Avenida Grau 525.
- Getting to Puputi: a taxi from the old town should cost no more than about S/5 (US$1.50), or walk 20–30 minutes, says Along Dusty Roads.
We found no timetable or official fare list for either stop. Drivers call out destinations; say yours and confirm the price before you sit down.
Routes, Fares and Journey Times
Fares are informal and move with the vehicle and the day. These ranges come from guides dated 2025 or 2026 unless noted, per person, one way, at about S/3.44 to the US dollar.
| Route | Where to catch it | Fare | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cusco to Pisac | Calle Puputi | S/5–8 (US$1.50–2.30) | 45–60 min |
| Cusco to Calca | Calle Puputi | About S/6–7 (about US$2) | No recent figure |
| Cusco to Urubamba via Pisac | Calle Puputi | No recent figure | 1.5–2 hours (2019 guide) |
| Cusco to Chinchero | Calle Pavitos or Av. Grau | About S/5–10 (US$1.50–2.90); sources differ | 40–60 min |
| Cusco to Urubamba via Chinchero | Calle Pavitos or Av. Grau | About S/6–8 (US$1.70–2.30) | 1–1.5 hours |
| Cusco to Ollantaytambo, direct | Calle Pavitos | S/10–20 (US$2.90–5.80) | 1.5–2 hours |
| Pisac to Urubamba | Main road by the Pisac bridge | S/4–7 (US$1.20–2) | About 1 hour |
| Urubamba to Ollantaytambo | Urubamba bus terminal | S/2–5 (US$0.60–1.50) | 20–30 min |
| Ollantaytambo to Cusco | Ollantaytambo main square | About S/15 (US$4.40) | 1.5–2 hours |
Prices drift. Along Dusty Roads paid S/5 to Pisac in early 2026, PeruRail's do-it-yourself guide (September 2026) says S/5–7, and a reader of Nick Kembel's Pisac guide paid S/8 on a Sunday in October 2026. Fuel costs rose in 2026, prompting a 24-hour transport strike in Cusco on 31 March (El Búho), so treat the low ends as floors.
Cusco to Pisac and Calca
This is the easiest ride in the region: about 45 minutes, with vans leaving Calle Puputi roughly every 15 minutes (Along Dusty Roads; Wikivoyage).
- Getting off: the driver stops at the bridge outside Pisac; cross it into town.
- Calca: Calca vans across the road also drop at Pisac for a little more (Wikivoyage). Voyage Pérou (July 2026) prices the Calca bus at about S/6–7.
- Coming back: cross the bridge, wait at the shelter facing a large mural billboard and flag a van down. At busy times a free seat can take a while; Along Dusty Roads stood all the way back.
- The ruins: taxis by the bridge charge about S/30–40 (US$8.70–11.60) to the upper entrance (Kembel, 2026). Our Pisac guide covers the walk down and market days.
Cusco to Chinchero, Urubamba and Ollantaytambo
From Calle Pavitos, vans cross the Chinchero plateau to Urubamba; some run straight to Ollantaytambo, about 72 km and up to 2 hours (AB Expeditions; Two Outliers), and drop you in the main square (Local Trekkers, October 2025).
- Chinchero: every Urubamba-bound van passes through; see our Chinchero guide.
- Urubamba via Pisac: vans from Puputi take the longer river road, worth it only if you stop in Pisac.
- Van or shared car: Voyage Pérou quotes about S/10 to Ollantaytambo by van and S/15 by shared car, which leaves once it has four passengers (Wikivoyage).
- Square to station: about a 20-minute walk (Where Goes Rose), or about S/5 by tuk-tuk (Kembel, October 2026).
Two local changes matter. From 13 April 2026, for about eight months, roadworks have diverted station traffic via the bypass, Rumira, San Isidro, the Calicanto bridge and Avenida Ferrocarril (PeruRail, 10 April 2026). And passenger vehicles of 6,500 kg or more are barred from the town's urban area (ordinance ratified 21 March 2025); an October 2026 operator update says only vehicles up to a 15-seat Sprinter get in, and bigger ones use a car park about 1.8 km from the station. Colectivo vans are below that size. Our Ollantaytambo guide covers the town.
Getting Between Valley Towns
One main road runs along the valley floor. Raise a hand to stop a van with space anywhere on it, tell the driver where to let you off, and pay in cash as you get out (Brooke on Foot, 2025).
- Pisac to Urubamba: S/5–7 per PeruRail's 2026 guide, S/4 in an older Wikivoyage figure; about an hour.
- Pisac to Ollantaytambo: direct vans run only occasionally; usually you change in Urubamba (Wikivoyage).
- Urubamba to Ollantaytambo: from the bus terminal, S/3–5 and 20–25 minutes (PeruRail), or S/2–2.50 in Wikivoyage's older figure.
- Ollantaytambo to Cusco via Chinchero: S/5–7 to Chinchero, then S/8–10 to Cusco (PeruRail).
- Maras and Moray: the Urubamba vans pass nearby but not to the sites, so plan the last stretch by taxi or on foot; see our Maras and Moray guide.
Be realistic about pace: Where Goes Rose found Pisac, Ollantaytambo and Moray need three days on public transport, not two.
How They Work: Vehicles, Paying, Bags and Hours
- Three kinds of vehicle: big local buses are cheapest, from about S/5, but old and slow; minivans seat about a dozen; shared cars take four and cost most (Voyage Pérou; Brooke on Foot; Wikivoyage). Wikivoyage rates the vans safer and quicker than the buses.
- They leave when full: an empty van means you just missed one, so expect to wait around 30 minutes, sometimes more (Where Goes Rose; Uros), plus frequent stops en route (Uros Expeditions, 2026).
- Paying: cash in soles, in small notes; drivers do not reliably take cards (Lorenzo Expeditions, May 2025).
- Bags: vans are small and crowded at peak hours (Lorenzo), and we found no published luggage rule. A daypack is fine; with a big suitcase, take a taxi, or agree a price for its seat first. PeruRail passengers can leave bags free at Ollantaytambo station from 04:15 to 21:00 (PeruRail FAQ).
- Hours: roughly 05:00 to 19:00 on the Pisac road, and until about 18:30 from Pavitos (Wikivoyage, older figures). We found no 2026 last departure, so head back by late afternoon.
- From Ollantaytambo: vans to Cusco leave from the main square (Where Goes Rose). 2019 reports say vans also meet arriving trains; we could not confirm that for 2026.
Safety on the Road
The UK government's Peru travel advice (updated 9 October 2026) says driving standards are poor, fatal crashes are frequent and bus crashes are common, especially at night. It also warns of petty crime and of robberies by fake taxi drivers at bus terminals.
- Travel in daylight. If you reach Cusco after dark, take an app taxi from the stop.
- Keep valuables on you, not on the floor or behind your seat.
- Allow for weather and strikes. The same advice says the rainy season (November to May) brings heavy rain to the Andes, including Cusco, with rockslides that can disrupt road travel, and that protests and strikes can block roads with little or no notice.
For the city itself, see our Cusco safety guide.
Taxis, Tourist Shuttles and the Train
- Taxi to Pisac: S/40–50 (US$12–15) through InDriver or Uber (PeruRail, 2026), or S/60–90 (US$17–26) on the street or through a hotel (Along Dusty Roads).
- Taxi to Ollantaytambo: S/120–160 (about US$35–47) from central Cusco or S/130–180 (about US$38–52) from the airport (Uros Expeditions); about 1 hour 30 minutes to the station (PeruRail FAQ).
- Tourist shuttle: a shared minivan booked through an agency or hotel, about S/35–45 (US$10–13) to Ollantaytambo (Uros); Lorenzo quoted S/20–30 in 2025.
- Train: PeruRail now runs Cusco to Ollantaytambo: a 05:40 bus from Wanchaq to the Poroy train, arriving 08:22, or 07:30 from San Pedro, arriving 10:22, returning at 19:08. We found no published fare.
When the Colectivo Is the Right Call
Our position: take the colectivo for a Pisac or Chinchero day trip, for moving between valley towns once you are based there, and for reaching Ollantaytambo the day before your train with a light bag. It is cheap and frequent, and a S/120 taxi buys you little on those trips.
Do not rely on it when a train is waiting. The first vans leave Cusco around 05:00, the ride takes up to 2 hours and filling can add 30 minutes, which puts you in Ollantaytambo's square around 07:00 at the earliest, 20 minutes from the station. PeruRail's May to December 2026 timetable has trains at 05:05, 06:10, 07:05 and 07:45. For any train before about 09:00, book a taxi or sleep in Ollantaytambo. Uros Expeditions reaches the same verdict: with a train to catch, the saving is not worth the risk.
Skip it, too, when your return train arrives late (PeruRail's last arrivals are 22:20 and 23:37), when three or four of you have suitcases (a taxi split four ways is about S/30–40 each), or when you want Pisac, Maras, Moray and Ollantaytambo in one day. Chaining vans eats time; a tour or hired driver suits that day better.
FAQ
Where do colectivos to the Sacred Valley leave from in Cusco?
Vans for Pisac and Calca leave from Calle Puputi, behind the Colegio Garcilaso. Vans for Chinchero, Urubamba and Ollantaytambo leave from Calle Pavitos near Puente Grau.
How much is a colectivo from Cusco to Ollantaytambo?
Guides dated 2025 and 2026 quote S/10–20 (US$2.90–5.80), most often about S/15. Vans cost less than shared cars, so confirm the price before boarding.
How much is the colectivo from Cusco to Pisac?
About S/5–8 (US$1.50–2.30) for a ride of 45–60 minutes. The highest figure we found was S/8, paid on a Sunday in October 2026.
Can I take a colectivo to catch an early train in Ollantaytambo?
Not for any train before about 09:00. Vans start around 05:00, wait to fill and take up to 2 hours, so book a taxi or stay in Ollantaytambo the night before.
Is there a colectivo from Cusco airport to the Sacred Valley?
We found none. Take a taxi to Calle Pavitos or Calle Puputi, or go straight to the valley by taxi, about S/130–180 (US$38–52) from the airport to Ollantaytambo.
What time is the last colectivo back to Cusco?
There is no published timetable. Older guides put the end of service around 18:30–19:00, and seats get scarce late in the day, so start back by late afternoon.
Can I bring a large suitcase on a colectivo?
Sometimes, but there is no published rule and the vans are small. With a big suitcase, a taxi or tourist shuttle is the better choice; if a bag needs its own seat, agree the price first.
Are colectivos safe for tourists?
For daytime trips they are ordinary local transport. The main risks are road safety, which the UK government calls poor and worst at night, and petty theft, so travel in daylight and keep valuables on you.
How do I get from Pisac to Ollantaytambo by public transport?
Take a van from the main road by the Pisac bridge to Urubamba (about an hour, S/4–7), then another from the Urubamba terminal to Ollantaytambo (20–30 minutes, S/2–5).
Limitations
Everything here is as of October 2026. Colectivo fares and stops are informal, so they change without notice, and our last-departure times come from older guides. Ollantaytambo's roadworks were planned to run about eight months from April 2026, strikes and wet-season landslides can stop traffic for a day or more, and Pope Leo XIV's visit to Cusco on 15 November 2026 may restrict access in the city that day. Work-around: before you go, ask your hotel for the current fare and stop, confirm the price with the driver, check PeruRail's notices for station access, and on train days book a taxi instead of relying on a van.