It is the closest access point to the historical site of Machu Picchu which is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away or about a 90-minute walk.

Enterprising individuals set up businesses serving the tourists, primarily restaurants and small hotels.

Settled by a few farm families in 1901, the settlement was transformed into a busy railway worker's camp called Maquinachayoq (from Quechua makina (a borrowing from Spanish máquina, machine/locomotive/train,[5] -plus the diminutive -cha suffix and -yuq possession suffix, i.e. "(place) with a little train", Makinachayuq)[6] during the construction of the railroad through there in the late 1920s.

[7] Machupicchu serves as a terminal for the PeruRail and Inca Rail[8] passenger train service from Cusco.

Trains serve locals and tourists arriving from Cusco and Ollantaytambo to visit Machu Picchu.