Route of the Sun Cusco to Puno, the Day Bus with Five Stops
$55 Full Day
Overview
8 to 9 h
Cusco terminal to Puno terminal
10 PM
Departure, every night
4,335 m
La Raya pass, crossed asleep
$45
Per person, one way
There are two buses between Cusco and Puno and they exist for opposite reasons. The Route of the Sun leaves in the morning and takes all day. It stops at the painted church at Andahuaylillas and the temple at Raqchi. Then the La Raya pass and the museum at Pucara. This bus leaves at ten at night and stops at none of them. It is for people who have decided the day is worth more than the road. Our Route of the Sun day bus is the version that stops at all of them.
That is a fair trade for a lot of travellers. You give up the pass and the church. You get a full extra day in Cusco, or a full first day on the lake. You also get a hotel night you do not have to pay for. The seats recline to 160 degrees, there is a toilet on board and the cabin is heated. Most people sleep from Sicuani to Juliaca and wake up with the lake in the window.
There is a third way, for anyone who wants the pass in daylight but not the ten hour day. Our private car, direct to Puno runs hotel to hotel in seven to eight hours, with no site visits, at 350 dollars for the vehicle rather than per seat.
The honest part is the altitude. Cusco is 3,400 metres. The road crosses La Raya at 4,335 metres in the small hours, then settles onto the plain at 3,800. Puno is 3,827. You gain four hundred metres while asleep and you will notice it at breakfast. This direction is the kinder one, and our post on doing Cusco before Puno says why. Weighing the bus against the train, a car or a flight? We compare all five in our Cusco to Puno options post.
The thing we add is both ends. A night bus on its own drops you at a terminal at six in the morning. In a town you do not know, at nearly four thousand metres. So we collect you from your hotel in Cusco, and our Puno team is there when the bus pulls in. They take the big cases into storage if you are touring with us. They drive you to your hotel if you are not. They also know which hotels let you in early. Our Puno and Lake Titicaca guide is worth reading on the bus, if you are awake.
You arrive at six in the morning, four hundred metres higher.
Nobody sleeps as well on a bus as in a bed. The altiplano is cold at three in the morning. Plan the first morning in Puno as a slow one. A hotel that takes you early, breakfast, a shower, and then a half day on the water. Our Uros half day is the right size for a bus morning. A full day to Taquile is not. If you book both with us we time the tour to the bus, not the clock.
Tour Highlights
- ✓ You spend your last afternoon in Cusco and your first morning in Puno. The road takes the hours you were not going to use.
- ✓ A hotel night you do not pay for. Eight hours in a reclining seat instead of a room. For a lot of travellers that is the whole argument.
- ✓ No terminal in Sicuani, no passengers picked up at Ayaviri. The bus leaves full and arrives full, which is also the safer way to run it.
- ✓ Two drivers, swapped every four hours is the law on this road, and we only work with a company that keeps to it. It is why the bus is slow and why we are comfortable selling it.
- ✓ Our driver takes you from your hotel to the Cusco terminal. Our Puno team takes you from the terminal to your hotel. Nobody negotiating a taxi fare at six in the morning at 3,800 metres.
- ✓ If you are on the lake with us that day, the suitcases stay with us. You carry a day bag onto the boat and nothing else.
What to Expect
Our driver collects you from your hotel in Cusco at about nine. The terminal is south of the centre and not somewhere to arrive late. So we take you there. Your ticket is on your phone from the day before. Check the big cases into the hold, keep a small bag with your layers, water and passport, and board. The first hour is the climb out of the valley and the stop and start of Cusco's outskirts.
By San Pedro and Andahuaylillas the road is straight and the bus settles. The seat goes back to 160 degrees, which is a proper recline but not a bed. A blanket and a neck pillow make the difference between sleeping and not. Two drivers share the wheel and swap every four hours. That is the law, and also the reason the bus is slow.
Around two in the morning the bus crosses La Raya at 4,335 metres. You will not see it. You may wake with a dry mouth and a mild headache, which is the height and passes. Drink some water and go back to sleep. The road then drops to the plain and runs flat and fast through Ayaviri and Juliaca. Juliaca is where the bus slows again, and where a foggy morning can add an hour. The lake appears on the last descent into Puno, usually between six and seven.
Our team is at the terminal with a vehicle. Big cases into storage if you are touring with us that morning. Straight to your hotel if you are not. Our post on what there is to do in Puno starts with the easy things. For the whole picture, read our step by step guide to reaching Lake Titicaca from Cusco.
Why not just buy a terminal ticket?
You can. Ticket sites sell this route from about 21 dollars. The 45 dollars covers both ends as well as the seat: our driver takes you from your Cusco hotel to the terminal, your ticket is on your phone the day before, two drivers take turns through the night in a seat that reclines to 160 degrees, and our team meets the bus in Puno and drives you to your hotel.
Going back: Puno to Cusco
The transfer also runs the other way. You can add Puno to Cusco as an extra when you book; ask us for the times.
Choosing between them
The Night Bus, the Day Bus, or the Sky
Three ways we move people from Cusco to Puno. Same distance, very different days. Green marks the better option on that row.
Direct night bus
Route of the Sun day bus
Fly via Lima to Juliaca, then our transfer
Leaves Cusco
10:00 PM
Around 7:00 AM
No direct flight. You change planes in Lima
Time on the road
8 to 9 hours, asleep
About 10 hours, awake
Two flights with a stop in Lima, then an hour in the car
What you see
Nothing. It is dark
Andahuaylillas, Raqchi, La Raya, Pucara
The altiplano from the window seat
Meals
None, bring your own
Buffet lunch at Sicuani
None
Guide
No
Yes, on board all day
No, a driver who lives in Puno
Days used
None. You travel while you sleep
One full day
Most of a day, with the Lima connection
Best for
Travellers short on days or money
Travellers who want the road to be part of the trip
Travellers already flying in through Lima
In short. Take the night bus if the days matter more than the road, or you are counting the money. Take the Route of the Sun if you want the church, the temple and the pass in daylight. Fly only if you are already routing through Lima, since there is no direct flight from Cusco, and read our guide to arriving at Juliaca airport first. Our two day Lake Titicaca tour from Cusco uses the day bus and puts the lake in the morning after. Our post on getting from Cusco to Puno goes through the same choice in more detail.
Tour Itinerary
1
Pickup at your Cusco hotel
Our driver collects you from the hotel and takes you to the terminal on Avenida Via de Evitamiento. Keep a small bag for the night with layers, water and your passport.
Altitude 3,400 m
2
Cusco bus terminal
3
La Raya pass, in the dark
4
Ayaviri and Juliaca
5
Puno bus terminal, then your hotel (Or Tour)
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Good to know
On the morning after.
Puno is four hundred metres higher than Cusco. A night in a seat is not a night in a bed. Give yourself the morning. If you must tour the same day, keep it to a half day on the water. We would rather move your tour by a day than watch you sleep through it. None of this is medical advice. Check with your doctor if you have a heart or lung condition.
✓
Inclusions
- ✓ Pickup from your hotel in Cusco and the drive to the bus termina
- ✓ One seat on the direct 10:00 PM bus from the Cusco terminal to the Puno terminal
- ✓ Reclining seat, 160 degrees, with a blanket
- ✓ Onboard toilet and heated cabin
- ✓ One large case in the hold and one hand bag on board
- ✓ Two drivers, rotated every four hours
- ✓ Mobile ticket sent to your phone the day before
- ✓ Our team at the Puno terminal on arrival, and the drive to your hotel
- ✓ Free storage of large suitcases while you tour with us
X
Not Included
- X Food and drink. Nothing is served on board
- X The Cusco terminal fee, 2 soles per person, paid in cash at the terminal booth
- X A guide, and any stops on the way
- X WiFi. Do not count on a signal on the plain
- X Travel insurance
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About the exclusions
On the price.
Forty five dollars buys the pickup in Cusco, the seat, the two drivers, and the drive to your hotel in Puno. It does not buy dinner, so eat in Cusco before you go. Nor does it buy the day bus. If you want Andahuaylillas and Raqchi, that is the Route of the Sun. It is the better way to see the road. The storage in Puno is free while you are on tour with us. It is not offered on its own.
Departure Information
Available: Daily departures
Group Size: Up to 25 people
Start Time: 09:00 PM
Pickup: Hotel in Cusco
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the bus from Cusco to Puno?
About 8–9 hours. We pick you up from your Cusco hotel around 9:00 pm, the bus leaves at 10:00 pm, and it reaches Puno between 6:00 and 7:00 am.
Is the night bus safe and comfortable?
Should I take the day bus or the night bus?
Is there a terminal fee?
How much luggage can I bring?
What happens when I arrive in Puno?
Can I go from Puno to Cusco?
Will the altitude affect me?
Can I fly instead?
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