Cusco to Machu Picchu for $10

Now that I have your attention:

The jungle town of Santa Teresa, tired of seeing all the tourists and their money go to Aguas Calientes, recently built a bridge across the Urubamba River just below Machu Picchu. If you have more time than money and some stamina, you can get to MP for about $10.

1. Bus Cusco to Quillabamba (15 soles), getting off at Santa Maria. Spend the night.

2. Next morning, bus to Santa Teresa, walk across the bridge, where a truck takes you to a hydroelectric plant. From there it's an 11km walk along railroad tracks to Aguas Calientes. (I met someone who did this last leg on a local train. You'd have to inquire locally.)

(A local told me there are no hotels in Santa Teresa, but if there are, that would shorten the next day, and there are wonderful hot springs there. Check at the Explorers Club in Cusco.)

None of this is luxurious; it's how the locals travel, but it beats the Orient Express, no? BTW, Santa Teresa built the bridge in defiance of a court order telling them to stop. Welcome to Peru. And MP authorities now fret about the increased hordes crossing the bridge, but they won't lower the 2,500-body daily limit.

Again BTW, Quillabamba is a really attractive and pleasant jungle town, with a balneario just outside of town offering an Olympic-size pool, some decent restaurants and hotels, and is the hub for trips deeper into the jungle. Virtually tourist-free.