Police wearing hard hats and neon-coloured jackets carried injured passengers on stretchers from the trains to receive treatment.
A Unesco World Heritage Site since 1983, the ancient fortified complex of Machu Picchu receives 4500 visitors on average each day, many of them foreigners, according to the tourism ministry.
Most tourists take a train and a bus to reach the historic site high in the Andes mountains.
Rail agency Ferrocarril Transandino said a train operated by PeruRail collided with another belonging to Inca Rail on the single track that links the town of Ollantaytambo with Machu Picchu.
The cause of the accident was not yet known.
In September, about 1400 tourists were evacuated from the Aguas Calientes train station that serves Machu Picchu and 900 others were left stranded after protesters blocked the railway tracks with logs and rocks.
Locals were demanding a new bus company be chosen in a fair bidding process to ferry visitors to the foot of Machu Picchu and have repeatedly protested to press their demands.
The Inca empire’s ancient capital Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century at an altitude of 2500m on orders from the Inca ruler Pachacutec.
It is considered a marvel of architecture and engineering.
– Agence France-Presse
