Short Inca Trail To Machu Picchu 2 Days

Day 01: Cusco - Km 104 (Inca Trail) - Aguas Calientes

We pick you up from your hotel in Cusco to transfer you during a 2 hour ride to the Ollantaytambo´s railway station. There, we get on a train and continue until Km 104, where a checking point of the Inca Trail is located. We pass through to the Vilcanota River (bridge) and start the Inca Trail Trekking! The first archaeological site to visit is Chachabamba, guided tour. Then we continue through a mixture of cacti vegetation and a cloud forest towards another Incan significant site - Wiñay Wayna. But before we reach it, we enjoy a refresh in a local waterfall! Where you have lunch and a rest. Later on, we can admire the sunset above Machu Picchu when we get to the Sun´s Gate (Inti Punku) before entering the Inka citadel. However, today is too late to have a guided tour of this overwhelming Incan city so we descend slowly to Aguas Calientes Town enjoying beautiful surrounding scenery on the way! We spend the night in a comfortable hotel in Aguas Calientes.

• Highlight: Trekking the Inca Trail, enjoying the views from the Sun Gate, sunset views from Machu Picchu.
• Walking Distance: 15 km / 8 miles
• Meals: B + L
• Elevations: Trek starting point 2,000 m, the highest point is Sun Gate 2,720 m, the hotel is at 2,000 m
• Weather: Hot and humid
• Accommodation: Hotel night in Aguas Calientes

Day 02: Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Cusco

After an early morning breakfast, we will take a bus up to the mysterious city of Machu Picchu. Then our Tour Guide shows us around the Incan city and explains us about its history and purposes. After the guided tour, you will have a free time and its best opportunity to take picture and walk in the lost city of the Incas. There are some animal such Llamas and birds or if you would like best experience, you can pay the extra for the mountains and we are given the opportunity to climb up for about 45 minutes to Huayna Picchu or to Machu Picchu Mountain (peaks above Machu Picchu serving to take some panoramic pictures of the Inka city). Then, we are given time off to spend and explore Machu Picchu on our own.

Machu Picchu is both, the best and the least known site of the Incas as it is not mentioned in any Spanish conquistador´s chronicle so that contemporary archaeologists can not do anything more than just speculate on its functions. Local Quechuan farmers had known about Machu Picchu for centuries before an 11-year-old boy showed the American historian Hiram Bingham (who was in a search of Vilcabamba) this site on the 24th of July 1911. At that time, all the rest of the world became aware of its existence. However, the site was covered with thick vegetation so Hiram Bingham along with his team returned and within the years of 1912 and 1915 cleared its surface. Over the years, plenty of work has been done on excavating and studying the site. Despite these efforts, many unanswered questions remain.

After explore Machu Picchu, you come back to Aguas Calientes walking.

• Highlight: Arrive early to Machu Picchu to enjoy the sunrise
• Temperature: Warm and humid
• Meals: Breakfast Only
• Train: Expedition tourist class at 14:30 or 14:55