Inca Trail to Machu Picchu 2 Days
Inca Trail to Machu Picchu 2 Days
Overview
The 2-day Inca Trail hike is one of the most beautiful treks to Machu Picchu for those tight on time but still want to experience the energy of Qhapac Ñan (Inca Trail) and glimpse Machu Picchu from the heights of the sun gate. If that’s what you want then this two-day Inca Trail trek is perfect for you. You’ll hike 12 kilometers of this alternative Incan trail, where you will discover archaeological remains, dense forests, waterfalls, and native flora and fauna—all without the usual crowds along the four-day trek. The two-day hike is a generally peaceful trek for those who like tranquility and nature.
We’ll start the trek in the ruins of Cochabamba, hiking uphill for three hours to the ruins of Wiñay Wayna and another two hours to Machu Picchu. After taking in our first views of Machu Picchu, we will descend to the remote town of Aguas Calientes, where we will rest and recharge before our guided visit to Machu Picchu on Day 2. If you are tight on time and are in good physical condition to do so, you may also choose to complete this entire trek in a single day, completing your trek and exploring Machu Picchu on the same day.
Also, if you like, you can climb HUAYNA PICCHU or MONTAÑA MACHU PICCHU, which you have to book in advance. Check the availability here: https://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/disponibilidad/
HIGHLIGHTS
- Visit Machu Picchu twice; once in the afternoon of the first day and the morning of the second day
- Hike along the original Incan trail to Wiñaywayna
- Enjoy the beautiful views of the Vilcanota Valleys
- Enter Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate
- Be one of the firsts to enter Machu Picchu
- Spend an entire day in Machu Picchu
- Enjoy the guiding tour lead by an expert
Group Price
- The price per person for group expeditions are fixed based on a group size. However, we have optional arrangements for individual private and tailor-made preferences best suited for you, your family and friends.
- All prices are based on shared accommodation. Please inquire for a 1 guest private room accommodation quote
- Prices listed are not final. Please inquire for your final price quote.
2 pax | 3-4 pax | 5-7 pax | 8-20 pax |
---|---|---|---|
$ 2,676 | $ 2,556 | $ 2,436 | $ 2,328 |
Included/Excluded
- Pick up from your hotel in Cusco
- Transfer from Cusco to the train station of Ollantaytambo
- A professional tour guide prepared in first aid and experienced in the route and history
- Second guide for groups of more than 9 people
- Train ticket from Ollantaytambo to kilometer 104 which is the trailhead
- Entrance ticket for the Inca trail 2 days
- Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu for the first and second day
- 1 night in hotel in Aguas Calientes
- Bus tickets from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes on day 1
- First aid kit and oxygen bottle for emergencies
- 01 breakfast, 01 lunch, 01 dinner
- Return train from Machu Picchu town to Ollantaytambo
- Transfer from Ollantaytambo Station to your hotel in Cusco
- Breakfasts of the first day
- Extra expenses
- Tips
Day 1: CUSCO – KM 104 INCA TRAIL – MACHU PICCHU – AGUAS CALIENTES
Arrive in Cusco
We start the day by picking you up from your hotel between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. to transfer you to the train station of Ollantaytambo, where you will board the train at around 6:00 am. . We’ll begin with a three-hour uphill hike toward the archaeological complex of Wiñaywayna, where you will have time to explore and listen to a guided explanation of the ruins.
Afterward, you will eat lunch and walk for another two hours to the Intipunku Sun Gate, where you will have a spectacular view of Machu Picchu. Afterward, we will continue walking for about 45 minutes toward Machu Picchu and spend time taking pictures and enjoying the magic of the ancient city. Afterward, you will take a bus for 30 minutes to the nearby town of Aguas Calientes where you will spend a night in the hotel and enjoy a delicious dinner in one of the restaurants in the town.
- Overnight in Aguas Calientes
- Meals included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
Day 2:
Your Nature Horizons team will wake you up early with your choice of hot drinks. You’ll then have time to prepare your duffel bags, day packs and to enjoy your freshly made breakfast. We’ll walk 30 minutes to the bus station to be one of the first in line to go up to Machu Picchu (sometimes there is a 20-30 min wait in the line to board the bus).
The first buses will depart at 5:30 a.m. and arrive at 6:00 a.m., into Machu Picchu. Again, you need to have your original passport at this checkpoint. Your Nature Horizons tour guide will take you to the perfect spot to enjoy the sunrise over the mountains and gets some amazing pictures (weather permitting). We’ll then have a two hour private walking tour of the Machu Picchu ruins with all of its fascinating history. You’ll also have free time to explore Machu Picchu on your own. If you have booked a permit to climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain you’ll start at 10:00 a.m. However, there are a lot of other things to see around Machu Picchu. There is the Inca Bridge, the Sun Gate, or you can walk around the temple and residential areas of Machu Picchu and mingle with the llamas. You’ll need to catch your bus back down to the town of Aguas Calientes for lunch and train to Ollantaytambo. From there you’ll go by private van back to Cusco where your Nature Horizons team will drop you off at your hotel.
- Highlight: Arrive early to Machu Picchu to enjoy the sunrise
- Temperature: Warm and humid
- Meals: Breakfast Only
- Train: Expedition tourist class
ACCOMMODATION
With Tourist Class Hotels:
Cities | Hotels / Hab. Standard | NT |
Machu Picchu | Hatun Samay *** www.hatunsamay.com | 1 |
Total Nº of nights | 1 |
* In the case of room unavailability in the hotels mentioned above we will use hotels of similar category
Do you arrange international airfare?
When to Go?
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What Should I pack?
- Comfortable sneakers or hiking boots
- Short and long-sleeved t-shirts
- Rain gear
- A fleece jacket
- Jeans or casual trousers
- Camera
- Backpack
- Insect repellent, lip balm and sun block
- Binoculars
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WHAT TO PACK
- Passport
- Backpack to carry all your stuff and the sleeping bag. It should be a comfortable technical hiking backpack of 30 to 35 liters. If you have a bigger one works as well
- Sleeping bag at least minus 5 cº. If you do NOT have one, you can rent from us for 10 dollars for the whole trek. The sleeping bag weighs 1.5 kilos approx
- Trekking Poles – We recommend for people with problems with knees, ankle, or you used to use hiking poles. If you do NOT have one, you can rent a pair of trekking poles for 10 dollars from us.
- Wool hat or beanie
- Sun hat
- Scarf
- Gloves
- 2 – 3 t-shirts, if you have long sleeve better
- Two layers (sweater, fleece)
- Two pairs of long pants if you have leggings, you can do on leggings
- Hiking shoes
- 2 – 3 pairs of wool socks
- A jacket Rain gear (Pants, jacket, if you do not have you can buy rain poncho) is crucial, especially for the wet season.
- Small towel.
- Small headlamp.
- Toothbrush and other personal toiletries.
- Toilet paper.
- Sun cream.
- Insect repellent.
- Sandals / Flip flops.
- If you have warm clothing, you can take them, which not that important.
- Some snacks such as chocolate, cereal bars, candies, nuts, energy bars, etc.
- Extra Cash in Soles
- IF YOU HIRE PORTER SERVICE, we provide you with a duffel bag. You can pack 7 kilos of your stuff which will Carry by the porters. You get the duffle bags the night before the trek, on the briefing day.
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Our TripAdvisor Reviews
Jennifer F2025-04-27Amazing Tanzanian Safari Nature Horizons planned an unforgettable Tanzanian safari for 20 guests on a yoga retreat. Beginning in the planning stages, Dominick was helpful, knowledgeable, and would go out of his way to ensure we had an amazing trip planned. He was on top of the details, such as collecting passport and travel info, and answered all of our questions. Because of NHT’s attention to detail? Our guests enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime trip. If we needed anything during our stay, Dominick was responsive and would get any problem resolved. Every detail was fine tuned, and several of the accommodations were beyond expectation. The guides he set us up would were funny, personable, and genuinely cared to make sure we had the best safari experience. I highly recommend the hot air balloon ride!If you are looking to plan a Tanzanian safari, FIBI! Look no further and reach out to Dominick for a life-changing vacation.
Erin Y2025-04-23Magical restorative adventure! My yoga studio hosted an unforgettable trip to Tanzania, thanks to Nature Horizon Tours! Every detail was perfectly planned—from the beautiful accommodations to the incredible excursions and welcoming local guides. The trip created space for adventure, reflection, and connection, making it both inspiring and restorative. We came home with lasting memories, a deeper bond as a group, and new friendships that we truly treasure. This experience far exceeded our expectations, and we’re so grateful for the care and thought that went into every moment. We can’t wait to travel with this team again!
Jen B2025-04-08Life-Changing Safari I am very grateful for Natures Horizons Tours for providing the trip of a lifetime. They ensured our safety, took care of all of our needs, and treated us with the best care and consideration even when some of us didn’t deserve it. This tour company is very PROFESSIONAL!! They know what they are doing and they do it very well. I would tour with them again in a heartbeat! The attached photo is completely untouched. This is how close they got us to the action! If we weren’t in the rover, this beautiful but very full, lioness was only feet away. We could see every beautiful detail of her.
Nancy C2025-04-06Lasting memories My trip to Tanzania was amazing. Nature Horizons put together a fantastic itinerary. Our guides were knowledgeable, hard working, and friendly. They turned the Safari from a trip into an awesome and unforgettable experience.
Getaway310895774142025-03-24A bucket list trip dreams are made of! Nature Horizons organized a trip for 20 people from our yoga community for a yoga and safari tour in Tanzania. Every detail was curated perfectly from the those greeting us at the airport to those touring us through the urban and cultural centers of Arusha all the way though an unforgettable experience in the Serengeti. Our 5 tour guides were friendly and fun and beyond knowledgeable and we got to see THE BIG 5!!! The locations they choose for our Safari camp and for our journey along the way were superb with perfect views for our yoga practice and the food was out of this world every place we went! We will for sure be traveling with Nature Horizons again, in fact we already have Egypt booked as our next destination!!! For world class bucket list travel these are your people. Rarely does one get the owner and CEO of a travel company hand selecting every detail of your trip and ensuring it goes off without a hiccup… this oversight and hand on help is unbeatable in the travel industry… trust me after a decade of taking yoga groups traveling, this is something you never see! Thanks Dominick and Team for a memorable bucket list trip and for taking superb care of us along the way!
Shreya B2025-03-11Excellent customer care! We travel a lot and for the first time let Nature Horizons Tours plan our trip for us! It was an amazing experience as there was always someone to take care of us and our needs. Our daughter needed urgent care on the last day of the trip and we were helped all the way through! Better than 5*s!!!
Mary D2025-02-11Fantastic Safari My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the safari that we took thru Nature Horizons Tours in Tanzania last month. It truly was a trip of a life time. We saw lots of animals and birds throughout Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. To see 20 elephants (including babies) casually stroll by us was an experience I will never forget. Another time, we saw two herds of zebras that must have totaled 20,000 zebras. WOW! Our guide, Praygod was great and we really enjoyed spending time with him. He was great at identifying animals and provided lots of the environmental, historical and cultural information. I recommend bringing a notebook to write down all the animals you will see.One advantage we had with Natures Horizon compared to other Safari companies is that there are only four people in a jeep during the safari (well, plus the driver). This was really nice being able to easily see animals on both sides of the jeep without stepping over people. We saw a lot of jeeps that had 6 people in them.Everyone associated with Nature Horizons Tours and the lodges we stayed at went out of their way to make our stay/experience fantastic. We learned that if there was something that we wanted, we just had to ask. At the Kilimanjaro Lux Camp, Grace personally made avocado toast for us each morning. In Zanzibar, we asked the driver where we could buy spices and he took us to a local outdoor market which I appreciated as I enjoy experiencing the local experience.It was a great trip and I would have no doubt that I would go on another tour led by Natures Horizons
Trail311312224182025-02-11Fantastic Photo Safari I traveled with Nature Horizons to Tanzania in 2024. I am writing this review as a Travel Agent. My clients just returned from their safari with Nature Horizons. From the time they booked, Dominick was in close contact with both me and my clients. He made sure that all of our questions or concerns were handled very quickly. He took the time to do zoom calls with me and my clients more than once to make sure that they were comfortable with everything to do with the trip. While there were a couple of things lost in translation with his team in Tanzania, they were minor and were dealt with immediately. The driver/guide is the absolute best. The lodging, while not close to town, was all very nice with fabulous food. The balloon ride is not to be missed! One of the things that I appreciate the most is that Dominick will not take more than 4 people in a vehicle, even though more can fit. He wants every passenger to have the best view, no matter which side of the vehicle has the views of the wildlife. I am very happy with Dominick and his team at Nature Horizons and would not hesitate to use them again for myself and my clients!
Geri M2025-02-10Tanzania and Serengeti Safari Phenomenal experience! Once in a lifetime trip! The guide was top of the line! I would suggest this trip to everyone! We added on Zanzibar and that was beautiful as well
Byrd B2025-01-14The BEST Partner for a Travel Agency!! Nature Horizons has been an amazing partner for us. I own a travel agency that does $13MM in revenue and when it comes to unique, off the beaten path, this partner always delivers exactly what my clients are looking for. The support is impressive and the work has love poured into every detail. You cannot go wrong with this company!Tripadvisor rating score: 5.0 of 5,
based on 73 reviews