Since we had limited time, we decided to do the 2-day Inca Path trek. The day started early with a 5:00 a.m. bus ride to Ollantaytambo followed by the 1.5-hour train ride to Km104. The first half of the 8-mile hike ascends along the side of the mountain to the ruins of Winay Wayna. This section had several tough ascents up rocky stairs with little protection from the sun.
After eating lunch and exploring Winay Wayna (which is basically one giant staircase), the path goes into the forest and becomes more gradual. After another hour, we reached the ‘Gringo Killer’ stairs leading up to the Sun Gate and our first glimpse of Machu Picchu. From the Sun Gate, we walked an hour downhill and entered the top of the Lost City. We spent some time exploring the top portion of the Citadel including the classical viewpoint from the Guardhouse.
After exiting the site, there’s the option to take the bus or hike another 1.5 hours to Agua Caliente. A group dinner and early bedtime was the perfect ending to the day.
We’ve done a lot of hiking in the mountains and considered this to be a tough hike. There are lots of stone stairs which are unforgiving on the knees; hiking poles came in very handy. The first half of the trail is exposed to the sun, so we went through a lot of water and sunscreen. Although exhausting, this hike was an absolute highlight of our trip.
We went with Llama Path and really enjoyed our experience with them. They are a smaller outfitter focused on quality over quantity. Our guides (Marcos and Edgar) were very knowledgeable and made sure that everyone in the group was well taken care of.
From Agua Caliente, a 25-minute bus ride takes you to the entrance of Machu Picchu. We took a 6 a.m. bus in hopes of beating the crowds at the citadel; the line behind us grew very quickly so we highly recommend getting up early.
At the entrance, you’ll decide which of the 5 circuits to explore. The circuit system was introduced by the Peruvian government in 2021 to help protect the site from over-tourism. Each of the one-way circuits will take you through different parts of the Citadel. Circuit 2 is the most popular because it includes the classical viewpoint. Maps on the official Machu Picchu website can help you decide what circuit to explore (if you can’t decide, you can buy tickets for multiple circuits if time/budget allows).
We were adding in the Huayna Picchu hike, so we followed Circuit 4. Our tour took us through the lower part of the citadel, including the Ceremonial Fountains, Temple of the Sun, House of the Inca and the Sacred Rock. The early morning mountain views from the terraces are something that I won’t soon forget.
At the Sacred Rock, we split up from the rest of our tour group to hike Huayna Picchu. This hike requires an additional timed entry ticket ($53 for the combined ticket). The 40-minute climb took us up tree-covered switchbacks of Incan stairs; the last part known as the “Stairs of Death” required us to go slow but wasn’t too scary. Once we emerged at the top, we were met with sweeping views of the Citadel that made the extra sweat session well worth it.