Inca Trail in a Day
Km 104 to the Sun Gate and into the citadel, there and back from Cusco
- 1 day
- 2,700 m max
- Moderate
- Cusco to Cusco
Thirteen kilometres on the original Inca road — Chachabamba, Wiñay Wayna and the Sun Gate — walked in a single very long day from Cusco, with picnic meals cooked on the trail. You arrive at Machu Picchu on foot from above, which no train ticket can buy.
There is only one way to walk into Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate, and that is with an Inca Trail permit. This is the shortest version of that — thirteen kilometres of original road, Chachabamba, Wiñay Wayna and Inti Punku, done between one Cusco breakfast and one Cusco bedtime.
Two things deserve saying plainly. The first is the length of the day: seventeen hours door to door, starting at four in the morning. The second is the circuit. An Inca Trail arrival puts you on Circuit 1, the panoramic upper route, and that circuit does not include the temples and the urban core. You get the view, the Sun Gate and the walk. You do not get the inside of the citadel.
For people with one spare day in Cusco and a wish to arrive on foot, it is a very good trade. For anyone with two days, the overnight version is better.
What you'll see
The Sun Gate without an overnight
Inti Punku can only be reached on foot from the trail. This is the shortest way to earn that arrival, and you are back in your own Cusco bed the same night.
Wiñay Wayna
Terraces, fountains and ritual buildings stacked down a mountainside, and one of the finest sites on the entire Inca Trail. You get it with a guide and, on a weekday, with hardly anyone else there.
Picnic meals on the trail
A breakfast laid out at the Km 104 checkpoint and a lunch near Wiñay Wayna, both cooked fresh by a trekking chef.
Thirteen kilometres, one day
Three to four hours of climbing, an hour to the Sun Gate after lunch, then the descent into the citadel. No camping, no permits for four days, no second morning.
A small group
No more than sixteen, with a guide who knows the sites rather than a coach party.
Inca Trail in a Day: day by day
Times are what we actually aim for, not a best case. Traffic into Cusco and the train timetable move them by a little.
Day 1
Cusco to Km 104, the Sun Gate, Machu Picchu and back
Thirteen kilometres of walking inside a seventeen-hour day. It is a serious undertaking and we would rather you knew that before booking than at four in the morning.
- 04:00We collect you from your hotel in Cusco. If you are staying near Ollantaytambo it is nearer 05:30.
- 05:30Ollantaytambo station, after about an hour and a half by road.
- 07:30Km 104. You show your passport and permit at the checkpoint, then your chef has breakfast waiting.
- 08:15Chachabamba, a ritual site by the river, then the climb begins.
- 12:00Wiñay Wayna, after three to four hours of steady ascent past waterfalls, orchids and the distant sites of Choquesuysuy and Intipata. Your guide walks you through it.
- 13:00Picnic lunch near the ruins, cooked on the spot.
- 15:00Inti Punku, the Sun Gate, after about an hour more. The trail opens and the citadel appears below you.
- 16:00Down the stone path into the upper citadel on Circuit 1, where the panoramic viewpoints are, in the late afternoon.
- 18:00Bus down to Aguas Calientes, then the Expedition train to Ollantaytambo.
- 21:30Private transfer into Cusco, arriving at your hotel around half past nine.
- Meals
- Picnic breakfast and picnic lunch
- Night
- Not included — you sleep in Cusco
What the price covers
Getting there and back
- Collection from and return to your hotel in Cusco
- Transport from Cusco to Ollantaytambo
- Expedition train from Ollantaytambo to Km 104
- Bus from the citadel down to Aguas Calientes
- Return Expedition train to Ollantaytambo
- Private transfer from Ollantaytambo to Cusco
Permits and guiding
- Your Inca Trail permit, issued in your name
- Machu Picchu entrance on Circuit 1
- Professional English-speaking guide
- First-aid kit, oxygen and safety support
Meals
- Picnic breakfast at the Km 104 checkpoint, cooked by a trekking chef
- Picnic lunch near Wiñay Wayna
Not included
- Dinner, once you are back in Cusco
- Travel insurance
- Tips, which are genuinely optional
- A night in Aguas Calientes and a second-day citadel ticket, both of which we can quote
What to bring
Papers and money
- The original passport your permit was issued against
- Your student card, if you are claiming a reduced rate
- Cash in soles for drinks and tips
- Your medication and any personal first aid
On your back
- A daypack of 20 to 30 litres
- A refillable water bottle
- A camera and a power bank
- A head torch for the four o'clock start
Clothes
- Walking boots or trail shoes with grip, broken in before you fly
- Trekking trousers and hiking socks
- A fleece for the early start
- A waterproof jacket or a poncho
Sun and skin
- High-factor sun cream
- Sunglasses with UV protection and a sun hat
- Insect repellent, which the cloud forest demands
- Lip balm
Questions we get asked
What does Circuit 1 actually include, and what does it leave out?
This is the most important thing to understand before booking. Circuit 1 is the panoramic upper route — the observatories, the classic viewpoints and the Sun Gate. It does not include the archaeological core of the citadel. You will not walk through the Temple of the Sun, the urban sector or the Temple of the Condor on this trip. You get the photograph everyone comes for and the arrival on foot, but not the inside of the site. If walking among the temples matters to you, take a two-day version instead.
How long is the day, really?
About seventeen hours door to door — collected at four in the morning, back at your hotel around half past nine at night, with thirteen kilometres of walking in the middle. It is the hardest single day we sell that does not involve a mountain pass, and the reason is simply the length of it.
How fit do I need to be?
Fit enough for three to four hours of continuous climbing on uneven Inca stone, then another hour to the Sun Gate and a descent into the site. There is no altitude problem — the highest point is 2,700 m, well below Cusco — so this is a question about legs rather than lungs.
Can I stay over instead of coming straight back?
Yes, and plenty of people do. We can add a night in Aguas Calientes and a second citadel ticket for the following day, which is the only way to reach Circuit 2 or Circuit 3, or either of the peaks. Both depend on availability on your date, so we quote them rather than list a price.
Can I climb Huayna Picchu?
Not on this trip. Those permits are tied to an ordinary Machu Picchu entrance on a different circuit, and the timings do not work in a single day. Add a night in Aguas Calientes and a second ticket if you want one.
Do I need a permit?
Yes, the same government permit as the multi-day trek, issued in your name and tied to one date. There are fewer of them than people assume. Book as soon as your dates are fixed.
Is the trail ever closed?
Every February, for maintenance, across the whole Inca Trail network. Machu Picchu itself stays open, so a train day trip is still possible that month.
Can you collect me from the Sacred Valley?
Yes, and it turns a four o'clock start into a half past five one. If you have any flexibility about where you sleep the night before, spend it in Ollantaytambo.
Should I just do the two-day version instead?
If you can spare the day, yes. The two-day trip walks exactly the same thirteen kilometres, but you sleep at the foot of the citadel and go back in the next morning on a second circuit with a guide, which is where the temples are. This one-day trip exists for people whose Peru itinerary genuinely has no slack in it.
Ask us about Inca Trail in a Day
Tell us your dates and we'll come back with availability, the circuit we'd recommend, and a firm price. No deposit to ask, and we answer within one working day.