Overview
The 2 Day Short Inca trail with camping offers a unique opportunity for nature-loving travelers who want to hike the Inca Trail by foot. This 12-kilometer (8 miles) hike to Machu Picchu offers stunning landscapes, diverse flora and fauna, and a visit to the Inca Trail’s most beautiful site, Winay Wayna. This 2-day and 1-night camping experience is perfect for families with children and those with tight schedules. The camp offers a chance to experience the secrets of the Incas, including crossing over the second most important Inca ruin, Winay Wayna, and the Sun Gate. The camp provides comfortable camping equipment and sumptuous food, ensuring a fantastic night in the mountains.
This 2 Day Short Inca trail with camping to Machu Picchu is a new version, but you still need to purchase your entrance fee in advance, like for the classic Inca Trail.
Short Inca Trail with camping – Overview
- Starting Altitude: 2100 m/6900 ft
- Highest Altitude: 2730m (8,792 ft).
- Walking Distance: 10 km/6.3 miles
- Accomodation: camping
- Overall Difficulty: Easy to Moderately Difficult
Machu Picchu 2 Day with Camping – Highlight
- One-Day Inca Trail
- Train Journey
- Stunning views of snowcapped mountains
- Inca Complex
- Reach History
- Private tours at Machu Picchu
Itinerary
The 2-day Inca Trail adventure begins with camping in Cusco, the imperial city of Cusco, or Ollantaytambo, or from any point in the Sacred Valley like Urubamba. The team will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco and drive you to the train station in Ollantaytambo for 2 hours. The train journey offers stunning views of the Urubamba River, snow-capped peaks, cornfield farms, and the starting point of the classic 4-day Inca Trail. As you descend, you’ll experience a change in microclimate from highlands and corn fields to green jungle valleys with ferns, bromeliads, and orchids.
After a 2-hour train ride, you’ll be dropped off at Km. 104, Chachabamba, where you’ll walk down to the Urubamba River. You must show your original passport to enter the Short Inca Trail. After passing the checkpoint, you’ll start trekking through cactus vegetation and cloud forest, enjoying stunning views, waterfalls, flora and fauna, and orchids.
After lunch, you’ll continue hiking through the cloud forest, passing impressive features like stone stairs and resting places, to the Sun Gate (2,720 m/8,920 ft), also known as Inti Punku in Quechua. From the Sun Gate, you’ll have a breathtaking view of Machu Picchu’s citadel, temples, and constructions built in white granite rock, including plazas and terraces.
After arriving at Machu Picchu, you’ll have the opportunity to see it with fewer people. After descending to the entrance, you’ll board a bus to Puente Ruinas, where your chef and porters will wait for dinner and spend the night at the campsite.
- Meals: Lunch or Dinner
- Accommodations: Camping at Puente Ruinas
- Walking Distance: 12 km/7.5 miles
- Starting Altitude: 2,100 m/6,900 ft
- Maximum altitude: 2,720 m (8,920 ft).
- Campsite Elevation: 1,900 m (6,233 ft)
- Approximate Hiking Time: 7 hours
- Weather: hot and humid
Our Guiding Machu Picchu team will prepare a delicious breakfast for you before taking the bus to Machu Picchu. The first bus departs at 5:30 am and arrives at 6:00 am. The tour guide will explain the highlights and visit the citadel through circuit 3. After the tour, you’ll have free time to explore Machu Picchu on your own. If you’ve booked a permit to climb Huayna Picchu Mountain, you’ll start at 10:00 AM. After visiting Machu Picchu, you’ll be instructed to return by bus to Aguas Calientes, have lunch, and explore a small village before boarding a train back to either Ollantaytambo or Poroy. In the afternoon, you’ll take the train back to Ollantaytambo or Poroy, where you’ll be dropped off at your hotel.
- Meals: Breakfast only
- Minimum altitude: 1,900 m (6,233 ft).
- Maximum altitude: 2,400 m (7,874 ft).
- Temperature: warm and humid
Included/Excluded
Included
- Mini-van transfer to and from your Cusco hotel
- Expedition train service from Cusco to km 104 (start of the hike)
- Expedition train service from Aguas Calientes to Cusco (this train service can be upgraded to the Vista Dome service at an additional cost of US$25 per person).
- Entrance tickets for the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu
- All bus tickets to and from Machu Picchu
- Professional tour guide, knowledgeable in Inca history, tradition, fauna and flora, and first aid in the wilderness.
- First aid kit and oxygen tank carried by your guide
- 1 night of camping
- Lunch on Day 1
- Dinner on Day 1 with our chef
- Breakfast on Day 2 with our chef
- All camping equipment (sleeping tent, dining tent, kitchen tent, bathroom tent, sleeping mats, stools, table, etc.)
- Sleeping bag (all of our sleeping bags are professionally cleaned before each hike)
Excluded
- Lunch on Day 2
- Tips for your guide and driver (tipping is optional, and guidelines can be provided)
- Tickets to climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountains (these can be arranged at an additional cost of US$ 75 per person)
Packing List
Short Inca Trail with Camping Packing List
- Original passport
- ISIC card (if applicable)
- Backpack (if not waterproof bring waterproof backpack cover)
- Sturdy Hiking boots
- Layers for variable temperatures especially at night
- Sun protection (sunscreen, sun hat & sunglasses)
- Insect repellent
- Rain poncho or a good rain jacket
- Toiletries / small towel
- Water bottle – water purifying tablets (optional)
- Camara
