Lares Trek + Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu — 5 Days

You’ll wake up early with coffee or coca tea. After breakfast, hike uphill for four hours to Condor Pass (4,750 m), the highest point of the trek, with views of lakes, wallatas and snow-capped peaks like Pitusiray and Sawasiray. At the top, you’ll take part in a traditional offering to the sacred mountains. Then descend for three hours to the campsite at Cancha Cancha (3,750 m), a remote village where locals speak Quechua. You’ll have time to interact with residents, visit the school and learn about traditional life. In the afternoon, enjoy local-style dishes prepared by your chef before resting.

After breakfast with mountain views, you’ll descend into the Sacred Valley, watching the landscape shift from potato fields to corn terraces. You’ll reach Huaran (2,700 m), then transfer to the stunning Maras Salt Mines, where local families have worked salt ponds for generations. Continue to Ollantaytambo, the “Last Living Inca City”, to walk its ancient streets and water channels before dinner at a local restaurant.

You’ll take the first train to Km 104 at Chachabamba. After passport and permit registration at the checkpoint, start hiking and explore the Chachabamba ruins. You’ll climb gradually for about four hours to Wiñay Wayna, one of the most beautiful sites on the trail with iconic agricultural terraces in cloud-forest scenery. Enjoy a picnic lunch, then continue to Inti Punku (Sun Gate) for a breathtaking panoramic view of Machu Picchu. You’ll descend for about one hour to the citadel and enter via Circuit 1, ideal for photos. After the visit, take the bus down to Aguas Calientes for dinner and an overnight stay in a 3★ hotel.

Wake early to catch the first buses to Machu Picchu at 5:30 a.m. and enjoy sunrise over the citadel. You’ll have a 2–3 hour guided tour of temples, palaces and fountains, with an optional hike to Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain (separate ticket). Afterward, return by bus to Aguas Calientes; lunch is on your own, then you’ll board the Vistadome train back to Cusco, arriving around 7:30 p.m.