Peruways runs the official two-day Short Inca Trail — the one that starts at Kilometre 104 on the PeruRail line, climbs through Chachabamba and Wiñaywayna, and emerges at Intipunku above Machu Picchu on day one. It is the Inca Trail for travellers who want to arrive on foot through the Sun Gate without committing to the full four-day walk.
Day one: transfer from Cusco to Ollantaytambo, train to Kilometre 104, 12 km hike through cloud forest past Chachabamba (an Inca checkpoint), Wiñaywayna (one of the best-preserved sites on the trail outside the citadel itself), and over the ridge to Intipunku. The approach to Machu Picchu from above, with the citadel laid out below, is the Inca Trail payoff.
Day two: full guided visit to the citadel after an Aguas Calientes overnight — the three ticketed circuits, Temple of the Sun, Intihuatana, with a licensed Peruvian guide.
Permits for the Short Inca Trail are capped at 250 a day; book two to three months ahead in high season (May-September). Peruways manages the permit, the train, the Aguas Calientes stay and the Consettur bus back down.
