Cusco is the staging city for every Machu Picchu trip, and the day options from there are varied enough that it’s worth knowing the four routes before you book.
Guided tours out of Cusco cover the full chain — hotel pickup, road transfer to Ollantaytambo, train through the gorge, Consettur bus up to the citadel, licensed guide at the top. The Inca Trail (4 days, with porters), the Salkantay (5 days, no permit cap) and the one-day train round-trip are the three mainstream options; a two-day with an overnight in Aguas Calientes is the fourth.
Peruways runs each format. Our bias for first-time travelers is the two-day: Cusco–Ollantaytambo–Aguas Calientes on day 1, citadel first thing on day 2, back to Cusco by evening. It gets you to the ruins before the day-trippers from Cusco arrive on the midday trains.
Plan the Machu Picchu segment at Peruways. Pick the format, we hold the inventory.
