2 day/ 1 night inca trail
This is a MUST if you do not have time to do the 4 day/ 3 night inca trail.
Actually tourists who go into the Machu Picchu sanctuary for a few hours alone really do miss out on this marvelous and mysterious place. A short visit only gives you a stolen glimpse of this impressive empire and does absolutely no justice to this marvelous and mysterious place.
The 2 day/ 1 night option allows you to experience some of the secrets of the incas whithout camping in close proximity to aboultion facilities. There is no way to explain the surpise of that “oooo wooow” when after a four hour steep walk upwards, crossing the path of the second most important Inca ruin “Wina Wayna”, (which by the way is beautiful and well worth the climb you scramble up a steep flight of stairs and then your breathe is truly taken away at the Sun gate.
The view of the Machu Picchu sanctuary spreads out before you in full view down below. No words can explain the feeling that you get with that spectacular view. You arrive late in the afternoon when all the hoards of tourist buses have left and the sanctuary is almost free of people. You get to appreciate Machu Picchu in its entirety undisturbed, peaceful and out of this world!
The next morning when you go up, once again you arrive in the sanctuary before the hoards of tourist arrive again.
Tourists who opt for the 4 day inca trail should be prepared that the sleeping conditions are not that great. There are rows and rows of tents on banks of sand paths, on different levels that are literally flanked onto the very smelly abolution facilities that are not very clean. Although we did not do the four day hike, I was thankful that we didn’t as the camping situation really is not like being out in the wilderness. With hoards of different trekking groups I believe that there is no stillness of the night that one would want to experience amidst the mountains.
2 day / 1 night is a definite must!! Highly recommended.
We entered Machu Picchu sanctuary on the third day and we were so glad we did. We climbed the steep Huayna Picchu (of which you must pre book in advance because there are a limited 200 tickets for the 7am climb and 200 for the 10 am climb). Do the first session. You get to see the sun rise of Machu Picchu and it gives you more time to explore the area before the heat of the day.
If you’re lucky you’ll get to see Machu Picchu when the sky is clear blue and the sun is out, as well as early in the morning when the sanctuary is covered in clouds. Watching the cloads lift up over the mountains offer a completely different atmosphere – mystical.
Many tour companies offer this 2 day/1 day inca trail. Make sure you get one that offers a guaranteed hike, even if there are only two people. In this way they will always link you up with another group. We were two people and we linked up with another group of two people. We used View Peru and were very ahppy with the organisation that was all done through Go Treks Peru.
We pre booked our own trains and hotel accommodation instead of taking a pre-organised all-inclusive package. It suited what we wanted and we landed up saving. You don’s have to spend a fortune with highly priced tour operators. After much research we spend half the amount of what other tours charge and probably got the same tour and 5* accommodation that we wanted.
ENjoy Machu Picchu. It is an experience of a lifetime
Posted on TripAdvisor
