Llama Trail to Machu Picchu with Domes 4D/3N

At 6:30 a.m. we pick you up at your hotel and, instead of climbing into a van, you start walking. That’s what sets this route apart: it leaves the center of Cusco on foot. Your first stop is the Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun, where your guide explains how the ceques radiated out from these walls(the lines that organized Inca territory)and why the path you’re about to follow exists at all.
The city falls away slowly: cobbled streets, the Twelve-Angled Stone, the Sapantiana aqueduct and, at the top of the climb, Sacsayhuamán. In ninety minutes you’ve gone from the historic center to the mountains without setting foot in a vehicle.
At the Balcón del Diablo, a rock ledge with the whole valley spread out below, we stop to refuel: snacks prepared by our team and served right there, with the best view you’ll have in a long time.
The trail continues along the northern slopes, through eucalyptus and old stone walls. Ñustapakana is an outcrop the Incas carved into steps, niches and seats. Farther on you come to the Piedra de Escalada, a rock face that Cusco’s climbers use today, in the same area where people run the river. Both are an hour from the Plaza de Armas, and almost nobody knows they’re there.
We walk slowly on purpose, because your body is still adjusting to the altitude. You reach the Andean Sky Dome with plenty of afternoon left: check in, sit down to a hot lunch cooked by our own chefs high in the mountains, and take an optional rock-climbing session if you still have the energy. Dinner comes later, at 12,631 feet. After dark, with not a single light anywhere around you, the dome’s clear roof does the rest.

Meals: snacks, lunch prepared by our chefs, and dinner.
Lodging: Andean Sky Dome, with a real bed, warm bedding and shared facilities.
Difficulty: moderate.
Distance: about 5.6 mi / 9 km.
Maximum altitude: 12,631 ft / 3,850 m.
Sites visited: Qorikancha, Sacsayhuamán, Ñustapakana and the Piedra de Escalada.
Weather: mild during the day, cold at night.

After breakfast you leave the dome and the trail climbs without a break for about two hours to Ruyaq Corralniyoc, at 13,451 ft (4,100 m). The trees give out, bunchgrass covers everything, and raptors start to appear over the ravines.
This is a climb for short steps and steady breathing. If you need to stop, a few seconds on your feet beats sitting down every little while. Your guide sets the pace, and nobody is in a hurry.
Then come the Sihua lagoons, six of them, one after another. Huallatas and wild ducks nest at the first, llamas are usually grazing at the second, and the third is the largest. You watch them from the trail and at a distance: puna vegetation takes years to recover from a single step off the path.
Before moving on, you take your time over a boxed snack out on the open puna, with the lagoons right beside you. After that, the Pukamarca pass, at 13,779 ft (4,200 m), marks the high point and the end of the climbing. From there it’s all downhill through a canyon on an easier grade, until the bunchgrass turns to scrub and cactus and the Sacred Valley opens up below. At the bottom is Huchuy Qosqo, with its double-jamb doorway, the kallanka, the terraces, the water channel and the storehouses of the administrative center attributed to the Inca Wiracocha. Once you arrive, our chefs serve the lunch they’ve prepared fresh on the spot.
From there you descend to Lamay, where our transport takes you to Ollantaytambo. You sleep in the village, a few minutes from the station,  because next day at 5:30 am start the second Inca trail.

Meals: breakfast, a boxed snack, and lunch prepared by our chefs.
Lodging: 3-star hotel in Ollantaytambo.
Difficulty: moderate to demanding.
Distance: about 9.3 mi / 15 km.
Maximum altitude: Pukamarca pass, 13,779 ft / 4,200 m.
Sites visited: Ruyaq Corralniyoc, the Sihua lagoons, the Pukamarca pass and Huchuy Qosqo.
Weather: cold up on the puna, mild on the descent into the valley.

Day three begins before dawn. At around 5:30 a.m., we pick you up from your hotel in Ollantaytambo and take you to the station to board the train toward Km 104, the starting point of the Short Inca Trail. You will watch the sunrise through the window as the train follows the river.
At Km 104, you cross the bridge over the Urubamba River and pass through the official checkpoint, where your passport and permit are registered. The hike begins at Chachabamba, a complex of buildings and ceremonial fountains beside the river that once served as a checkpoint along the trail. Few people stop here, so you may have it almost to yourself.
From Chachabamba, the trail climbs for about three hours, through scenery completely different from yesterday's. The dry highlands give way to cloud forest, with ferns, orchids, and bromeliads hanging from the trees, and moisture in the air. We climb at a comfortable pace, stopping for water along the way.
The reward comes in two stages. First is Wiñay Wayna, one of the most beautiful places on the route: a fan of terraces clinging to the mountainside beside a waterfall. Then, after one last short climb, you reach Inti Punku, the Sun Gate, the entrance through which the Incas approached the citadel you will have the change to take all the classic pictures. From here, you catch your first complete view of Machu Picchu in the distance.
In the afternoon, you descend toward the citadel area and take the bus to Aguas Calientes. After checking into your hotel, your guide will confirm the exact time of your visit the following day.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch or a box lunch, depending on the confirmed program.
Accommodation: Hotel in Aguas Calientes.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Distance: Approximately 12 km / 7.5 mi.
Maximum altitude: Sun Gate, approximately 2,745 m / 9,006 ft.
Sites visited: Chachabamba, Wiñay Wayna, and the Sun Gate (Inti Punku).
Weather: Mild and humid, with cloud forest along the route.

On your final day, there is no hike to reach Machu Picchu: it is just a 25-minute bus ride up the mountain. After breakfast at the hotel, you head to the bus stop according to your confirmed entry time. Unlike yesterday, today you enter through the main gate, with time to explore.
With your guide, you visit the areas included in your ticket and assigned circuit: the terraces, urban sector, temples, and ceremonial plazas. After two days walking parts of the same network of trails that connects these places, the citadel takes on a different meaning. It is no longer just a picture-perfect landmark, but the final point in a network you began exploring at Qorikancha.
After your visit, you take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes, with time to have lunch at your own expense or explore the town before boarding the train to Ollantaytambo. Our transport will be waiting at the station to take you back to Cusco, where the tour ends at your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast. Lunch in Aguas Calientes is at your own expense.
Accommodation: Not applicable; the tour ends in Cusco.
Difficulty: Easy to moderate.
Distance: Approximately 4 km / 2.5 mi within the citadel, depending on the confirmed circuit.
Maximum altitude: Machu Picchu, approximately 2,430 m / 7,972 ft.
Sites visited: Machu Picchu.
Weather: Cool in the morning and warmer during the day.