Inca Trail 5 Days to Machu Picchu: two entries, two circuits
Description
What the fifth day actually buys you
Most people book the 5 Day Inca Trail assuming it makes the walking easier. It doesn't. Day one is longer here than on the classic route: 17 km from KM 82 up to Llullucha Pampa, 3,850 m, and that height is what lets you clear both passes the next morning. What the fifth day buys is a second entrance to Machu Picchu. You tour the citadel on day four, guided, a few hours after coming through the Sun Gate, and then you sleep in a hotel in Aguas Calientes and go back up on day five on a different circuit, with no schedule and nobody talking. The four-day trek gives you one visit, on the tiredest morning of the week. This one gives you two, and the second is usually the one people remember.
Two passes in one morning
Day two decides how you'll remember this trek. Tea reaches the tent at 5:30. From Llullucha Pampa the climb to Warmiwañusca takes most groups two to three hours, with no shade on the slope once the sun clears the ridge at nine; then you drop into Pacaymayu and climb again to Runkurakay, near 3,950 m. Twelve kilometres, two passes. Conversation stops somewhere on the second one. Camp that night is Chaquicocha, about 3,600 m, cold enough that your water sits near freezing by five in the morning.
Day four: Inti Punku and the guided visit
The Wiñay Wayna checkpoint opens at 5:30 and Inti Punku is ninety minutes on. You will not see the sun rise over Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate: the light is already up before anyone clears the gate, and from December to March the valley is often packed with cloud. What you get is the citadel from above at around seven, then the walk down for your guided tour on the circuit your first ticket assigns. Be honest about that tour, though. Four days of walking sit in your legs and half of what the guide says will not stick.
Day five: back up, second circuit, your own pace
That is what the second entrance is for. A different circuit, angles and terraces the first visit did not cover, and nobody explaining anything unless you ask for it. The first bus leaves Av. Hermanos Ayar at 5:30; the 7:00 departures are calmer and the site is no worse for it. No circuit covers the whole citadel, whatever you have been told, which is precisely why two of them beat any single ticket.
Book the classic 4-day instead if your calendar has exactly four days: same 43 km of Qhapaq Ñan from KM 82, one entrance, one circuit, on the day you finish walking. Permits for 2027 go by season, May to August first, and February is closed for trail maintenance.
What to Expect
- Operator: Tierras Vivas Travel, 20+ years running treks out of Cusco.
- Difficulty: 3 out of 5. Two passes in one morning and four days on foot. Day one is longer here than on the classic route — 17 km up to Llullucha Pampa at 3,850 m — and that height is what makes day two possible.
- Age: 12 and over, under-18s with an adult.
- Group size: 16 maximum, a second guide from nine people up, and we run it from two.
- Service level: Comfortable camping, not glamping. Two-person tents, dining tent, toilet tent. You'll wash from a bowl at 5am three mornings running, and then sleep in a hotel bed in Aguas Calientes on the fourth.
- Permits: Inca Trail permit and two Machu Picchu tickets included, one for each visit. All nominal: the name and passport number you book with are what's checked at KM 82. No changes after issue.
- Staff: Bilingual guide, trekking chef, porters. Loads capped at 20 kg per porter and weighed at the control point.
- Meals: 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners, 4 afternoon teas. Quinoa soup, lomo saltado, trout, and a cake baked over a camp stove. Day-one breakfast and the last lunch in Aguas Calientes are yours — after four days of camp food you'll want to choose that one. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free with notice.
- Transport: Private van Cusco–KM 82 via Ollantaytambo, one train back from Aguas Calientes: PeruRail Expedition or Inca Rail Voyager, whichever has seats on your date.
- Camping equipment: Tents, sleeping bag, insulated mat, pillow, poles with rubber tips (compulsory at the checkpoints), boiled water.
- Sustainability: Trail clearing and rubbish carried out with SERNANP each season, porters hired under the sanctuary's weight and wage limits. Ask us for the figures before you book.
Quick Itinerary:
Day 01: Cusco - Km 82 - Llullucha Pampa
Day 02: Llullucha Pampa - Chaquicocha
Day 03: Chaquicocha - Wiñay Wayna
Day 04: Winay Wayna - Machu Picchu - Aguas Calientes village
Day 05: Machu Picchu - Cusco
Highlights of the 5 Day Inca Trail:
- Two entrances to Machu Picchu, on two different circuits: guided on day four, then back up on day five at your own pace. The classic four-day trek gives you one.
- A hotel night in Aguas Calientes between the trek and the second visit. Hot shower, real bed, and the citadel on legs that have stopped shaking.
43 km of original Qhapaq Ñan from KM 82, past Runkurakay, Phuyupatamarca and Wiñay Wayna — the stretch of Inca road most day-trippers never see. - Both passes on one morning, so the rest of the days run five to eight hours instead of the long grind the four-day itinerary puts on day two.
- Inti Punku at around seven on day four, looking down at Machu Picchu before the terraces fill with the first bus arrivals.
- An extra porter for up to 7 kg of your own kit, included — not sold as an upgrade at the trailhead.
- Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain on day five (optional). Book it with your reservation; both sell out months ahead.
Itinerary Details
Day 02: Llullucha Pampa - Chaquicocha
After an early breakfast, continue your Machu Picchu hike, ascending to the highest point of the trail: Abra Warmiwañusqa (Dead Woman's Pass), which sits at 4,200 meters. Pass through the cloud forests of Yunkachimpa and Corral Punku, which offer excellent views of the surrounding snow-capped peaks. From Warmiwañusqa, you will descend to the Pacaymayo Valley (10,830 feet), where you will have a lunch break. Then, you will walk along the Inca Trail through the valley until you reach the Inca ruins of Runkuracay, where a guided tour will follow. Afterwards, you climb up to the second pass, Abra Runkurakay (12,664 ft), and walk on the "Royal Inca Highway" down to the next Inca site, Sayacmarca. Along the way, you will pass Yanacocha Lake. Finally, you will arrive at your second campsite, Chaquicocha (11,978 ft).
Estimated trekking time: 7-8 hours
Trekking distance: 12 km
Max. elevation: 4,200 m (12,630 ft)
Min. elevation: 3,500 m (11,480 ft)
Difficulty: Challenging
