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Frequently Asked Questions Short Inca Trail 2 Days

We gladly answer all your questions:

1. Why do different companies list miles hiked from 6 – 8.5? Do some companies use different trails?

The distance from kilometer 104 of the railway (starting point of the walk) to Machu Picchu is 11 km (6.14 miles).

The Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is a unique hiking trail, and this trail is used by all authorized travel companies that can operate the Inca Trail network. Some travel companies do not include the bus ticket from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes, and perhaps, for this reason, the difference in miles or kilometers.

2. What does your boxed lunch provide on Day 1?

  • The following is the box lunch for the two-day Short Inca Trail:
    Tequeños with cheese and chicken rolled in paprika and spinach. (Specifically, we utilize pasteurized cheese from the town center of Ancahuasi, Cusco, in the province of Anta.)
  • Quinoa tabbouleh, accompanied by veggies: There are three varieties of quinoa that we use: white, red, and black (we purchase the vegetables on Saturdays at the Huancaro market, frequented by farmers from several Cusco communities.)
  • Cake of the Day (We make chocolate or vanilla Keke muffins using Andean flours such as kiwicha cañihua and vegetables such as carrots and oranges from the Convention Valley, “southern jungle of the Cusco region”) as raw material.
  • Cereal bar: Our cereals contain quinoa, kiwicha, and honey from Cusco’s Limatambo Valley.
  • 01 Seasonal fruit (fruits including bananas, granadillas, and tangerines from the Valle de la Convencion)
    Cutlery (We utilize wood, bamboo, or maize fiber cutlery.)
  • Wet wipes (We used compressed bamboo hiking towels)
  • One bottle of 700 milliliters
  • One small bar of chocolate (Sublime)

Note: Biodegradable Containers and Biodegradable Forks

3. Your trip does not include breakfast on Day 1. With such an early start,

How do most people acquire breakfast?

Hotels usually include a buffet breakfast, so visitors can coordinate with their hotel a day or days before to prepare a box breakfast to take away. You can also buy breakfast inside the Ollantaytambo train station or, lastly, one day before purchasing some snacks in the center of Cusco, where there are several mini-markets or local stores.

4. We are planning on staying in Ollantaytambo before the hike.

Will this work with your service regarding the day before instructions, payment to you, and joining the group in a different location than Cusco?

Our services on the Short Inca Trail 2 Days to Machu Picchu are private and affordable. Therefore, our trekking guide will gladly come to your hotel in Ollantaytambo so that you can walk together to the Ollantaytambo train station since the population of Ollantaytambo is small and thus board the train service.

The first initial and final payment directed to Kondor Path Tours for 2 Days of the Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is digital through PayPal.

5. We plan to go to Cusco at the end of Day 2. Can we be picked up and dropped off in two towns (Ollantaytambo pickup and Cusco drop-off)?

Our return to Cusco is by train, with the travel route from Aguas Calientes to the Poroy train station. From POROY, we travel by private vehicle to the city of Cusco (a 20-minute trip) for price reasons ,since the train ticket from AGUAS CALIENTES to POROY or OLLANTAYTAMBO is the exact cost.

But we will gladly organize the return by train from Aguas Calientes to the Ollantaytambo train station. We pick up your main bags in Ollantaytambo and start the land trip to Cusco from Ollantaytambo via Pachar and Izcuchaca.

NOTE: Bringing the vehicle from Cusco to Ollantaytambo slightly increases the price value.

The travel time from Ollantaytambo to Cusco is 1 hour and 40 minutes via Pachar, Pomatales Valley.

6. If yes to the above question, is there time to pick up our luggage in Ollantaytambo? (I assume our hotel will hold it for us.)

A double yes

7. What is your cancellation policy?

I read your policy, but am confused (we have never canceled a trip, but it’s good to know!)

We invite you to read our terms and conditions for the Inca Trail (short or classic): https://www.kondorpathtours.com/terms-conditions/.

8. Are they only the permit fees that are not refundable?

  • The entrance tickets to the Inca Trail, combined withthose to  Machu Picchu
  • The buses to go and return to Machu Picchu
  • We will improve the terms and conditions. We invite you to read it. Thank you very much.

9. I see that November is in the wet season, and read comments from people recommending mid-morning visits to Machu Picchu because of earlier poor visibility issues.

Why is your site tour early in the morning if this is the case?

For the Short Inca Trail walkers, it is the group’s decision when to visit Machu Picchu, coordinated with the tour guide. There is no specific time to enter Machu Picchu, but you cannot re-enter once you enter.

Between August and December, there are clouds due to the warm and phreatic winds of the rugged Andes.

Because Machu Picchu is inside the cloud forest, it could rain anytime. The weather improves between 8 and 11 a.m.

My husband and I hike a lot, but at different speeds.

He is fast, and I hike pretty slowly, but can go many more miles. We usually walk at average speeds and use handheld radios to communicate and decide where he will wait for me.

How do you deal with your group’s different hiking speeds?

The network of Inca Trails, such as the Short Inca Trail, prohibits walking on your own since there are rules to follow under the responsibility of the operating travel agency and the tour guide in charge of leading the organized groups.

On the Short Inca Trail, there are three checkpoints. The first is located at kilometer 104 of the railway, and the second is through Wiñaywayna and Machu Picchu, where visitors must walk in an organized group. There are exceptions, but the tour guide will decide by informing the park rangers and signing a responsible document.

From 01 to 08, there is one tour guide for foreign visitors. From 9 to 16 foreign visitors, two tour guides led groups of walkers along the Short Inca Trail. If part of the group walks slowly or quickly, the two tour guides divide the group and meet at specific places. Kondor Path Tours organizes the Short Inca Trail trekking circuit only as a private service at affordable prices if three people are in your group! The three people will have to stay together.

11. I see frequent statements that after the Machu Picchu tour, we will have time to explore independently.

Standard tickets to the site are only for 2 hours and don’t allow people to backtrack.

Do we get more time to explore on our own by taking your excursion?

About ten years ago, you could no longer re-enter Machu Picchu or have free time to explore Machu Picchu on your own after the guided tour. The walkers of the Short Inca Trail have a specific circuit to carry out their guided tour, not being able to enter the following sites:

  • The main Inca gate of Machu Picchu
  • Quarry industry
  • The sacred square
  • The three windows and the Inca compass
  • The sundial, Intiwatana, etc.

Visitors who need to re-enter Machu Picchu to explore independently must purchase a new ticket. This new ticket will allow you to visit Machu Picchu following one of the two primary circuits to complete the 2-hour walk inside Machu Picchu, not staying longer, so as not to start traffic on the circuit to be toured, because the visits are a constant movement.

According to Machu Picchu’s master plan, regulations became strict about preserving the archaeological site by controlling the flow of visitors.

Therefore, specific circuits exist for those who arrive directly by train or the Inca Trail. Only the Short Inca Trail walkers can choose when to start the guided tour of Machu Picchu, the alternate hiking routes, those who arrive by train, etc.

They must buy entrance tickets to Machu Picchu at a specific time according to ticket availability. Every hour, 600 people enter Machu Picchu.

12. Many websites mention visiting the Inca Bridge.

Is this now allowed again, or do your customers get special permission to visit this area?

It remains closed until further notice.

13. Are drones allowed for photos?

Drones are prohibited, as are selfie sticks.

14. What Inca Trail Trek Tours Are Available?

Inquire Now

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