A six-day guided trek from the Salkantay route across to the Inca Trail and into Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate, with Huayna Picchu the next morning and an oxygen-enriched room in Cusco on either side.
A bed by the airport on a night that lands late, with the Cusco flight the next morning. The hotel runs a free airport shuttle around the clock. I booked the morning run back to the terminal ahead of time and asked for quiet rooms away from the elevators.
An oxygen-enriched room the night before the trek and the night back from it. I booked the deluxe oxygen-enriched rooms, because the standard rooms look straight at a wall, on the flexible rate that carries my partner perks: breakfast, a hotel credit per room, an upgrade when one is open, and early check-in or late check-out when available. The hotel confirmed the credit covers food and drink, so I asked for an early dinner on it both nights.
Huts and domes on the Salkantay side, not tents. The domes have doors about three feet tall, recessed like an igloo, and that is the thing everyone remembers. In Aguas Calientes the trek company assigns a hotel from its partner properties once the permits clear.
Lima after dark, and straight to bed. Take the hotel's free shuttle from the terminal. Pull cash at the bank ATM on the second floor, to the left after baggage claim.
Up to Cusco, at about 11,150 feet, on the morning flight. Rest, drink water, and skip alcohol until after the trek. An early dinner on the hotel credit, then at 7 PM the guide comes to the hotel lobby for the briefing and a gear check, so bring anything you are unsure about. Pack whatever you are not carrying into zippered bags; the trek company drops them into storage on the way to the trailhead.
A 4 AM pickup, with breakfast boxed by the hotel kitchen, which I asked for ahead, and onto the Salkantay route. Phone signal comes and goes from here to Aguas Calientes, so download offline maps and Spanish translation before you leave Cusco.
Past the high lakes, and near the high pass the route leaves the standard Salkantay trail and cuts across to the Inca Trail, so you walk well-known sections of both. A cook travels with the team. Tell the guide about food preferences at the briefing, and if something slips, mention it privately early on. If you collect passport stamps, carry a few soles for them.
Into Machu Picchu on foot, through the Sun Gate, which was the toll gate on the Inca road into the city. Most visitors arrive by train and ride the bus up from Aguas Calientes, and permits for this last section of trail are limited. Then down to Aguas Calientes for the night. It is a car-free town, and the hotel there is the first place since Cusco where Wi-Fi is a sure thing.
Up Huayna Picchu in the morning, then out on the Vista Dome train, an upgrade on the trek's standard return train, with panoramic windows. Huayna Picchu permits are timed, and this group held the 7:30 AM slot. The standard plan is a guided tour of the citadel of an hour and a half to two hours, leaving early to make the climb. When the group is small I ask the operator to flip it: climb Huayna Picchu first, unguided, then meet the guide for the tour. Back to the same hotel in Cusco for the night.
Sleep in, have breakfast, and use the 1 PM late check-out I asked for before the afternoon flight to Lima and the connection home. Uber is cheap in Cusco and worked for my own group. I can also book a private driver with an English-speaking meet and greet.
Two more days, if you have them. I would add two easier days at altitude before the trailhead, and that is the version I suggest first: sleep lower in the Sacred Valley, then come up to Cusco. This group chose the fast start, so the trip was built to make the fast start work.
Pack for the first 36 hours. Wear your hiking boots on the plane and keep your day pack, socks, base layer, jacket, rain gear and medications in your carry-on. If a checked bag goes missing anyway, rental shops in Cusco can outfit you the evening before. Someone in my own group needed one.
Carry one more layer than you think. Several light layers work better than one heavy jacket. The moment you stop for a snack or to let someone catch up, you cool down fast.
Coca tea is not acclimatizing. It is offered everywhere and it is culturally normal, but it does not replace a slow first day. See a travel medicine doctor before the trip.
Lima arrivals. Lima has automated eGates for adult visitors with an e-passport who complete the free MigraCheck pre-registration within 48 hours of arrival. In early use they cleared people in under a minute, against an arrivals line reported at up to an hour. The system is new, so check it before you fly.