2-Day Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain Tour from Cusco
Two separate full days out of Cusco, one by train to Machu Picchu and one on foot to Vinicunca, with a night back in the city in between.
Updated 20 October 2026
In shortThis is a two-day pairing from Cusco: a train day to Machu Picchu with a guided visit of more than two hours, and a trekking day on Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca) covering 8 km (5 miles) between 4,450 m (14,600 ft) and 5,035 m (16,520 ft). Transport is by private vehicle with hotel pickup and drop-off, and the guide speaks fluent English and Spanish. It suits travellers with only a few days in the region who want both sights handled in one booking, and who book their own Cusco hotel for the night in between.
2 daystour length
from $795per adult
★ 5.086 reviews
What the 2-day Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain tour covers
Two full days, booked together, run from your hotel in Cusco. One day goes north-west to Machu Picchu by train, bus and guided walk; the other climbs to the Vinicunca viewpoint on foot. Between them you sleep in Cusco, in a hotel you book yourself, which is the one piece of the trip the price does not carry.
The altitude difference between the two days is the part most people underestimate. Machu Picchu sits at 2,430 m (7,970 ft), nearly 1,000 m below Cusco at 3,399 m (11,150 ft), so that day feels easy on the lungs. The Vinicunca day starts the walk at 4,450 m (14,600 ft) and tops out at 5,035 m (16,520 ft), with 8 km (5 miles) and 3.5 to 4 hours of hiking round trip, graded moderate to difficult. The operator confirms the order of the two days after booking, since availability decides it.
Transport is private throughout, with pickup and drop-off at Cusco hotels only. The guide speaks fluent English and Spanish on both days. The Machu Picchu day includes the entrance, the round-trip train between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes, both bus rides up and down from the site and a guided tour of more than two hours; meals that day are not included. The trekking day includes a Peruvian breakfast, snacks, 0.5 litre of drinking water, lunch, a rain poncho, access fees to the private land, a first-aid kit and oxygen.
2-Day Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain Tour (Small group or Private)
Train travel, entrances and transfers for the Machu Picchu day, plus breakfast, lunch and a snack on the Vinicunca trekking day, with a fluent English and Spanish guide on both.
Machu Picchu120 min Pickup at your Cusco hotel between 3:00 and 3:30 am, confirmed the day before, then the transfer to Ollantaytambo station. The train to Aguas Calientes takes about an hour. A bus carries you up to the citadel, where the guided visit lasts over two hours and covers the main sectors; entry is by timed slot on the circuit assigned to your ticket. After the guide finishes you have the rest of your time to walk the route on your own.
Ollantaytambo120 min In the evening you take the train back down to Ollantaytambo (2,792 m), where a van is waiting to drive you to your hotel in Cusco. Arrival is between 6 and 8 pm. Meals, travel insurance, tips and the Huayna Picchu hike are not part of the price, and the Huayna Picchu entrance carries an extra cost you need to ask about in advance.
Rainbow Mountain Peru840 min The trekking day starts with a pickup between 2:15 and 2:45 am and a three-hour drive by private van to the start of the trail. Breakfast, Peruvian style, comes before you set off. The route covers 8 km (5 miles), climbing from 4,450 m (14,600 ft) to 5,035 m (16,520 ft), with about two hours of walking up and 3.5 to 4 hours in total. Pace yourself from the first metres; what wears people down here is the gradient combined with thin air.
Cusco Roughly an hour at the top, then about 1.5 hours back down to a lunch cooked by the operator's chef in a traditional mud-brick house. The van reaches Cusco between 4 and 5 pm, so the full day runs from 2:15 am to 4 or 5 pm. Oxygen and a first-aid kit travel with the group, and a rain poncho is provided in case the weather turns.
Photos: ours and the tour operator's
What is included
Included
Meals as per itinerary (Rainbow Mountain trek day only: breakfast, lunch and a snack)
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Professional guide
Transport by private vehicle
Not included
Tips
Meals during the Machu Picchu day
The Cusco hotel night between the two days
Anything not listed under what is included
Meeting point, pickup and cancellation
Pickup and drop-off at hotels in Cusco city only, at a hotel you book yourself: day 1 for Machu Picchu by train, pickup 3:00 to 3:30 am; day 2 for the Rainbow Mountain trek, pickup 2:15 to 2:45 am. Exact times are confirmed the day before and can change.
Return point: your hotel in Cusco, between 6 and 8 pm on the Machu Picchu day and between 4 and 5 pm on the trekking day.
Cancellation: all sales are final, with no refund for cancellations. Check the current terms on the booking page before you confirm.
Ages: child 10 to 16, adult 17 and over.
Other multi-day Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain tour options compared
Longer itineraries spread the same two sights over more days and add Humantay Lake or the Sacred Valley, which gives you acclimatisation time before the 5,035 m day. The two-day version on this page is the tightest schedule of the group and the only one with a private vehicle on both days; the three, five and seven-day options cost less per day but tie up more of your trip.
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2-Day Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain Tour (Small group or Private) (this page)
