* Acclimating in Cuzco for at least two days is a must.
* Bring sleep aids - it's difficult to sleep at night at 9k feet.
* If you run into trouble with the altitude you can hire your porters to carry your bags - they're always looking for more money. Carry extra to hire them.
* The guides all carry oxygen. On the second day you'll see plenty of people needing it.

On day three, try to talk your group against staying at the winay wayna camp. It's crowded and simply not worth getting up at 3:00 am to hike to the Sun Gate at sunrise unless you're going to be there on the one day of the year the sun is directly behind the gate. You will hike in the pitch black for four hours over treacherous terrain and miss some of the most spectacular scenery coming into Machu Picchu. It's pointless. Not too mention that every single other group will also be leaving the winay wayna camp at the same time.

Instead, get up early (crack of dawn) on day three and hike all the way to Machu Picchu. You will arrive at Machu Picchu after most of the tourists have gone home and you will essentially have the whole place to yourself. It was our group and one other. Much more relaxing and a lot more fun. Then you can hike down to the river and stay at the campsite there which has hot showers or you can swim\bathe in the river.

The next morning take the bus back up to the top of Machu Pichu at the crack of dawn and again - you'll have the whole place to yourself and you'll be much happier than the groups coming through the Sun Gate. You can even hike up to the Sun Gate yourself if you want.

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