Only on the 2-day and 4-day Inca Trail do you reach the Sun Gate. The Sun Gate refers to ruins at a prominent point along the route—it’s the first place where you can see Machu Picchu in the distance. From the Sun Gate, it’s still a 35-minute walk to Machu Picchu.
On the Lares Trail, Salkantay Trail and Inca Jungle Trail, you do not enter Machu Picchu via the Sun Gate. If you hike one of these Trails, at the end of the third/fourth day you travel to Aguas Calientes (the village at the foot of Machu Picchu), and on the fourth or fifth day, you take the bus up to the entrance of Machu Picchu.
