TREK DETAILS:
- Hike Distance: 27.9 miles / 45 KM
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Duration: 4 days
- Elevation Gain: 428m/1404ft.
- Weather: See below
- Seasons: From March 1 until January 31 (February is closed for maintenance).
- Cusco Drive Time: 2hr 45min+
- Town Nearest Hike: Ollantaytambo
- Age requirement: 1+
- Trip Type: 8 max; 6 average
- Service: Group – Standard
INCLUDES:
- Professional Bilingual guide (4 days)
- Cooks and porters
- Entrance fees/ Inca Trail permits
- Collection from the hotel.
- Round trip transportation to kilometer 82. Train back from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo. (Expedition train) and bus from Ollantaytambo to Cusco.
- Water (Not included for the first 4 hours of trek, we will provide you with boiled water for drinking for the remainder of the tour).
- 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3-afternoon snacks, 3 dinners and various snacks to be eaten throughout the day. (Breakfast on day 1 and lunch on day 4 in Aguas Calientes are not included).
- Dining tent with tables and chairs.
- Cook and assistant cook
- 2 person tent.
- Basic foam sleeping pads.
- One way bus tickets from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes.
- Oxygen bottle.
- First Aid kit.
ITINERARY
Start time
Between 4:30 am and 5:00 am
Travel
Two hours by bus from Cusco to Piskacucho or the famous 82 Km.
Trekking Distance
6.8 miles/11 km (5- 6 hours)
Highlights of the day
We depart from Cusco by car to KM 82 (Piskacucho) where we will begin our Inca Trail. We will get across the Urubamba river, one of the most important tributaries of the Amazon river, view the Inca Fortress of Huillca Raccay and the Inca city of Llactapata (patallacta). Enjoy the breathtaking views of the Urubamba mountain range and the snow capped peak of Wakay Willca (Veronica) which stands at 5860m/1922ft.
The Hike
The first day is a good preparation for the upcoming days. The trek is moderate/ easy and help you acclimatize. The trail starts at 2720m/8923ft climbing to 3000m/8984 ft.
Meals
Breakfast on way to Piskacucho.
Lunch during hike and dinner at campsite.
Various dietary options are available.
Accommodation
Camping in tents at a campsite in the small village of Wayllabamba.
Other information
Entrance tickets, passports and student ID’s will need to be shown at the start of the trail.
Start time
6:00 am
Trekking distance
7.4 miles/12 km (6-7 hours)
Highlights of the day
The flora and fauna on this part of the trek is incredibly varied and you will see many birds such as hummingbirds and plants and trees such as the ‘Polilepys ‘ or Q’ueuña tree which grow in the astonishing cloud forest located at 3650/11972m! You will feel a real sense of achievement reaching the top of the pass today.
The Hike
Very difficult. A steep and difficult ascent from our campsite at 3000m/10700ft to the highest pass (Abra de Huarmihuañusca/’Dead Woman’s Pass’ at 4200m/13779ft. After a rest we have a 2 hour descent to our campsite at Pacaymayu.
Meals
Breakfast at campsite, lunch on trek and dinner at campsite in evening.
Accommodation
Camping in tents at a campsite at Pacamayu 3550m/11646ft.
Start time
6:00 am
Trekking Distance
9.9 miles/16km (9 hours)
Highlights of the day
Visit the archaeological site of ‘Runcuracay’. Spectacular views of the surrounding mountains from Runkurakay pass. Explore the Inca site of ‘Sayacmarca’ and gazet at the magnificient scenery as you pass through the lovely cloud forest. Visit the Inca site of ‘Phuyupatamarca’ (meaning town in the clouds) and then walk through the impressive agricultural Inca site of ‘Intipata’. This is the most amazing day of the trek.
Difficulty level
Difficult. Climb from 3550m/11646ft to 4000m/13123ft to the second highest point on the trail and then a steep descent to the archaeological site of Sayacmarca and then a further ascent to 3680m/12073ft.
Meals
Breakfast at campsite, lunch on trek and dinner at campsite in evening.
Accommodation
Camping in tents at a campsite at Wiñay Wayna 2680m/8792ft.
Extra
A short distance from this campsite is the Inca site of the same name ‘Wiñay Wayna’ (‘Forever Young’). Even if you are tired after your day’s trek, don’t miss out on visiting the most impressive site on the trail.
Start time
On this last day the wake up time is at 3:30AM. We start the day early in order to allow our porters proper time to pack all our campsite and head down to their train stop to catch their train to Cusco. After a quick early breakfast, we will head to the last checkpoint of the Inca trail where we will wait for about an hour until the gate of the check point opens at 5:30AM.
Highlights of the day
A visit to ‘Inti Punku’ (‘Sun gate’) 2730m/8792ft before sunrise and your first dramatic view of Machu Picchu 2400m/7873ft with the sun rising over it! Please read more about the sunrise at Machu Picchu below.
From the trail a chance to take the famous picture postcard photograph of Machu Picchu. A walking tour (2 hours) of Machu Picchu by your guide. Optional climb of Huayna Picchu 2720m/8923ft (a 45 minute climb to reach the top).
After the tour you are free to wander around the stunning site for yourself and then return by bus or foot to Aguas Calientes. From there you will take the scenic train back to Cusco.
The Hike
Moderate. A gentle one hour ascent to Inti Punku and then a 40 minute descent toward Machu Picchu 2400m/7873ft
Meals
Breakfast at campsite. Lunch in Aguas Calientes.
Accommodation
You will be back in Cusco in your own accommodation for this evening.
Other information
What is the sunrise at Machu Picchu? For over 5 decades people visiting Machu Picchu have wanted to arrive there to watch the sunrise. The best time of the year to watch the sunrise at Machu Picchu is during the winter solstice on June 21st of every year. Watching the sunrise is a beautiful thing reserved mainly to the people hiking the Inca Trail during that particular time of the year. However, this event is conditioned to season (summer annand weather changes that might prevent people from doing it. Evolution Treks Peru does not guarantee that you will watch the sunrise at Machu Picchu.
You will be given your train tickets by your guide. The train usually leaves about 2:55 pm and arrives back in Cusco at 7:45 pm although this may be subject to change. You can opt to have an extra night in Aguas Calientes to explore Machu Picchu further and visit the thermal springs in Aguas Calientes.
- Original passport
- Travel Insurance is essential
- Sleeping bag (can be hired from us)
- Walking boots
- Waterproof jacket/rain poncho
- Warm jacket
- Hat and gloves
- T-shirts
- Comfortable trousers
- Sun hat
- Sun protection cream (factor 35 recommended)
- Insect repellent
- Water (only until lunch time on day 1)
- Toiletries and hand sanitizer.
- Personal medication
- Camera
- Torch with spare batteries (headlamps are useful)
- Shorts.
- Walking stick (with rubber tip – can be hired from us).
- Plasters and bandages.
- Sandals.
- Extra money.
- Bathing suit (for hot springs in Aguas Calientes).
IMPORTANT: Some of the reasons that our price may be higher than that of other agencies are the following:
We ALWAYS book the maximum number of porters possible (according to Inca Trail regulations) so that our porters are not overloaded.
We are the only tour operators hiring women to work as porters on the Inca Trail. We believe that THERE IS NO such thing as SUSTAINABILITY without women Inclusion .
Also, We are the only travel operator in Peru that supplies porters with proper tents, sleeping pads and adequate food for this type of activity.
Beware of this when booking they might be cheaper because of this!
- 2 people (minimum group size) should have a maximum of 5 porters and 16 people (max group size) should have 22 porters.
- ** Tips for porters, cooks or guides are optional and are NOT included in our price. However our advice is that you tip our staff based on their performance, service and knowledge. Our guidelines for tipping our staff is the following:
- Each porter gets 100 Soles, each assistant cook 150 Soles, the Main Chef gets 300 Soles.
- Assistant Tour guides can be tipped collectively by the members of the group, we suggest a 5% of the total cost of the tour.
- Main guides are tipped on a one on one basis and based on their performance. Tour guides are professional people who spend a lot of time training in different other fields such archaelogy, history and WFA. We suggest people to consider tipping our guide a 10% to 15% of the value of your tour.
Train included in all tours is the Expedition train (to Ollanta). Train times will only be confirmed once full amount of tour is paid. The earliest train you could take is the 2:55 PM and the 9:20 PM being the last train (high season June to September). We will organize the transport back to Cusco (by taxi or by bus).