Inca Trail tour
| country: | Peru |
| location: | Inca Trail, Machu Picchu |
| trip type: | Moderate to stenuous & high altitude walking holidays |
| departures: | Daily departures throughout the year (no min group size) |
| price: | From £305 (4 days) excluding flights. |
| more info: | Price includes bus, guide, cook, porters (customers need to carry their own belongings), all meals, first aid kit, camping equipment, entrance to the trail and Machu Picchu and train back from Aguas Calientes to Cusco. Price does not include: All means not stated in the itinerary, personal expenses, tips. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Inca Trail tour
The 4 Day Classic Inca trail tour to Machu Picchu
The path involves high altitude trekking and an average fitness level or above is recommended. We use modern equipment and local, specialist guides on this Inca Trail tour.
We advise arriving in Cusco at least 24 - 48 hours before your trek to acclimatise. This is a camping tour, and all accommodation on the trail is in twin share tents. Please note that all meals are provided on the Inca trail, and are prepared by support staff. Please notify us of any dietary requirements.
You will be required to carry your personal belongings on the trail. Porters can be hired locally at an additional cost of US $15 - US $20 per day.
The trail involves a spectacular ascent from high altitude mountain passes down into cloud forest. On day 4 we wake early to watch the sun rise over the ancient citadel from the "Sun Gate", the elevated entrance to the city of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is world heritage listed and is known as the most important archaeological site in the Americas.
The invading Spanish Armies never made it to Machu Picchu. It was not discovered until early in the 20th century by the explorer and adventurer Hiram Bingham.
The path involves high altitude trekking and an average fitness level or above is recommended. We use modern equipment and local, specialist guides on this Inca Trail tour.
We advise arriving in Cusco at least 24 - 48 hours before your trek to acclimatise. This is a camping tour, and all accommodation on the trail is in twin share tents. Please note that all meals are provided on the Inca trail, and are prepared by support staff. Please notify us of any dietary requirements.
You will be required to carry your personal belongings on the trail. Porters can be hired locally at an additional cost of US $15 - US $20 per day.
The trail involves a spectacular ascent from high altitude mountain passes down into cloud forest. On day 4 we wake early to watch the sun rise over the ancient citadel from the "Sun Gate", the elevated entrance to the city of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is world heritage listed and is known as the most important archaeological site in the Americas.
The invading Spanish Armies never made it to Machu Picchu. It was not discovered until early in the 20th century by the explorer and adventurer Hiram Bingham.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Cusco - Huayllabamba. Early this morning, our guide will pick you up from your hotel to transfer you by bus to Km 82 where you will arrive mid-morning and meet the team that will join you during the trek - porters, camp assistants and cooks. The first day’s walk is quite easy and during the first part you will have a beautiful view of the snow-peaked Veronica Mountain above you and the Vilcanota River below you. Lunch will be waiting for you when you arrive at the Archaeological Complex of Patallacta. After re-energising, we begin the steady climb to Huayllabamba, where the first camp is set up. |
| Day 2: | Huayllabamba - Pacaymayu. After breakfast, the hardest part of the trail begins, with a steep, three-hour ascent to the highest point of the trek, Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman’s Pass), at some 4200m (13,800ft) above sea level. Here you will not only enjoy incredible, panoramic views, but you will have a great sense of achievement at reaching this milestone. After lunch in Vizcachayoc, we will descend towards Pacaymayu (3500m/11,480ft) for dinner and camp. |
| Day 3: | Pacaymayu - Wiñayhuayna. After breakfast the ascent will begin until the second most important step of the route, up to 3900 m.a.s.l., where you will enjoy a guided visit to the Archaeological Complex Runkuray and the Inca Citadel of Sayacmarca (3,600 m.a.s.l.). Lunch in Chaqquicocha. Then, you will continue walking towards Phuya Patamarka (Town in Clouds), another important archaeological monument. After a brief rest, we will continue walking until arriving at Wiñay Huayna (Always Young), for a guided visit to this spectacularly located Archaeological Complex . Dinner and overnight in the camp. Note: The above are the regular camp sites according to the circuit operated by us, however, these can vary according to the day by the Machu Picchu Management Unit without previous warning, but which will not affect the itinerary. |
| Day 4: | Wiñay Huayna - Machu Picchu - Cusco. After an early breakfast, we will make the one-hour walk through high rainforest to Inti Punku (Gateway of the Sun), the well-known entrance to Machu Picchu, with its unparallelled panoramic view of the Inca Citadel. Upon arrival in Machu Picchu, you will have a guided tour of the ruins and monuments, such as the Main Square, the Circular Tower, the Sacred Solar Clock, the Royal Quarters, the Temple of the Three Windows and the Cemeteries. This is followed by free time to stroll around the Citadel, before meeting the rest of the group to be transferred by bus to Aguas Calientes for lunch.In the afternoon, you take the train back to Cusco, where you will be transferred to your selected hotel. |
avoid disappointment - book your Inca Trail holiday in time
Over the last few years, the Peruvian government has imposed increasing restrictions on tourism on the Inca Trail in order to protect it from overuse. The aim is to minimise ecological impact and erosion, mainly by having limited access and improving the quality of the operators. There are now only a very limited number of trekking permits available - 500 per day (around 200 for travellers and the rest for staff) - and they are being issued on a first-come-first-served basis. In order to avoid disappointment we recommend booking well in advance (up to a minimum of 3 months in peak season), unless you are extremely flexible over your travel dates.how this holiday makes a difference
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Our Inca Trail tour sources as much as possible from the local community, whether it be our knowledgeable local guides, porters from local villages or food prepared and cooked for you on our treks. We shop locally, use local transport and do not use imported goods when local produce is available. We aim to minimise our impact on the environment and give as much back as possible to the communities we work in. All operations for our Inca Trail tour are done by locally owned companies, a fact we pride ourselves on. We also abide by all rules concerning porter treatment set down by the APTAE (Peruvian Ecotourism Association).
Community Our guides are all highly qualified (most with university degrees) or many years of experience and along with our porters are paid above the standard wage. We source them due to their unique contact with the local community in the Sacred valley region of Cusco, and their knowledge on the sites, fauna and flora you will pass on route. By booking your Inca Trail tour with us, you will be making a real impact on the community you are visiting. We can also assist you if you wish to visit community projects in order to get a lot more out of your trip to Peru. From a city orphanage run by a UK charity to an environmental project which involves local children and their communities from a high profile Peruvian NGO, ask us to see how you can give back. Most importantly a percentage of funds from your tour (approx 10%) will go back to our charities, and assist us to support the next generation and the environment they live in. Environment We really work hard to keep all our operations green! All our worldwide offices currently run on 90% green energy (we are working towards 100%) from hydro electric, wind to solar power. Being web based, we are close to becoming a paperless environment, brochure prints are at a minimum (and printed on a requirement basis) and all pre departure information is emailed. We use energy saving bulbs in our work centres, and recycle all our waste. We currently work with 3 different charities, giving us a broad spectrum and diversifying where our monies go. We work with Project Peru in the UK who run an orphanage in Zapallal in the shanty town outskirts of Lima, ANIA in Peru which is a high profile Peruvian NGO which works with children and helps to teach them about their local environment and how to manage it affectively, and GVI Foundation in Australia which work on several development projects in Latin America and around the world. We help these charities by fundraising treks, through donations as a company and through our clients and also through many of our customers who volunteer their time and expertise. These charities are close to our core of supporting the environment and children in need. In our pre departure information pack and throughout the orientation on the ground we help you to minimise your carbon footprint on your tour, and help protect the fragile ecosystem of the Machu Picchu sanctuary and Inca trail tour. This information comes from simple advice on waste disposal while trekking, to the offsetting of carbon emissions through our carbon offsetting program for your journey with us. All entrance fees paid by us for your tour go to help upkeep the Machu Picchu and Inca trail Sanctuary and contribute to helping maintain this historical gem for future generations. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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