Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu
| country: | Peru |
| location: | Inca Trail, Machu Picchu |
| departures: | Departs Mondays and Fridays throughout the year, excluding February |
| price: | From US $495 - US $750 (4 days) excluding flights. Price depends on whether your group is shared with other travellers or private |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu. This is one of the greatest hikes in the world, if you’ve ever dreamed of hiking the Inca Trail; this is the way to do it. The reasons are many, the fantastic nature with valleys, snowcapped mountains and great variety of plants, birds and animals. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu winds through the Andes, passing numerous significant Inca ruins en route before descending through the Sun Gate to the silent stone city of Machu Picchu.
The Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu is a thrilling experience and a very great privilege. But the Inca Trail 4 days is much more than a great hike. It is one small portion of an incredible network of such trails crossing high stony mountain ranges, bleak deserts, and raging Andean rivers, tying the Inca Empire together.
The Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu is a thrilling experience and a very great privilege. But the Inca Trail 4 days is much more than a great hike. It is one small portion of an incredible network of such trails crossing high stony mountain ranges, bleak deserts, and raging Andean rivers, tying the Inca Empire together.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Cusco Km 82 – Wayllabamba. At 6:00am we’ll pick up from your hotel then we go to Ollantaytambo We start walking from Km. 82 to Wayllabamba; we spend a little while resting at the hill with a view over Llactapata an important agricultural place for the Incas. Here we have a good chance to see hummingbirds around in the flower bushes. We arrive to the village of Wayllabamba in the afternoon. Camping Here |
| Day 2: | Wayllabamba - Pacaymayo. We make a long, uphill climb through villages, woods, and alongside a stream, and then continue with a slow but steady ascent up the very steep switchbacks of the famous Warmiwañusqa Pass (“Pass of the Dead Woman”) at 4200mt. At the top of the pass (the highest altitude we reach on our trek), we are rewarded by sweeping views of a panorama of snow-covered Andean peaks. We descend a short distance to our camp at Pacaymayo |
| Day 3: | Pacaymayo - Wiñay wayna. We pick up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay. We descend to the ruins of Sayacmarca, an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley. At the third pass pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms overlook the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level town). An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite leads us finally to our camp by the ruins of Wiñay wayna (Forever Young), camping |
| Day 4: | Machu Picchu and back to Cusco. Very early we leave camp to reach Inti Punku in time for sunrise. From here we get the first glance of Machu Picchu. We will learn about the importance – religiously and historically – of the place, and we will be able to appreciate the fine architecture of the Incas, from where one has a good overview of the whole area and the full site of Machu Picchu. In the afternoon we meet in Aguas Calientes to take the train back to Cusco |
how this holiday makes a difference
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We promote responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, respecting and benefiting local people. We believe that sustainable, sensitive tourism is an invaluable help to developing the communities and preserving the environments of Peru. Our aim to encourage more people to visit Peru by promoting supremely enjoyable and informative trips whilst maximising the benefits these generate for the local economies, environments and host communities in Peru.
Environment We have a zero litter tolerance. On our treks all rubbish and waste material is carried out and disposed of in suitable facilities in the main towns and cities. The waste is divided into organic (green bags) and inorganic (black bags). We never bury waste along the route of the trail and certainly never dump rubbish behind a hedge. Environmental degradation, landfill, and scarce water resource are all very important issues faced by most of the countries in the world. Instead of feeling powerless in the face of these problems we prefer to focus on what we can do. We use biodegradable cleaning products (soap, detergent) – the passengers must use these products. They may be a little more expensive but we will be using river water that is up to now still very clean and we want it to stay that way. Community Our porters have been carefully selected from three communities in the mountain villages around Cusco. We employ about 40 permanent porters. Two porter groups come from the village of Pampallaqta which is high up in the mountains about a 2-hour walk from Pisac. One porter group is from the Willoq community 3 hours walking from Ollantaytambo. We value and respect diversity when hiring, and believe in participative management, fair payment policies, professional development, good conditions and safety at work, personal and family development and good treatment of subcontracted personnel. We employ professionals local and native staff with many years experience and pay our trekking staff such as cooks and porters well above average wages, on time and just after finalize the trip, they are not overburdened, and we are organized enough to ensure a safe pace along the trail. We aim to work with providers who share our social responsibility philosophy of offering our clients the highest quality while respecting our communities and the environment. We promote the participation of the communities in which we operate by contracting local guides, drivers, and executives. We are currently working on a pilot program in a small Andean community that we hope to replicate throughout the Andean region. Keeping all group sizes small (max 10 people) to prevent our holidays becoming too intrusive on local communities. This has the added benefit that all customers are able to benefit from the knowledge of our local tour guides We are recognised as honestly paying taxes (19%) to the State and recognized by all Peruvian Tourism Institutions SUNAT. When an overseas tour company sends the money to a Peruvian tour company who will actually operate your trip, this payment is exempt from tax (basically so you don't end up paying sales tax twice). That means that if you buy a trek or tour with a tour company outside of Peru you are not contributing towards the Peruvian economy in the form of sales taxes. |
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. |