4 Day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu Inca Trail Peru

The Inca Trail is a well-established and iconic 4-day, 3-night hike. It leads travellers from km.82 all the way to Machu Picchu.

You will be entering the citadel through the Sun Gate (also called Inti Punku). Inca Trail is a lot shorter than you may expect. It is only 40 kms (25 miles).

The challenge? A significant chunk of that 40 kms is up steep, narrow Andean mountain paths at altitude. 

About:

Incan Empire was massive. It sprawled from Peru, to a large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile and a small part of southwest Colombia.

The Incas built thousands of kilometres of trails to link their important settlements and centres of civilisation.

This specific 4 day route which is known as the ‘Classic Inca Trail’ was the most important.. 

Do note that if you see a tour with fewer days offered, then you are only going to be hiking a small section of the route.

Inca Trail trek is not the most difficult trek. Being reasonably fit physically and acclimated will make it easier.

 In total the trail is 40 kms (25 miles) long. The distance traveled each day are not long.

Although the challenging part is the altitude and Inca Trail involves plenty of uphill and downhill hikes.

Peru’s Inca Trail is one of the popular trails in the world.  It combines the best of both types of travel: a four-to-five day walk to the emblematic lost city of Incas, Machu Picchu. 

The trail winds through the zone where the snowcapped Andes Mountains. It then descends to the lush Amazon jungle. 

Inca Trail takes trekkers through some of the world’s most dramatic and beautiful terrain.

Many experts believe that the Incas, the advanced South American civilization blazed this 25-miles trail five centuries ago as a holy pilgrimage that prepared visitors to enter Machu Picchu.

During the high season of July and August from 1996 to 2001 as many as 1600 people were starting the Inca Trail trek everyday (about 1000 tourists and 600 porters).

There were no regulations and many trekkers camped wherever they wanted, using the ruins as latrines and disposing rubbish along the trail.

The Inca Trail was starting to get a lot of negative press and UNESCO threatened to remove its status as a World Heritage Site….” 

Introduction of Inca Trail Permit:

In 2002, Inca Trail Regulations were introduced in order to protect the monument. These regulations restrict the number of visitors and prevent hiking the Inca trail without a permit.

Conservation projects are held during February of every year. The Inca Trail remains closed and no Inca Trail Permits are issued to visitors during this whole month.

The maximum number of Inca Trail permits is 500 people a day. Support staff is included within the five hundred. 

This means that about 200 permits are allocated for tourists and about 300 for cooks, porters and guides each day.

Inca trail permit availability:

Inca trail permit availability is directly provided by the Peruvian Government. South American Exclusive Tours Peru tries to provide information that is true and accurate. 

However, we give no assurance or warranty regarding the accuracy of information provided by a third party.

South American Exclusive Tours Peru accepts no responsibility for and excludes all liability for errors or inaccuracies.

South American Exclusive Tours Peru makes its best effort to secure permits for our guests. However, Inca Trail permits are sold by the Government on a first come, first serve basis.

Peru has two seasons.Dry season and wet season. It is possible to do the Inca Trail in either. Each however, come with their own pros and cons.  

Dry Season (May – October):

The chance of rain,  is significantly reduced and you can expect hot, dry mornings and afternoons. Dry season also coincides with high tourism season in Peru (June – August).

Hence the Inca Trail will be at full capacity each day. This means fuller camp sites and more traffic along the Trail (although the tours do try and stagger this out).

Demand for tours also increases in dry season, so you really need to book your own tour further in advance (a rule of thumb is six to seven months. 

But we have met people who booked a year in advance to assure themselves of a place). 

Note:

Inca Trail is closed in February for everyone in order to allow it to replenish. 

If you’re hiking in the dry (high) season, then you should be making a reservation sooner rather than later (i.e. right now).

If you’ll be taking an Inca Trail tour in rainy season, a little more spontaneity is possible. 

Unless you have very specific dates in mind where it makes sense to get your booking in sooner rather than later. 

Before booking make a good plan, as reservations are made with instant payments and therefore changing dates is almost impossible.

Unfortunately, date changes are almost never made. Once your booking is officially confirmed, we cannot change your trekking date or refund your permit.

There is no minimum or maximum age limit for hikers on the Inca Trail. However,  tour companies will operate according to their own guidelines and policies (South American Exclusive Tours Peru  minimum is 12 years old). 

Personally, we wouldn’t recommend anyone under the age of 14 to do the trek due to group dynamics.

Our South American Exclusive Tours Peru leaders are among the very best and most experienced guides anywhere. Our Guides’ experiences and interests go beyond merely climbing mountains or exploring Inca temples. 

You’ll find them a wealth of information on nearly aspect of your trek or tour; local culture, language, history, food, plants and animals, weather, and geology. 

Our fabulous South American Exclusive Tours Peru  Cooks Prepare Delicious and abundant Buffet style meals. 

We specialise in Peruvian and international Cuisine are prepared by our professional cooks from a mixture of local and exotic products. 

Samex Tours Peru has plenty of clients who have allergies to nuts, wheat, etc. Please give us details of your allergy at the time of booking. 

Please indicate the nature of the reaction and what type of medicines you have to take in an emergency. Clients with an allergy must be accompanied by a friend on the trek who is aware of your allergy and the location of any required medicines. 

Campsites are subject to change depending upon the crowds and the season. We generally try to camp in less trafficked areas so that travelers can enjoy the natural beauty of the Inca trail and minimize environmental impacts. 

Our typical campsite choices are Huayllabamba, Pacaymayo and Wiñay Wayna or Puyupatamarca. Our first choice is Puyupatamarca due to less crowds and nicer camp spots.

We supply the sleeping tents , sleeping bags, Eureka dining tents, tables, chairs, toilet tents, cooking equipment, water purifiers.

Therma-rest inflatable sleeping pads, and other camping equipment. Our outfitter purchases the highest quality equipment in Peru and older equipment is evaluated and replaced on a regular basis.

There are several restrooms along the way, some are flush, but most of them are of the squatting variety. They may be a bit unpleasant, but try to use them instead of nature. 

When you are at your campsite, you will have a bath tent that will be just for your group.

You need to bring the original passport and (University, College valid student card if applicable).

A comfortable 45 Lt trek backpack if you want to carry all your belongings. 

Trekking poles with rubber tip (Metal tips are not allowed on the trail). Warm clothes, layers for variable temperature especially at night. Thermal underwear can be worn in the sleeping bag or in cold conditions.

Toiletries, toilet paper, small towel 2 litre water bottle, (disposable plastic bottles are forbidden).

Emergency money at least 300 soles. Total per person ($150 -$180) approximately.

We recommend that travelers carry the items that they will need each day while hiking such as water, snacks, camera and film. 

Porters will carry all of your other supplies including camping equipment, clothes, sleeping bags, etc. We generally ask travelers to bring only the belongings that they will need for the trail and leave any unneeded luggage at the hotel in Cusco or the Sacred Valley. 

To prevent porters from becoming overloaded, we ask all travelers to limit their personal belongings to 15 lbs for the hike.

Walking boots are recommended as they provide support to the ankle which reduces the risk of injury especially when trekking in the wet season (December – March).

However it is important that your boots are comfortable and well worn-in and not brand new. Many people prefer to trek in tennis shoes. But extra care should be taken since they do not support the ankle.

We do not recommend trekking in sandals or using new boots or renting boots prior to the trek.

Make sure the shoes are sturdy enough for the duration of the trek and will not fall apart.

Many people like to hike with trekking poles or walking sticks. This is fine as long as the poles will not cause damage to the stone paving along the Inca Trail. 

If the trekking poles have metal spikes then these must be protected by rubber tips. We recommend bringing some spare rubber tips with you. 

Rubber protectors can also be bought in several shops in Cusco. Metal trekking poles can also be hired in many equipment hire shops in Cusco for about US$15 for the 4 Day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu

Samextoursperu often have poles for hire in our office.

About 50% of the group hire the services of an extra porter to carry their personal items. A ‘half porter’ can be hired for the 4 day trek for US$85 (2018).

This price includes porters entrance fees, meals, transport and wages. If you hire the services of a half porter you can give him a maximum of 6kg (13lbs) to carry which is usually sufficient for your sleeping bag (about 2.5kg), mattress (1 kg) and change of clothes (about 2.5kg). 

When you pay the trek balance in our office in Cusco we will give you a duffle bag so that you can put your items in that, which you will give to the porter on the day of the trek.

Samextoursperu is committed to looking after our porters and our trekking weights are carefully calculated so that our porters are not overloaded. 

The group sizes given below show the absolute minimum number of porters that we will provide for each group. As a professional company we will guarantee these numbers. 

Obviously we will use extra porters if any of our clients decide to hire the services of an extra half porter up until the maximum number of porters per group permitted by the government. 

This is why we limit each client to a maximum of just a half of a porter i.e. maximum 6kg.

The best time to do the trek is between mid-April and the end of October when the weather is typically dry and sunny. 

The driest months are June, July & August which is also winter in Peru when you can expect temperatures to drop to around freezing in the early hours of the morning. 

January, February and March are summertime in Peru but in Cusco and on the Inca Trail this also corresponds with the wet season.

We always use biodegradable soap and detergents, and we transport all garbage back to Cusco. We also use environmentally-friendly chemical portable toilets that allow us to pack waste out. 

Our flashlights are even solar-powered to avoid battery usage. We highly recommend that travelers bring one or two large water bottles to use on the hike to limit plastic water bottle waste.

 Simply Email us or contact us through WhatsApp. We will assist you in booking your 4 Day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu.