You are about to embark on one of the most epic experiences of your life: The Inca Trail Trek! Likely to be at the top of your Peru Bucket List, this hike is renowned by travelers around the world, and for good reason. Cross through the high jungle, steep mountain passes, and original stone Inca pathways as you make your way to the famous citadel of Machu Picchu. There is simply nothing like the Inca Trail trek, and we would love you to join us for this once in a lifetime journey!
The Classic Inca Trail is Peru’s number one trek and one of the most well-known and popular treks in the world. With 4 days of trekking along original paved Inca pathways and passing through a variety of fascinating Inca sites before arriving at the beautiful Machu Picchu national park, the Inca Trail is one of those things that everyone should do once in their life. Be you young or old, in good shape or bad, the Inca Trail is for everyone and is a must-do if you want to visit Machu Picchu.
On this 4-day trip, you will travel the legendary route of the Inca people before arriving at the sacred site of Machu Picchu. During the journey, you can enjoy a unique route where we will discover magical places such as the Inca city of Llactapata, the Pacaymayo valley, and the archaeological wonders of Sayacmarca and Phuyupatamarca. The last day will provide you with an unforgettable experience as you enter Machu Picchu through the Puerta del Sol (Sungate), where we will enjoy a magical sunrise over the sacred citadel of the Incas.
Moderate
Min. 18 – whatever year olds. All travelers under the minimum age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Min. 1 – Max. 12
Cusco, Perú
06:00 a.m. – 21:30 p.m.
Ollantaytambo, Aguas Calientes, and Machu Picchu
NOTE: You will be required to bring enough water to last until lunch time on the first day. 2 liters
NOTE: If you want to obtain entry to the Wuayna Picchu Mountain or Machu Picchu Mountain, we suggest you reserve it 3 months in advance, previously sending us a message to our email: contact@waykibus.com to see if there is availability for the required date.
*Tips, are always optional; Our guides, porters and cooks receive a salary according to Peruvian laws, but if you wish to value their efforts and good work, feel free to do so; an economic incentive from you is always welcome. To find out how much you could award as part of a personal thank you, please click the link in Terms & Conditions. # 22, here you will find a standard referring to tips.
Shared trek: Please note, that you may meet many people from other groups who booked the same trek activity with us and coincided with you on the same departure day and join us.
Meals included: 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners. Including vegetarian and vegan options – just let us know in advance.
Accommodation: Single travelers will be paired in twins or groups in a multi-share tent with someone of the same sex for the duration of the entire activity
Service level: Standard. Private transportation, local bus and train.
Inca Trail Availability-Limited spaces: This hike requires a permit. We offer daily departures on the Inca Trail (excluding February when the trail is closed) It is strongly recommended to book your Inca Trail at least 5 months in advance as permits can quickly sell out. For any availability, we recommend you email us info@waykibus.com.
Our private bus and staff will pick you up from your hotel between 06:00- 06:30 am. Then we will drive to Piskacuchu (2700m/8856ft), a community located at 82 km, where is the starting point of the Inca Trail. We begin our hike by crossing the bridge over the Urubamba River and walking along the bank as the river flows northwest along the Sacred Valley.
Following the trail along a flat terrain, we will arrive in Miskay (2800m/9184ft) before starting a short ascent which will enable us to see the impressive Inca city of Llactapata (2650m/8692ft). We continue trekking for about five hours, along the valley created by the Kusichaca River, gradually climbing in altitude until we reach the community of Wayllabamba (3000m/9840ft), where we will set up our first camp. The first-day route has spectacular views of the Vilcanota ridge on the opposite side of the Urubamba River, where the impressive Veronica peak reigns at 5832 meters above sea level, as well as a huge variety of wild flora and fauna that can be found all along the valley.
We wake up at around 6:00 am and after breakfast, we begin the most difficult part of the trek, which consists of a steep ascent that stretches for 9 km up what is known as the Dead Woman’s Pass (4200m/13776ft). Along this path, the landscape changes from sierra to puna (a dry and high area with little vegetation). On the way along the Abra Warmihuañusca (Dead Woman´s Pass), we may see domesticated llamas and alpacas grazing on Ichu, one of the few plants that grow at high altitudes.
We also cross an area of the so-called cloud forest, which is the habitat for many different kinds of birds, such as hummingbirds and sparrows, and the Andean bear also called the Spectacled Bear (Tremarctus Ornatus). We advise that on this day, especially, your daypack is well stocked with candies, chocolates, and coca leaves that will keep your sugar levels high, and help with altitude sickness. Immediately after the pass, we descend into the Pacaymayo Valley (3600m/11808ft), where we camp after approximately 7h of hiking.
This day is the longest, but also the most impressive and the most interesting, due to the number of archaeological sites and the lush cloud forest area that we cross, which is rich in Andean flora and fauna. From Pacaymayo we climb to the second pass, the Abra Runkurakay (3970m/13022ft). Halfway up, we stop to visit the archaeological complex with the same name. This site, located at 3800m/12464ft, consists of a small oval structure that is believed to have served the purpose of a watchtower. After going over the pass, we descend towards Yanacocha (Black Lagoon) and enter the cloud forest to finally arrive at Sayacmarca (3624m/11887ft).
This is a beautiful complex made up of a semicircular construction, enclosures at different levels, narrow streets, liturgical fountains, patios, and irrigation canals. Continuing up an easy climb, we arrive at the third pass, the Abra Phuyupatamarca (3700m/12136ft). Along this climb we can appreciate the magnitude of the Incas´ ancient craft, by walking along paths semi-detached from the mountain and seeing rocks that fill up ravines in perfect order, saving the trail from the multileveled Andean geography. We go through an Inca tunnel to later arrive at the aforementioned pass and down to the complex of the same name. This is one of the most complete and best-preserved archaeological complexes along the Inca Trail to Machupicchu and is located on the highest point of the mountain.
Curiously, Phuyupatamarca means ¨town over the clouds¨. From above, one can observe a sophisticated sacred complex made up of water fountains with solid foundations, and also impressive views of the Urubamba River valley. We continue our trek down the long descending stone steps that lead us to Wiñaywayna (2650m/8692ft), an impressive Inca complex made up of an agricultural center with numerous terraces, a religious sector, and an urban sector, close to which our camp is located. After visiting the impressive archaeological site, we enjoy our farewell dinner at our camp.
On this fourth and last day we get up at 4.00 am to leave Wiñaywayna and climb to the Intipunku, or ‘the Sun Gate’. This will take an hour of hiking along a trail of flat stones on the edges of cliffs in highland jungle.
From this fabulous spot, we may see the sunrise over the sacred citadel of Machu Picchu. From Intipunku we descend into Machu Picchu and 40 minutes later we enter the citadel from the highest point through the ¨House of the Guardians¨., then we will descend to the control point where we will register ourselves and leave our backpacks.
After we have checked in, we will immediately begin our guided tour to the Inca citadel which will last approximately 2 hours, then after the tour, you will have time to enjoy and explore Machu Picchu on your own in the afternoon. We meet again in Aguas Calientes town for lunch around 1 pm, and then we head to the train station to take the train back to Ollantaytambo town (1hr45mins), at our arrival to the station, our bus will be waiting for us to take us back to Cusco (2hrs approx.).
Train: Aguas Calientes – Ollantaytambo 2hrs
Bus: Ollantaytambo – Cusco 2hrs
OUR BOOKING POLICIES
If you are booking the Inca trail trek 4 days / 3 nights with Peru Bucket List, we will require 100% of the full amount at booking time. We highly recommend booking 5 months in advance. To check the availability of this activity, please send us an email to contact@waykibus.com
Non-Refundable, Non-Transferable Deposits for the Inca Trail trek
All deposits are fully non-refundable and non-transferable. If you need to cancel your trek, It is not possible to transfer your deposit to another person’s trek if canceling, they will need to pay their deposit. There are no exceptions, unfortunately, but if you need a letter for your insurance company to help recover some of the costs, we would be happy to supply one.
For more information, we recommend you read our standard Terms & Conditions in section 21
TAXI SERVICE: For the service of picking up upon YOUR arrival in Cusco by (bus / plane) we ask you to provide us with the information of the time, day of arrival, and the company with which you come, all this at the time of making your reservation. . If you are already in Cusco; You can choose to use it on the day of your departure. We comment that this service is a courtesy on our part and is not subject to any refund of money, if it is not used.
