Review: Inca trail to Machu Picchu (Peru)

Wednesday newsletters always feature a hotel or flight review.

Last summer, I enjoyed a terrific holiday in Peru. You can read my trip reports here:

Review: KLM (old) Business Class Boeing 777 from Amsterdam to Lima
Review: Central, world’s best restaurant 2023, Lima
Review: Cirqa Hotel, Arequipa
Review: Puqio Lodge, Colca Canyon
Review: Titilaka Lodge, Lake Titicaca
Review: Titicaca Luxury Train, from Puno to Cusco
Review: Explora Valle Sagrado, Sacred Valley
Review: Rio Sagrado, a Belmond Hotel, Sacred Valley
Review: Hiram Bingham, a Belmond Train, from Cusco to Machu Picchu
Review: Sanctuary Lodge, a Belmond Hotel, Machu Picchu
Review: Inca trail to Machu Picchu (today)
Review: Fausto Hotel, Lima
Review: KLM (new) Business Class Boeing 777 from Lima to Amsterdam

Today: Inca trail to Machu Picchu (Peru)

The most adventurous (and epic) way to get to the world-famous Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru is to walk as part of an organized multiday trek along the iconic Inca Trail, a section of one of the hundreds of Incan roads built as the empire expanded in the 15^th century. The Inca Trail is on the bucket list of many travelers, not only for the sense of achievement but also because it immerses you in stunning Andean landscapes from cloud forest to rainforest and passes a handful of other Inca ruins. The 43 km (27 mi) hike begins in Chillca, just west of Ollantaytambo, and takes three to four days, camping (or glamping) every night.

A maximum of 500 permits are issued for the Inca Trail each day, over half of which are taken up by guides and the porters who lug baggage, as well as tents, food and even tables and benches, up some incredibly steep paths. Dozens of tour operators offer Inca Trail hikes to Machu Picchu, with varying durations and levels of comfort, including luxury camping trips. Note that the Inca Trail leading to Machu Picchu is closed for the entire month of February every year for maintenance and that the 500 daily permits can sell out months in advance, especially for the peak months of July and August.

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu features in my top 10 list of the world’s best multi-day hikes.

Have you ever hiked the Inca Trail? If so, what was your experience? Leave a comment.

Here’s a review of my experience on the Inca Trail, and everything you need to know:

Inca Trail: tour operator & inclusions
Inca Trail: 4-day versus 3-day hike
Inca Trail: day one
Inca Trail: day two
Inca Trail: day three

INCA TRAIL: TOUR OPERATOR & INCLUSIONS

I choose Evolutions Trek Peru for my Inca Trail after some research on the internet and reading some glowing reviews of this company by National Geographic and Lonely Planet. Evolution Treks Peru is known as the most renowned ethical tour operator in Peru and here are some examples why:

Because of Evolution Treks Peru’s employee-owned model, you can be assured that the money you invest in the Inca Trail adventure will go directly to the people who will work with you on the hikes (at Evolution Treks Peru, profits are distributed equitably amongst its employees).
When you book with Evolution Treks Peru, you become an active part of changing the working conditions of porters. Evolution Treks Peru is the only company operating tours on the Inca Trail whose porters carry the maximum weight (20kg), sleep under the same conditions as tourists, have proper food, tents and sleeping bags, and the best salary of all companies.
Evolution Treks Peru is the only company hiring and training women porters in Peru. Their commitment to include them in the benefits of the travel industry is uncompromising and no other Inca Trail company has ever tried to do what they do.

When I contacted Evolution Treks Peru by email, their response rate to my inquiries were fast and effective. And they took care of everything from the moment I decided to book with them.

The following was included in my Inca Trail expedition with Evolution Treks Peru:

Two professional, multilingual tour guides.
Transportation from my hotel to the starting point of the Inca Trail on day one and back to my hotel in Cusco after completion of the trail. The latter part included the combination of a bus from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes, a train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo, and a private van from Ollantaytambo to Cusco.
Entrance fees to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu
Buffet gourmet food, including daily breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, dinners and various snacks to be eaten throughout the day. Two chefs accompanied us on the trail and the food that they served was absolutely delicious.
State-of-the-art camping tents (glamping), including tents with comfortable beds (two per tent), a dining tent, and tents with a lavatory and a shower (with hot water).
Porters to carry all cooking and camping equipment. I only needed to carry my daypack.
Oxygen bottle for emergencies

INCA TRAIL: THREE VERSUS FOUR DAYS

The classic Inca Trail takes 4 days an 3 nights, but you can also do the exact same trail in just 3 days and 2 nights (so called Express Inca Trail). The main difference between the two treks is that hikers on the 4-day Inca Trail will visit Machu Picchu in the early morning of the 4th day while those on the 3-day Inca Trail will arrive at Machu Picchu in the afternoon of the 3rd day. IMHO, it’s preferable to hike the Inca Trail in 3 days instead of 4 days for the following reasons:

Hikers on the 4-day trail will arrive at the Sun Gate around 6 am, to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu, followed by an early morning visit to the ruins. However, the views are often obscured by fog in the early morning, and the chances on better weather are always higher in the afternoon (except for during the rainy season).
Another big advantage of the 3-day Inca Trail is that by the time you reach Machu Picchu in the afternoon, most of the day visitors will have returned home, so you will have the area almost to yourself. The morning hours are the most crowded times at Machu Picchu.
Hikers on the 4 day trail will have to wake up in the middle of the night – at 3:30 am – on the last day of the Inca Trail and hike in the dark to reach the Sun Gate in time to watch the sunrise (when there is no fog). This extremely early wake-up call is something that can be avoided by hiking the trail in 3 instead of 4 days.

INCA TRAIL: DAY ONE

Pick-up was around 6:30 from our hotel – Explora Valle Sagrado – in the Sacred Valley (note that pick-up will be much earlier when you stay in Cusco the night prior to your start of the Inca Trail). We were driven to “Km 82” – the official starting point of the Inca Trail, where we arrived at about 7:30 a.m. After meeting our team from Evolution Treks Peru (guides, cooks, and porters), we went through the first Inca Trail checkpoint to begin our trek.

The initial two hours of the trek were comparatively easy as we made our way to the first ruins of the Inca Trail, Patallacta which was an ancient Inca check point for the approach to Machu Picchu. From Patallacta it was another 2 hours hiking to our first stop, where the chefs of Evolution Treks Peru served a delicious lunch. After lunch we hiked for another 4 hours, hereby passing Wayllabamba, the most popular day one campsite on the 4-day Inca Trail (located at 3,000 m or 9,842 ft). Finally, at around 6 pm – after 8 hours of hiking and gaining an altitude of 1,000 m (3,280 ft) in one day – we arrived at our first night’s campsite at Llulluchapampa, located at an altitude of 3,800 m (12,467 ft). By 7:30 pm dinner was served in the dining tent and afterwards we got some well-deserved rest.

INCA TRAIL: DAY TWO

The second day of the Inca Trail was the longest and hardest day. Our porters woke us up early with a hot cup of coca tea to get us ready for the day. From our camp site, we hiked for roughly 2 hours to the highest pass of the trek, Dead Woman’s Pass (located at 4215 m or 13829 ft). On reaching the pass, we stopped for a short break to enjoy the views before setting off again to descend to the next valley (Pacaymayu Valley – Hidden River). It was another hour and a half down the side of the valley to our breakfast stop, where we also had a chance to refill our water bottles. After our late breakfast, we began ascending again for two hours to summit the second pass of the trek, Runcuraccay Pass, at an altitude of 3,000 m (13,123 ft). Along the way, we visited a small Inca site (Runcu Raccay).

After the Runcuraccay Pass, it was an hour of downhill hiking to reach the impressive Inca site of Sayacmarca. Sayacmarka is an Inca ruin believed to have been a village and sacred site dedicated to the mountains. Following our short visit of Sayacmarka, we had lunch at at Choquicocha (3,600 m or 11,800 ft), the most popular campsite on day two of the classic 4-day Inca Trail.

Since we were doing the Inca Trail in 3 instead of 4 days, we continued our hike for another two hours along the “Inca flats” (gradual inclines). This part of the trail also took us inside the cloud forest. Along the walk, we had a chance to visualize the majestic Salkantay, the second highest snow-capped mountain within the Sacred Valley, and enjoyed amazing panoramic views of the Vilcabamba mountain range. Around 5 pm, we reached Phuyupatamarca, our campsite for our second night on the Inca Trail, located at an altitude of 3,680 m (12,073ft). From here, we were able to watch the sunset over the Andes mountain range and also get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu mountain (but the site itself was still hidden from view).

INCA TRAIL DAY TWO; SAYACMARKA INCA SITE

INCA TRAIL: DAY THREE

We had an early wake-up call again around 6 am, followed by a delicious breakfast (with a surprise cake), after which we started our last day on the Inca Trail. From Phuyupatamarka camp, it was 3 hour walk mainly down steps to our lunch spot, and along the way we visited Inca ruins such as Phuyupatamarka (Town in the Clouds), Intipata (Terraces of the Sun) and Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young). After our last feast with the porters, guides and chefs, we walked one hour to the Sun Gate (which we reached around 1 pm), from where we were rewarded with a fabulous sight of Machu Picchu and its mountainous environment. The Sun Gate was a checkpoint for those entering and leaving Machu Picchu, as well a sacral site for offers to Inti (the Inca Sun God). After taking in the once-in-a-lifetime views, we begin our one hour descent to Machu Picchu itself, which we visited for about 90 minutes. After taking some photos, we took the bus down to Aguas Calientes, from where we caught our train to Cusco.