Enjoy the famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, the route combines beautiful mountain landscapes with incredible panoramic views, lush forests, a subtropical jungle of splendid natural surroundings with the magnificent work of the ancient Inca masons.
You will visit beautiful Inca cities, sumptuous temples, agricultural terraces, canals and water sources, tunnels. As well as interesting archaeological sites such as the Puerta del Sol, from there you will observe the Sunrise over the Inca City of Machu Picchu.
You will also have the opportunity to climb to the top of the incredible Huayna Picchu Mountain, where you will have the best panoramic views of the area.
Why travel with us?
- We are Direct Operators
- Excursion Organized by a 100% Local Peruvian Tourism Agency
- Travel with the Experts: The Best Guides, Porters and Cooks
- High Quality Camping Equipment
- Excellent Food All Inclusive
- We practice Sustainable Tourism
- Personalized service
- When you have reserved your accommodation, tell us to pick you up on the day of the tour. - Remember that on the day of the tour, we can pick you up from any of the hotels or accommodations located in the City of Cusco. - We can also pick you up from any hotel or accommodation located in the towns of the Sacred Valley of the Incas such as: Yanahuara, Ollantaytambo, Urubamba, Calca, Pisaq and others without additional charges.
6:00 am. They will be picked up in our transport from your accommodation located in the City of Cusco. If you decide to stay in a hotel located in the Sacred Valley. Don't worry, we can also pick you up from there. In this way, this great experience begins in the City of Cusco - Peru. Before leaving the hotel, make sure you bring your original passport and if you are a student, also bring your valid ID. The trip begins by bus and is approximately 3 hours and a half until reaching the Piscacucho area (Start of the Inca Trail). Thus begins a spectacular scenic tour in our bus through the mythical Sacred Valley of the Incas with beautiful views of the Urubamba River, picturesque Andean towns and the Inca Fortress of Ollantaytambo. On the route we will have a last stop in the town of Ollantaytambo where you can make some purchases or use the toilets, then we will continue the journey on our bus until we reach the Piscacucho area.
At 10 am. we will arrive at Piscacucho or km. 82, the place is the beginning of the Inca Trail. Here you will meet all the members of your Excursion, including visitors, porters and cook. From this place you will be accompanied by our native Quechua porters who will carry all the camping equipment. It is also the place of the first Official Control Post of the Inca Trail where we will present our permits, entrance tickets and passports. After checking in, around 11 am. We will start with our walk, where we will cross a suspension bridge over the Urubamba River. This first day is easy, this will help you prepare for the following days. The walk begins with a slight climb, and we will continue for about two hours on relatively flat terrain following the course of the Urubamba River to a place called Miskay, arriving around 1:00 pm. In Miskay we will have our first lunch prepared by our cook and served by our staff.
After lunch, we will continue with the walk until we reach the first archaeological group known as Patallacta, which was an ancient Inca town, where you can see an impressive group of agricultural terraces. From Patallacta we will continue with the walk for 2 more hours, the Inca Trail continues along the left bank of the river. During this part, views of the snowy peaks such as the Snowy Wakay Willka, currently known as Veronica, the top of this snowy peak is 5900 meters above sea level. / 19000 feet, and we can also see the Cordillera del Urubamba, which divides the Andes and the Jungle; In this way we will arrive at the small town of Wayllabamba (3000 masl) around 5:00 pm. where we will have our first camp.
Upon arrival at the Wayllabamba Camp area, and after settling in our tents, we will have tea time, relax and have a hot drink and some snacks. At night, around 7:30 pm. dinner will be ready, which will be served by our staff. At the end of dinner you will have a well-deserved night of rest in a good sleeping tent, where we will spend our first night.
This 2nd day you will wake up with a cup of coca tea that will be brought to your tent by our staff. This day is considered the most difficult day of the route due to the physical effort it requires. After breakfast, we will start the trek from Wayllabamba around 7:00 am. and we will walk for 4 hours to the highest point of the trek (Dead Woman's Pass). The first 2 hours of the walk is uphill, the route will give you the opportunity to appreciate various species of birds (hummingbirds, hawks and eagles). From here the trail crosses a beautiful cloud forest, on the way you can see many native trees such as Queñuas and an area characterized by straw meadows. Walk at your own pace, stop and rest as often as you like. Thanks to our team of enthusiastic Porters and Guides you will not have to worry as they will support you along the route. Thus, you will have all the morale and support necessary to do so, thus reaching Llulluchapampa.
Llulluchapampa is a beautiful and quiet place located at 3600 m.a.s.l., here there is a small stream where you will have the option to cool off with fresh water and an opportunity to refill your water bottles, take a good rest and then we will have 2 more hours of walking for a last hard climb that will take us to the highest point of the walk, a place known as the Warmiwañusca Pass.
The Warmiwañusca Pass, also known as the Dead Woman's Pass, is the highest point of the route, located at 4200 m.a.s.l., upon reaching the place you will be rewarded with more spectacular views of the Andes, here we will stop for a rest enjoying the views and we will have time to take unforgettable photos of this wonderful place. Remember that this is the highest point of the Inca Trail where you will feel a great sense of achievement after having conquered this peak. Have a coat and a hat on hand when you arrive at this place, because of the altitude the temperatures can drop very quickly.
From the Paso de la Mujer muerte, the route descends towards the Pacaymayo valley, thus the descent begins, we continue to cross the slopes of the left side for two hours of pure descent until we reach the banks of the Pacaymayo River, arriving around 2:00 pm., where our lunch place is located and Camp located at 3600 m.a.s.l. / 11811 ft. Once arriving in Pacaymayo we will have our lunch. Afterwards you will have time for a long and well-deserved rest. In the afternoon, around 5:00 pm. You will enjoy tea time with a hot drink and some snacks. At night we will taste our dinner and spend the night in our comfortable tents.
A perfect way to start this 3rd day would be with a cup of hot tea to wake up at approximately 6:00 am. which will be served in your sleeping tent by our service staff. This great day we will have breakfast with the group and around 7:00 am. We will leave the Pacaymayo Camp Zone. Thus we will start ascending for about 2 hours to the second step of the walk called the Runkuracay Pass, during the climb we will stop to visit the small circular Inca site known as Runkuracay.
After leaving the camp, we will walk for 1 hour uphill and we will arrive at the circular Inca Archaeological Group known as Runkuracay located at 3800 meters above sea level, a place that we will visit accompanied by the explanations of the Guide. Then, continuing with the route we will see two small lagoons and after that we will arrive at the second high point of the Walk, the Runkuracay Pass located at 4000 m.a.s.l. From there, we will descend for 1 hour to the magnificent Inca site known as Sayacmarca,
The Sayacmarca archaeological group located at 3497 m.a.s.l. / 11472 feet, the name means Inaccessible Town and clearly describes the location of the place, perfectly surrounded by rocky cliffs. There you will have a guided tour of the place, where our guide will explain about this incredible site. Afterwards, we will continue with our walk for about 30 more minutes to the place called Chaquicocha.
Chaquicocha is located at 3600 m.a.s.l. / 11800 feet, where we will enjoy our delicious lunch prepared by our cook and we will also take the opportunity to take a good rest. Here you have the option of using the restrooms. After lunch, we will continue for 1 hour and 30 minutes through the changing cloud forest full of orchids, hanging mosses, bromeliads and ferns. Continuing with our route, we will pass through a tunnel carved into the mountain, after a gentle climb we will arrive at the third pass located at 3700 m.a.s.l. / 12139 feet, offering us fascinating views of various snow-capped peaks and views of the Urubamba River.
After this third step we will continue along a splendid paved stone path made by the Inca masons, during the descent we will find the ruins of Phuyupatamarca (Village above the clouds). Here our guide will explain about the magnificent Inca architecture. From Phuyupatamarca it will be 2 more hours going down through a stone staircase until you reach the next Archaeological Group known as Intipata.
Inti Pata (Terrazas del Sol) is located at 2800 m.a.s.l. It is a very interesting place, the place has many terraces and water channels for agricultural purposes. Then, we continue descending towards our last camp located in the Wiñay Wayna area, where we will arrive around 5:00 pm.
Wiñay Wayna (Young forever) located at 2680 m.a.s.l. / 8792 feet, it is the last official camping spot and the most popular due to its proximity to Machu Picchu. Upon arrival and after settling in you can relax and have tea and snacks, with hot drinks such as tea, milk chocolate, coffee with some cookies and popcorn, all served by our staff. In the place, our guide will provide you with very valuable and important information about the next day (the most important day of your trip since you will visit the "Wonder") so that you will be completely ready and prepared for your visit to Machu Picchu. It is a tradition on the Inca Trail to organize a small ceremony during this last dinner and once again introduce the entire team of porters and thank them for the work done. Afterwards, it is convenient to go to sleep at a reasonable hour in order to wake up in the early hours of the morning to arrive early at Machu Picchu.
This is the culminating day of the tour, we have the last part of the road that is only 2 hours of walking from Wiñay Wayna to Machu Picchu. This day starts earlier than normal, hoping to have good weather to see a beautiful sunrise over Machu Picchu. We wake up at 4:00 am, and we will have our breakfast at 4:30 am. After breakfast we say goodbye to our cook and team of porters, after which we head towards the Zone Control Post to wait and be one of the first to start the trek when the gates open at 5:30 am. in order to arrive early to Machu Picchu. From the Wiñay Wayna Camp the route is flat and you will have to walk 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach the Inti Punku. The road is narrow and crosses a leafy cloud forest, with the presence of giant ferns, and brings an almost vertical climb of about 50 steps, to reach the Inti Punku.
We will arrive at Inti Punku or Puerta del Sol around 7:00 a.m., the place is at 2700 meters above sea level, and due to its location it is a panoramic viewpoint of the entire area. Here you will be able to enjoy Machu Picchu for the first time in all its splendor, as well as spectacular views of the Mountains. Here you will have a short break and time to take good panoramic photos of Machu Picchu. From Puerta del Sol we will walk 40 minutes downhill until we reach Machu Picchu (2000 m.a.s.l.), as we get closer the views of the Inca City get better and better! You will have enough time to take photos from different angles of the famous "Lost City of the Incas", mainly the classic postcard photo.
Finally around 7:40am. We will arrive at Machu Picchu, the Inca Citadel is located over 2400 m.a.s.l. and we will go to the last Control Post, where we will register and present the passports. After, and around 8:00 am. We will start with the guided tour of Machu Picchu for about 2 hours, where our Professional Guide will explain about the history of the Inca City visiting magical and interesting places that have made Machu Picchu one of the Wonders of the World. After the tour in Machu Picchu, you will have free time to take photos, walk or explore the place by yourself.
After the tour in Machu Picchu, and around 10:30 am. You will have the great opportunity to climb accompanied by the Guide to the top of the Huayna Picchu Mountain which is located at 2700 m.a.s.l. The approximate walking time is one hour. Upon reaching the top you will have a well-deserved rest and enough time to enjoy panoramic views of Machu Picchu, the mountains and the surroundings. Afterwards, you will have to descend again to Machu Picchu.
It will arrive around 1:00 pm. to have lunch in a restaurant of the Town that is included, then if you wish you can visit the town or visit the thermal baths of the place. Around 6:00 pm. We will board the return train that will take us to the town of Ollantaytambo arriving at 7:50 pm.
We will arrive on the train at the town of Ollantaytambo around 7:40 pm. When you get off the train, our staff will be waiting for you with a Tourist Bus, who will bring you back to Cusco.
We will arrive at the City of Cusco at approximately 10:00 pm, and finally we will leave you at your hotel located in the City or if you wish we can also leave you at any hotel located in the Sacred Valley.
If you cancel at least 3 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.
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