The lost city of the Incas is without a doubt a city symbol of the Inca civilization. The royal path that carried pilgrims and authorized officers of the empire to the sacred city is nowadays the “Inca Trail”.
This Andean Inca Trail tour is an unforgettable experience. The Inca path is paved with blocks of stone and it has stone ladders, tunnels and wooden bridges that cross rivers, temperate valleys, the warm cloud forest and the cold Andean heights. This makes visitors meditate on the intellect and the spiritual greatness of the Andean man whose greatest achievement was the Inca civilization.
The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is part of a system of more than 30,000 kilometers of roads that integrated the vast network of the Tawantinsuyu from the south of Colombia to the center of Chile passing by Quito, Ecuador; Cajamarca, Huanuco, Jauja, Huamanga and Cusco in Peru; La Paz and Cochabamba in Bolivia to Salta and Tucuman in Argentina. These Inca trails ran mostly along the coast and the mountains, and in some cases, they reached the Amazon rainforest as is the case of this amazing trek.
This is the fastest version of the 4-day Inca Trail. On the 3-Day Inca Trail Intrepid, you will observe the Patallacta inca site and visit Pacaymayu, Runkuracay, Phuyupatamarca, and Wiñaywayna Inca sites. Once complete your Inca Trail challenge, return to Cusco on the night of the third day. This Machu Picchu hike consists of three days on the most beautiful scenic trails until arriving at the lost city of the Incas. During the hike, we make stops to take a rest, explore the inca sites, view the mountains, and have lunch before arriving at each of our camps. On the last day wake up early and start to walk to the door of the sun, where you will view sunrise and it is the best moment to take pictures for your memories, continue the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and once arrive on guided tour of Inca city
If you are interested in booking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu tour, we recommend you make your reservations in advance. There are only 500 spots available for the Inca trail permits (divided into 200 spaces for tourists and 300 professional tour guides, trekking chefs and Chasquis porters).
Sustainable Tourism: At Salkantay Trek Machu, we are happy to promote and practice sustainable tourism and support local communities.
Difficulty Hike: 4 Moderate & Difficult.
Age Requirements: 12+
Crew: A Salkantay Trek Machu representative in Cusco and a professional tour guide, trekking chefs, and Chasquis porters.
Accommodation: 2x Campsite (Llulluchapampa - Phuyupatamarca or Wiñaywayna).
Meals: 2x breakfast, 2x lunch, 2x dinner, 2x afternoon hot beverage
Transportation: Private transportation and train.
Camping Equipment: A double tent, Air sleeping roll mattress, feather sleeping bag (-5 grade), a pair of hiking poles, air pillow camping, and others (More details, You can view our camping equipment included!).
Day 01: Cusco – Km 82 – Ayapata.
Day 02: Ayapata – Warmiwanusca – Chaquicocha.
Day 03: Chaquicocha – Wiñay Wayna – Machu Picchu – Cusco.
The 3-day Inca Trail starts with the pick-up at your hotel or Airbnb (5:30 am approx.) We will travel for an hour and a half to Ollantaytambo, where we stop for breakfast. After our stop, we will continue our journey by heading to km 82, the place where the respective admission control of the Inca Trail is placed. In this place, you will have to show your tickets with your passport and your identity document (with the same one you did your reservations).
The 3 day Inca Trail starts at 2,720 MAMSL. Once you pass all the respective controls on the control point, we will cross a suspension bridge across the Vilcanota River. The first day is relatively easy and is considered the day of warm-up since the terrain is relatively flat. On this day we will have wonderful views of the Incan fortress of Huillca Raccay, the incredible archaeological site of LLactapacta (officially called “Patallacta”), the Mountain range of Urubamba that divides the jungle with the Andes, and the beautiful snowy Mountain od W’akay Willca at 5,860 MAMSL (also known as Veronica). Our first camp will be in Ayapata, located 60 minutes walk from the small village of Wayllabamba, with a height of 3,300 MAMSL.
This is going to be the hardest day and the more rewarding at the same time as the Inca Trail challenge. We will find spectacular Andean landscapes and vegetation in the place. The day will start at 5:00 a.m. and after a good breakfast, we will start the ascent for 4 hours up to the highest point of the road, The Abra of Huarmihuanusca or “Step of the dead woman” with a height of 4,200 MAMSL. During 3 day Inca trail tour, you can appreciate that the vegetation is varied with native plants and trees such as the Polilepys or Q’ueuña, which grow in the cloud forest at an altitude of 3,650 MAMSL. After the 4 hours of ascent, having reached the highest point, we celebrate together.
After a break, we will start the descent for an hour and a half to the second point where we will have lunch (Pacamayo 3,500 MAMSL). After lunch, we will start with the last part of the rise for 2 hours heading to the Abra of Runkurakay at an altitude of 4,000 MAMSL. Once in the passage and after a rest, we will descend to Phuyupatamarca and Wiñaywayna Inca sites, We walk 4 hours approx and a half until we reach our camp at Wiñaywayna.
Wake up early and we will leave Wiñay Wayna at 04:00 am. in order to reach Inti Punku or “The door of the Sun” which has a height of 2730 meters. You will see the first views of Machu Picchu at the door of the Sun, you can also watch the sunrise from there.
Finally, we will continue walking through the last section of the Inca Trail until we reach the place where you can take the classic photo (picture postcard) with the ancient city. In Machu Picchu, you will have your 2 hours guided tour. After your guided tour, we will go to the main entrance where we board the bus to Aguas Calientes and then we will make the delivery of your train ticket for your journey back to Cusco.
Important Note: Our guide will be meeting in your hotel 2 or 1 day before the intrepid trek. It is very important to let us know, where you will be staying in Cusco.
Many people include Peru in their “Things to do” list, the main reason being to Trek the Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, although what most people don’t know is that there are various Inca Trails Trips to Machu Picchu to pick from in the Cusco region. The difference lies in what kind of an experience you want, hiking the Inca trail and how challenging you like your treks.
If you want to say that you’ve hiked the famous hike to Machu Picchu, then the Classic Inca Trail is for you. But usually, you will need to book in advance, in case it is fully booked, we recommend other alternative treks:
If very important your take best cover backpacker, because the weather in Inca Trail is change every date, we can’t predict it raining or no. If you don’t have, we recommended to putting your clothes, sleeping bag and other personal equipment inside the plastic bag.
Hiking pants and T-shirts are recommended during the day, complemented by sweaters, fleeces and waterproof jackets. It is very convenient to have light raingear available in the daypack (rain poncho or jacket and/or rain pants) as the weather changes easily and rains can suddenly occur. At night, warm clothing is required, down jackets can be useful, otherwise a fleece and a jacket. During the third day (if sunny) and in Machu Picchu, convertible hiking pants are useful, as can be switched into shorts if necessary. Machupicchu has a warm climate, getting only cold at night. The rest of necessary implements are included in the “What we recommend that you bring” list.
