Trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu – 4 Days

Itinerary for Trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu 4 days

Day 1. Cusco – Km 82 – Ayapata

Today is the beginning of your Classic Inca Trail 4 day trek. Pickup is at 4:00am from your hotel in Cusco. Your guide will meet you at reception and you will board our private van to Ollantaytambo. We make a short stop for breakfast, then continue one hour to Piscacucho at KM 82, the official start of the trail.

At KM 82 you will meet your porters. Give them your duffel bag, maximum weight 7kg. Keep your small daypack with essentials. Please use the bathrooms at the checkpoint and apply sunscreen and insect repellent. To enter the Inca Trail you must show your original passport. Your guide will have your permits and tickets.

We cross the Vilcanota River and follow the river valley. The first day is relatively easy with rolling hills. Visit Inca sites including Huillca Raccay and Llactapata, with views of the Urubamba mountain range and snowcapped Veronica Mountain at 5,893m. Enjoy a hot lunch at Hatunchaca, then trek 3 hours to our first campsite in a green temperate valley, 2 hours past Wayllabamba.

Night temperature can drop to 5C, lower in dry season May to September.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch, snacks, afternoon tea, dinner
• Accommodation: Camping with foam mattress and pillow
• Distance: 12km / 7.5 miles, about 6 hours
• Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Day 2. Ayapata – Dead Woman’s Pass – Pacaymayu – Chaquicoccha

Awake early to a wonderful cup of hot tea or coffee. Enjoy the pleasure of having another 10 minutes in your sleeping bag before you need to rise. Devour a wonderful breakfast before setting off for a day of intense trekking.

With your daypack ready start your ascent to our first high pass, Abra de Warmihuanusca, also aptly named Dead Woman’s Pass. The summit is located at 4,215 meters. While trekking enjoy many different species of birds including hummingbirds. The abundant plant life is a welcome distraction from the burn you will be feeling in your legs. Once you reach the summit the views are worth the climb. Relax and take it all in before descending to the most wonderful lunch spot at Pacaymayo at 3,550 meters.

Lunch will be a gourmet feast surrounded by the Andes. After lunch begin a second 2 hour climb to the Runkurakay Pass at 4,000 meters. Arrival at tonight’s campsite will be around 5pm, tea and appetizers await. Dinner will be served in the dining tent, later relax in your tent after a hard day of trekking.

• Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, Afternoon Tea and Dinner
• Accommodation: Camping Facilities
• Distance: 16km / 10 miles, about 9 hours hiking
• Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging

Day 3. Chaquicocha – Phuyupatamarca – Wiñay Wayna

Considered by some to be the most impressive day on the trail, day 3 starts with a hot drink in your sleeping bag. Fill up on breakfast before starting a gentle climb to the Inca site of Phuyupatamarca, meaning Village in the Clouds. Trek to the third highest point on the Inca Trail at 3,680 meters. Enjoy views of the mountains, canyons and surroundings. There will be plenty of photos to be taken.

Your guide will give you a tour of Phuyupatamarca, only a short walk from the pass. Begin descending on a path of about 3,000 stone stairs through a mystical cloud forest to the Inca site of Intipata. As you trek lower you will feel a change in the temperature. Enter the Amazon jungle as you are getting closer to Machu Picchu. Have a tour of Intipata before continuing to the 3rd campsite at Wiñay Wayna, arrive before lunch. The temperature here at night is a balmy 12C.

After resting and filling up on our buffet style lunch, tour the Wiñay Wayna ruins, one of the most beautiful and well preserved on the Inca Trail. Learn about the site, your guide will give you witty anecdotes and stories of the purpose and history of Wiñay Wayna, located on the side of the mountain not far from Machu Picchu.

• Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, Afternoon Tea and Dinner
• Accommodation: Camping Facilities
• Distance: 10km / 6.2 miles, about 5 hours hiking
• Difficulty: Moderate

Day 4. Wiñay Wayna – Sun Gate – Machu Picchu – Cusco

Today wake up time will be at 3:30am, yes you heard that correctly. Eat breakfast at 4am before setting off on the final part of the trek to Machu Picchu. Walk the final hour to the Sun Gate, or Inti Punku. From here we will watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu. See the city before you when the sun spreads over the site, like gold running from a volcano. Truly something that will live in your memory for a lifetime.

Later walk about 40 minutes down to the House of the Guardian, a viewpoint where some pretty spectacular photos can be taken. Before entering Machu Picchu, you are required to check your bags and walking poles, these items are not allowed into the site as they can cause damage to the stones.

The guide will give a full tour and educate you about the history of the ruins which takes about two hours. See most of the important parts of Machu Picchu and learn about how Machu Picchu is divided into three sectors: agricultural, residential and religious.

For those who have booked in advance for the extra hike up Huayna Picchu, check your ticket for the entrance time, the hike up will be on your own.

When you have had your fill of the exceptional views of Machu Picchu, you will take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes for lunch, not included. Depending on your train departure time, you may also have time for some shopping, sightseeing or a visit to the museum or hot springs.

Take the Expedition Train on a spectacular journey at 2:55pm or 3:20pm to Ollantaytambo, following the raging Urubamba River. Close to Aguas Calientes, the canyon is narrow and the river has many beautiful sections of whitewater. See Wiñay Wayna from the train if you look up high on the steep canyon wall. Back at Ollantaytambo, the driver will meet you at the exit from the train station and travel back through the Sacred Valley to the hotel in Cusco in our private vehicle. Expect to arrive at your hotel by 7:00pm.

• Meals included: Breakfast
• Distance: 6km / 3.7 miles
• Difficulty: Easy