Cheap Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu

Our journey to Machu Picchu through the classical Inca trail begins at your hotel, from where you will be picked up after the breakfast (optional) around 6.00 – 6.30. From your hotel you will have a transfer 2 – 2.5 hours with your guide to our starting point which is called km 82. At the starting point you need to show your Inca Trail permission card, your original passport, and your ISIC card if you have one.Here the Inca Trail begins and we will start hiking for 2 hours to Miskayl, where we are going to enjoy a nice lunch. The hike to Miskayl is a flat and a beautiful walk, where we can enjoy the incredible flora of the landscape around us.

After the lunch we are going to have another two hours hike to Wayllabamba (3.000 m.), and then walk for another 60 minutes until our campsite: Ayapata. We will arrive there at 6 p.m. in the afternoon, and we will enjoy a nice dinner from our personal professional chef at 6.30 pm. After the dinner we will settle down for the night.

Estimated trekking time:  7  hours
Trekking distance:  14 Km
Max. elevation: 3, 250  m
Min. elevation: 2, 600  m
Difficulty:  Easy to moderate

This will be the most difficult and at the same time most rewarding day of the Inca Trail, we will find spectacular Andean landscapes and vegetation of the place. We will start the day at 5:00 a.m. and after a good breakfast, we will start the ascent for 4 hours to the highest point of the road, the Abra de Huarmihuañusca or "Paso de la Mujer Muerta" with a height of 4.200m. During this tour we can appreciate that the vegetation is varied with native plants and trees such as Polilepys or Q'ueuña, which grow in the cloud forest at a height of 3,650m. After touring the 4 hour climb we will celebrate together having reached the highest point.  

After a short break we will start the descent for an hour and a half until the second point where we will have lunch (Pacamayo at 3,550m). After lunch we will start with the last part of the climb for 2 hours towards the Runkuraqay pass at an altitude of 3900m. Once in the pass and after a break we will continue the descent for 1 hour and a half until we reach our Cachicocha camp (3600m).

Estimated trekking time: 10 hours
Trekking distance: 16  Km
Max. elevation: 4, 200  m
Min. elevation: 3, 250  m
Difficulty:  Challenging

We get up at 6.00 am and breakfast will be served by the chef at 6.30. At 7.00 we will start hiking. The third day we will only have 5 hours of walking approx. we will arrive at Wiñay Wayna which means: "Forever Young" to an Inca archaeological site that bears the same name as the camps; this archaeological site is 10 minutes from the third camp. 

This day we will start with a gentle moderate walk until we reach Phuyupatamarca which will be the third highest point on the way to a height of 3,680m. The views of the mountains, canyons and surroundings from this point are simply spectacular. After a short break we will visit the archaeological site of Phuyupatamarca, which means "City of the Clouds". The Inca Phuyupatamarca site is just a few minutes walk from the third step. After visiting this site, we will continue walking through the cloud forest until we reach the impressive Inca agricultural site of Intipata, then we will arrive at our Wiñay Wayna camp, at 2,680m.

From this point we will have an easy two hour walk down to Wiñayhuayna (2.600 m), where we will settle our camp and our chef will make a nice buffet to everyone so we can say goodbye to the chefs and the porters in a very nice way at 6.30. If you still have energy left after the hike, you can visit the archaeological site of wiñahuayna, only 5 minutes from our camp spot, a really delightful site on the Inbca trail with a lot of terraces and ruins.

Estimated trekking time: 4 - 5  hours

Trekking distance: 10  Km
Max. elevation: 3, 680  m
Min. elevation: 2, 700  m
Difficulty:  Challenging

On the last day we get up very early 3.30 and eat breakfast at 4.00. After the breakfast we begin hiking to the first checkpoint which opens at 5.30. After the checkpoint we have one hour of hiking to the Sun gate, from where we will have great views of Machu Picchu and all the surrounding mountains. Here we will have 20 min. to rest. Thereafter we have 10 min. down to the lost city of the Incas; Machu Picchu. Here the Inca trail ends and we will enter the wonder of Machu Picchu. At the city, we have to pass the second checkpoint for leaving our bags and it will cost you 3 soles for every back, which is necessary.

There you will also need to show your passport, the ticket and the ISIC card if you have one. Thereafter your guide will show you around the Machu Picchu and the different important sites, ruins and temples of the site from 8.00 to 10.00. After the tour you will have some free time to explore the city, its many different roads and its beautiful surroundings. After you have enjoyed the magnificent city of the Incas you have to use your bus ticket to get down to Aguas Calientes and then take the train back to Cusco via Ollantaytambo. The “expedition train” leaves at 6.30 in the evening and arrives at Ollantaytambo after 2 hours. At Ollantaytambo there will be a bus waiting for you to take you back to Cusco. Here your journey will end at 10.30 in the night.

• Pre-trek briefing (Our guide will visit your hotel a day before the trek for your briefing);
• Transfer by Tourist transportation to the initial point of the Inca Trail at Km 82;
• Accommodation: camping (3 nights);
• Inca Trail Permit and entrance fee to Machu Picchu;
• Meals: 3x breakfast, 3x lunch, 3x dinner, 3x afternoon´s hot beverages (If you are a vegetarian, please advise us in advance. A vegetarian meal option is for NO extra cost!);
• Experienced bilingual Tour Guide (a group up to 8 participants has 1 Tour Guide, a groups over 8 participants receives 2 Tour Guides);
• A professional Cook;
• Porters to carry food, camping and cooking equipment ;
• Camping equipment: Personal double tents;
• Sleeping Mattress;
• Water every day (excluding the first day of the trek when you need to bring your own);
• Tables and chairs, cooking tent with cooking equipment, dining and toilet tents and bottled gas;
• Tourist train (Expedition Class) from Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu) to Ollantaytambo;
• Tourist bus from Ollantaytambo to Cusco;
• First aid kit including emergency oxygen bottle.

Single room: Please note that if you have booked the "Single room" option for this trek, you receive your own single tent for all nights, but you will need to pay U$ 40.
Local flights: No local flights are included in the trek’s price!

Highlights from Archaeological Sites

Best moment from the Trek

Encampment Equipment

Inca Trail Machu Tour operator will provide the double tent. Our tents are of the brand EUREKA MOUNTAIN PASS 3XTE designated for 4 seasons. We provide with 3 person capacity tents; however, just 2 trek participants use it! In this way, we provide you more space and comfort. In case of a single traveller, we provide with a 2 person capacity tent. After each trek, we carefully check our tents and fix them if necessary Inca Trail Machu will provide the clean Sleeping bag, Inflatable pillow and blanket. Our porters will leave inside your tent. Once arrived to the camping, you will find inside your all camping equipment.

Additionals