The price tag for hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu depends largely on the tour company, package, and guide you choose. Here are some of the general costs, plus actual specifics from our own recent treks on 2021.

Doing the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu independently is not an option. The Peruvian government limits the number of hikers on the trails each day. Everyone must have a permit and be accompanied by a licensed guide. And yes, through a series of checkpoints on the trail, they actually enforce it.

The general cost for the Inca Trail trek: $600

On average, the classic Inca Trail hike costs around $600/person (this generally includes transportation to the trailhead from Cusco, a guide, porters, three meals a day, hiking permits, entry to Machu Picchu, and tents). You can find it even cheaper.

But besides the advertised sticker price, there are a few other things to consider when choosing a tour company: How many hikers are in each group? How often and how much food is provided during the trek? And finally, what’s the reputation for the company’s treatment of its porters?

Budget

Even though we tend to focus on budget traveling, it’s good to remember that sometimes the cheapest option isn’t always the best option. Cheaper companies for the Inca Trail often have larger groups (15-25 people), provide smaller meals, and/or no snacks.

Some even have a bad reputation for inadequately providing their porters (i.e. lacking rain ponchos, jackets, or even proper hiking shoes). I was surprised by how many people online included snacks as a necessary item to pack and bring along because some companies don’t provide enough food pro by other companies.

Hiking the Inca Trail is an experience that should inspire excitement, invoke a little bit of fear, stoke jealousy amongst your friends, and stir a sense of wonder in your soul.

One of the most popular things to do in South America – and one of the world’s most famous hikes – the Inca Trail is the sort of singular adventure for which we all travel.

How IS The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu?

The hike itself, which brings you along ancient narrow paths deep into the Peruvian countryside and high into the Andean mountains, is gorgeous; perfect Incan ruins, cloud forest, and majestic valley views laid out like breadcrumbs along the way to perhaps the greatest end-point of any multi-day hike on earth, the iconic Machu Picchu.

After our own hike, we wanted to share our hard-earned insights, advice, and tips to help you plan and prepare for your own successful Trail experience – all neatly whittled down into this comprehensive guide.

Low and High Season

So, whether you’re heading there in high or low season and want to understand the camping and accommodation situation better, have no idea what to pack or how to get a permit, are worrying about whether you’re fit enough, will get altitude sickness, or if it’s too late to book a spot on a tour.

Then this post will provide you with all the necessary information answers from experienced fellow travelers (and, we hope, quite a bit of excitement and inspiration for the hike itself!).

Ready? Here’s everything you need to know before doing the Inca Trail hike.

This is where the bad news begins. Inca Trail toilets are not the most hygienic, clean or private affairs. You’ll be lucky if your toilet has a lock. On the first day the toilets are usually fairly decent and clean. However, as you venture further along the trail the quality rapidly decreases.

Our Inca Trail toilets – Portable option

As a tour operator, the best option on the Inca Trail is to hire a tour company that provides a portable toilet all the way up. These are known as ‘toilet tents’.

Although not as common, this is probably one of the most important things we would recommend when deciding on what tour operator to use.

You’ll probably have to book with a western operator and it may cost slightly more, but it’s definitely worth it! The toilet tent is carried up with you by porters.

Our Toilet sit and tent are clean and only used by your group. You’ll be able to sit on a toilet drum within the privacy of a tent, and if there are any issues, we will solve them immediately.

The government has strictly limited the number of people permitted on the Inca Trail (permits are issued to about 200 trekkers per day plus 300 porters this 500 permits include 4 days inca trail). We recommend that you make a trek booking as early as posible we recommend 4 months in advance.

It is recommended to book the tour inca trail to Machu Picchu 2 days in advance, before booking flight tickets and hotels, because there are limited spots to reservation for Inca trail at INC and PERU RAIL (train Tickets).

We’ve outlined our own route on the Inca Trail below and, in broad terms, this is the sort of itinerary you can expect (note that this relates solely to the days spent on the hike, not the days of traveling to/from Cusco and Ollantaytambo):

Day One: Travel from Ollantaytambo to km.82 in the morning and hike to the campsite

Distance | Approx. 6.8 miles/ 11 km

Elevation Gain | 350 meters

Difficulty | Moderate, with a steep tiring section towards the end.

Day Two: Early rise to hike through cloud forest and up to Dead Woman’s Pass and the descent to campsite

Distance | Approx. 7.5 miles/ 12km

Elevation Gain | 1,115 metres

Difficulty | High, this is the hardest day of walking but after you reach DWP, it’s mostly downhill.

Day Three: Early rise to hike the most photogenic section of the Trail

Distance | Approx. 9.6 miles/ 15.5km

Elevation Gain | Minus 1,000 metres

Difficulty | Moderate to a little difficult as there are several steep sections.

Day Four: Very early rise (3 a.m.) to reach the entry check-point and hike 1-2 hours to the Sun Gate and Machu Picchu.

Distance | Approx. 3.1 miles/ 5 km

Difficulty | You’re almost at the end and Machu Picchu, you should be hopping, skipping, and jumping all the way there!

Towards the end of February is the wettest month in the Andes. The Inca Trail, as well as several other national parks in Peru, is closed throughout the month for essential maintenance. Machu Picchu remains open at this time. The trail reopens in March, though the highlands are still rainy through into

Early April.May and October

are the best times to trek the Inca Trail as permits may sell out slightly less fast as in the peak months, plus it’s dry and warmer than June, July, and August. The Festival of the Sun (Inti Raymi) takes place towards the end of June and cities, such as Cuzco, always get busier with local crowds heading towards Machu Picchu.

Peru’s national vacation at the end of July is also a peak time for Peruvians to tackle the Inca Trail or visit Machu Picchu by train. The dry conditions prove popular with vacation makers all the way through August and

Into September.By November

the rainy season is starting up again in earnest. However, you still might get some solid trekking conditions with nothing like the crowds of the summer – and you won’t need to secure your pass quite as far in advance.

December is wet and attracts crowds over the vacations with accommodation and flight prices rising, despite the weather. Things ease off again in January – which is wet but without the vacation crowds.

First, the numbers: if you tackle the classic four-day Inca Trail you’ll have 24-26 miles to trek (depending on which trailhead you set out from), over 2,000 meters to haul yourself up and level yourself down, and over 3,000 steps to deal with in total.

In terms of fitness and technical challenge, this is considered to be a trek of moderate difficulty. The effort required, though, isn’t evenly distributed across the four days.

Dead Woman Pass

Rather, the greatest lung-bursting effort is front-loaded into the first day and a half. The high point, Dead Woman’s Pass, is – at 4,198 meters – definitely the toughest of the three passes, both in terms of the potential effects of altitude and the sharpness of the elevation gain.

There are, however, a number of campsites on the way to this first pass, and some groups opt to make the second day easier by staying at the highest campsite on the first night. 

Peruvian authorities are allowing visitors to change their Machu Picchu entry tickets. And tour operators can change Inca Trail permits.

I’ve included a link to see information about the new rules at Machu Picchu, a link to the new Machu Picchu website, and other tips to help you navigate your way through the process of canceling or changing your trip to Peru.

Cancelation

This is an unprecedented opportunity to perhaps salvage some of your expenses if you canceled a trip to Machu Picchu. The borders of Peru are closed and train service to Machu Picchu is suspended since March 17, 2020, to limit the spread of Covid19.

The Peru government has extended the border closing now until October 30, 2020. However, they announced that international flights to Peru will resume on January 1, 2021.