The Inca Trail is the path the Incas used to get to Machu Picchu when it was a living city. Machu Picchu is now a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. It is often referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas”, it was abandoned during the Spanish conquest by the Incas. Machu Picchu was never found by the Spanish, leaving it mostly untouched.
There are a couple of different ways to reach Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail is the most famous as you can trek the same trek the incas took to get to the site, another way is to take the train to the site.
I chose to do the Inca Trail with the tour company G Adventures
I chose to trek the Inca Trail with the tour company G Adventures, this was for a couple of reasons. After research I found they treat their porters the best. When I was on the trek I saw this was true. The G Adventures porters were so much happier, they would say good morning and hello every time they pass, while other companies you could see were ignoring the kg limit and overloading the porters. G Adventures are also very focused on the communities they are providing services in. My guide during the trek stopped on day 1 to give his granddad some food as we passed his house on the trek, you can’t get more local then that.
G Adventures are an award winning Inca trail program, named Best Inca Trail Tour Operator by the Regional Direction of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Cusco (RDFTTC) in Peru.
Tour I completed
Contents
Journal Of Each Day
Pre trek
The day before the trek we went to the G Adventures office for a Trek briefing, for about 1 hour.
We went through what to expect from the trek, the altitudes throughout, how the duffle bags for the porters work and we had the opportunity to hire any equipment we needed. I hired a sleep mat, sleeping bag and 2 walking poles. The walking poles I found very helpful and the sleeping bag was great quality!
We then went back to our hotel to pack for the trek and fill out duffle bags with no more then 6kgs.
Day 1 – 11 kms trekked
Today was a very early start as we needed to be up, ready, and at the G Adventures office by 3am. The porters are already there packing everything we need for the trek. We got in a van and started off to the beginning of Inca Trail. I sept the entire way as much as I could, apart from a quick stop for breakfast.
Once we got to the the start of the trip, they weighed all the duffle bags before giving them to the porters. Even though I had weighed mine the night before, the scale must have been broken, as I was a little over. I had to take some of my things out and add them to my day backpack.
“we were off on our adventure!”
Then we were off on our adventure! On the first day, you pass some ruins and villages. This is also the only part of the trek that donkeys are allowed, so you will pass some donkeys along the way. This is also the day with the best bathrooms, the only western toilets you will find on the trek until Machu Picchu.
Day 2 – 12 kms trekked
The start of each day on the trek consisted of getting dressed, packing up belongings into the duffle bag and having breakfast. You can also fill up your water for the day and brush your teeth etc. We started the trek, went until lunch, then kept going.
This day is the hardest day of the trek as it is mostly uphill and you hit your highest point. Warmiwañusca, better known as Dead Woman’s Pass, is the highest point of the entire trek at 4,198m (13,769 ft). We stopped here for a while to have a rest, take it all in and get some great pics.
After you hit this point, it was downhill for the rest of the day to the Paqaymayo campsite. Once we got to the campsite we had dinner, played some card games before heading to bed for an early night.
I loved that I never felt rushed during the hike, I could take my time and enjoy the journey.
Day 3 – 16 kms trekked
Today again started the same as the day before, getting dressed, packing up and having breakfast. We started the trek, went until lunch, then kept going until the afternoon.
This day was very up and down, you would go up some hills and down some hills, overall not as hard as day 2. Personally I thought this was the prettiest day of the trek, around every corner I just kept saying “wow”. You get a great view point of Urubamba Valley and you see a few Inca Ruins on this day, including one of the biggest Phuyupatamarca, the “town above the clouds.”
After spending some time at Phuyupatamarca, we headed down to Wiñaywayna campsite for the night. Each night the porters brought us a bowl of warm water each to wipe ourselves down. At this last campsite there were some cold water showers, but I was okay with my warm water bowl. We had dinner, played some card games, and got to bed nice and early because the next day was a very early wake up.
Day 4 – 6 kms trekked
Today is the big day we have been waiting for.
Awake at 3:30, started the trek at 4am. We needed to pass a checkpoint to continue the walk down to Machu Picchu. You want to get to the checkpoint early as you want to be one of the first groups to get through to spend as much time at Machu Picchu as possible.
The sun was started to rise as we were waiting for the checkpoint to open, the sky was a gorgeous pink. As we got through the checkpoint and started walking towards the Sun Gate, the sun was starting to come up further, it was stunning.
We then reached Intipunku, known as the Sun Gate, this was our first views of the Machu Picchu ruins. We stayed here and continued to watch the sunrise. After about an hour we continued on to Machu Picchu.
“our first views of the Machu Picchu ruins.”
When we arrived the first thing you do is go to the viewing point for photos. They take you to a specific lookout. The people that have come from the Inca Trail have there own viewing spot, and the people from the train/bus have another spot.
Once you have finished at the viewing spot, the guide takes you down to the ruins. This is the first time in 4 days I realised how unclean I was. Everyone from the bus looked so nice and here was us all gross after multiple days of hiking. The other guides from the bus were pointing us out like we were an attraction “they are the people that did the Inca Trail”. I wouldn’t have done it any other way!
We had a guided tour through the ruins for about 1.5 hours, before heading to the bus. We took the bus down to the town of Aguas Calientes, where we had lunch, then explored the town and the markets. Once we were ready we then had to catch the train to Ollantaytambo, and from there a private bus back to Cusco. We arrived at the hotel approx 6:30pm, there was lots of traffic getting back and I got very bus sick. If you do get travel sickness I found it was worse on buses in Cusco, I would assume due to altitude.
Itinerary In Detail
Pre trek
Trek briefing at the G Adventures Cusco office.
Day 1
Depart Cusco – 3am
Stop for breakfast – (included)
Inca Trail begins – 9am
Lunch – (included)
Wayllabamba Camp – Arrived approx 3:30pm
Dinner – (included)
Day 2
Wayllabamba Camp – Breakfast (included), get ready for trek
Start trek – 7am
Lunch – (included)
Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman’s Pass) – highest point of the trek 4,198m.
Paqaymayo Camp – Arrived approx 2:30pm
Dinner – (included)
Day 3
Paqaymayo Camp – Breakfast (included), get ready for trek
Start trek – 6:30am
Lunch – (included)
Phuyupatamarca and Intipata ruins
Wiñaywayna Camp – Arrived approx 5pm
Dinner – (included)
Day 4
Wiñaywayna Camp – Breakfast (included), get ready for trek
Start trek – 4am
Checkpoint – 5am
Intipunku (Sun Gate) – First views of the Machu Picchu ruins
Machu Picchu – UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Time for photos and to admire the breathtaking ruins, guided tour of the site for 1.5 hours
Aguas Calientes – Lunch, explore town, markets
Cusco – arrive to hotel approx 6:30pm (can be lots of traffic)
Tips
Book early. There are only a certain amount of permits to trek the Inca Trail each day, I recommend 4-6 months in advance to ensure a permit.
Do not book for February. The Inca Trail is closed during February for maintenance, so you will be very disappointed if you plan your trip to Peru for the Inca Trail in February.
Acclimatise to the altitude. Arrive early to acclimatise to the altitude prior to the trek, normally they recommend 3 days, you can do 2-3 depending on what you need (especially if you are from Australia like me!). I recommend speaking to a travel doctor or GP about this for safety.
Bring a power bank. There is no electricity the entire trek, nothing would be worse then getting to Machu Picchu at the end and not having enough battery for photos.
Have good hiking shoes. The path is not paved or flat, a good pair of hiking shoes is essential for the uneven dirt/stone paths.
Hire the two walking poles. They are super helpful along the way, especially with the hills and stairs. A few people in my group didn’t hire them, they regretted it and were using long tree branch by the end.
Planning a trip to Peru? If you would like to read more about my trip for more tips, you can see all my Peru blogs here.
