4 Day Inca Trail
**Package inclusions: Transport from Sacred Valley to the start of the trail, Inca trail & Machu Picchu entrance fees, camping equipment, porters to carry your backpack (a duffel bag will be provided) max. 5kg, sleeping bag and mat, english-speaking guide, chefs, meals as specified, bus ticket to Aguas Calientes, hotel transfer.**
The Inca Trail is one of the most famous treks in the world. The trail follows an ancient path built over 500 years ago by the Incas themselves. Following the footsteps of Hiram Bingham, the discoverer of Machu Picchu, hikers will be witnesses to the striking beauty of the diverse changing ecological zones and impressive ancient archeological sites along the Inca Trail. After the four-day trek you will arrive at Machu Picchu, the legendary lost Inca city with its remarkable architecture and ancient stone constructions, perfectly melded into the steep hills of the ‘Old Mountain’. This breathtaking sight is the perfect finale of the Inca Trail - although the trek itself truly justifies the saying ‘The journey is the reward’.'
Day 1: Sacred Valley – Huayllabamba
Having enjoyed a suitably breathtaking journey through the Sacred Valley on the way to the trailhead, your first eager steps of the trail will begin at the famous ‘km. 82’ footbridge. The early stages are gentle, following the course of the Urubamba River while trekking through a pleasant combination of meandering forest tracks and riverbank pathways, with your first planned stop being at the Miskay community; an ideal place to meet locals and taste their local ‘Chica’ drink for an early energy boost. From here, the trail makes a gradual ascent into the valley, passing the impressive ancient Incan site of Patallacta which, archaeologically speaking, offers a tantalizing taste of what is to come over the next four days. From this magnificent viewpoint, you will follow the banks of the Cusichaca River, leading into a steady five-hour climb until reaching your camp for the evening, which comes courtesy of a clearing at Wayllabamba, the last inhabited village on the Inca Trail.
Total distance: 12 km / 7.5 miles
Estimated walking time: 5 to 6 Hours
Max. altitude: 3000m / 9,840ft
Campsite altitude: 3000m / 9,840ft
Lunch and Dinner included.
Day 2: Huayllabamba – Pacaymayo
An early start this morning enables you to enjoy your time along the most physically demanding day of the trail. Beginning with 9 km of steep steps and uneven ground, this initial exertion is more than rewarded with heavenly views of the Llullucha Valley, high Andean plains and mystical woodland trails throughout, not to mention the satisfaction of passing through the highest point on your intrepid journey later in the day. Traversing crystal-clear streams and lush valleys into an enchanting Polylepis woodland reserve, the trail continues for several kilometers of steep ravines and treeless grasslands until reaching Warmihuañusca, or ‘Dead Woman’s Pass’; the highest point on the four-day hike (4,200m/13,776ft). Here, unforgettable panoramic views back toward the snow-capped peaks, and then onward to the trailhead winding into the horizon, provide all the motivation needed for the downhill hike to Pacaymayo, the site of your second day’s camp. This clearing is equipped with welcomed amenities such as showers which come as a well-earned reward after a strenuous day of hiking.
Total distance: 11 km / 6.8 miles
Estimated walking time: 6 to 7 hour
Max. altitude: 4,200 m / 13,776 ft
Campsite altitude: 3,600 m / 11,808 ft
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.
Day 3: Pacaymayo - Wiñaywayna
This day is the longest but also the most impressive, due the number of archaeological sites that we visit and learn about from our guide.
We pick up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay (3,970m /13,024 ft). As we reach the second pass, the landscape opens onto spectacular new views to the snow-capped peaks of the Pumasillo range. We descend to the ruins of Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Town), an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley.
The Inca trail, now a massive structure of granite paving stones, continues along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colourful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns. At the third pass pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms overlook the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Town over the Clouds). Pausing to explore the wondrous maze of Inca stone towers, fountains and stairways and also impressive views of the Urubamba River (2,700m/ 8,860 ft), we begin a long descent through ever-changing layers of cloud forest. An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite leads us finally to our camp by the ruins of Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young), the largest and most exquisite of the Inca Trail sites.
Distance: 16 km (9,94 miles) Walking time: 8 hours Max. altitude: 3,900 m (12,792 ft) Campsite altitude: 2,650 m (8,692 ft).
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner included.
Day 4: Wiñaywayna – Machu Picchu
An early morning hike takes us across a steep mountainside through lush, humid cloud-forest and broadleaf vegetation.
Suddenly we cross the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encounter an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry - a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu. We complete the final leg down the royal flagstone walkway, past outlying shrines and buildings and into the heart of Machu Picchu, where we spend the rest of the morning with a guided tour of the highlights and some individual exploring among Machu Picchu's multitude of hidden nooks and corners. In the early afternoon a bus takes us to the small town of Aguas Calientes.
Total distance: 6 km / 3.7 miles.
Estimated walking time: 2 to 3 hours.
Max. altitude: 2,430 m / 7,972 ft.
Breakfast included.
