Tour the Sacred Valley and trek along the most famous path in the world: the official Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
Departures: Daily
Length: 7 days / 6 nights
Destinations: Cusco / Sacred Valley / Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Highlights: Embark on a journey of adventure and discovery through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Spend time in Cusco and tour the Sacred Valley of the Inca before embarking on the official Inca Trail to Machu Picchu trekking along the official Camino Inca following in the footsteps of the Inca, passing ancient ruins and lost pathways, before arriving at the Inca Sun Gate for your first glimpse of Machu Picchu emerging from the clouds in front of you.
Price from £1,090 per person: Based on 2 people travelling together in our hand picked Standard-Class (3-star or equivalent) Peru hotel accommodation, and camping on the Inca Trail. We work with a wide selection of hotels across Peru and superior and luxury hotel upgrades are available.
Tailor Made: This is a suggested holiday that can be booked exactly as described if you wish or that can be used to help inspire you on the fascinating journeys and destinations in Peru. Like all our holidays this itinerary can be tailored, customised and crafted by our friendly experts to suit your own travel style, personal requirements, wishes, budget and interests. Simply get in touch to discuss, and we would be delighted to create a truly personalised holiday for you.
Holiday Itinerary
Arrive in Cusco at anytime. We will meet you on arrival and will escort you to your hotel in central Cusco. We will help you check-in to the hotel, and will spend a few minutes discussing your holiday with you including answering any questions you may have. The remainder of the day will be free time for you to explore this incredible Andean city.
Meals: None
Overnight: Central hotel in Cusco
Today you will embark on a tour to visit the famous and important Sacred Valley, which stretches from Cusco towards Machu Picchu. First you will visit the town of Pisac, famous for its traditional artesan market. You will also visit the impressive Inca ruins and terraces that overlook the town. The tour will continue up the valley, with some stunning landscape views, following the path of the Vilcanota and Urubamba rivers. Following a buffet lunch you will visit the town of Ollantaytambo, which has remained relatively unchanged since Inca times, and has a network of ancient Inca streets. You will also visit the fabulous Inca complex that overlooks the town.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Hotel in Miraflores, Lima
Day 1 of your epic 4-day trek along the Inca Trail to the iconic ruin of Machu Picchu. We will collect you from your hotel early in the morning and you will journey to Ollantaytambo for breakfast before travelling further along the Sacred Valley to the start of the trek. This first day of trekking is along a relatively easy section of the trek, on a gentle incline, so is a great opportunity for you to get to know your Inca Trail guide, and to relax and admire the incredible Andean surroundings. During the day you will pass a high ridge with incredible views of the Inca ruin of Patallacta in the valley below you. This Inca sits is situated within relatively flat farmland, and was used as a storage and farming site to provide maize to Machu Picchu. You will reach your campsite in the afternoon and will spend your first night camping underneath the beautiful Andean sky.
Meals: Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Camping
Approximate walking time: 5-6 hours
Approximate distance: 12 kilometres
Approximate altitude: Start at 2750m, Finish at 3000m
Many people find Day 2 of the Inca Trail the toughest, but also the most rewarding. You start the day from your campsite in the Huayllabamba valley and will spend most of the morning trekking up the valley, initially walking through the low-level cloud forests then rising higher through sparse shrubbery as you pass above the tree-line and into incredible mountainous Andean scenery. You will reach the peak of the climb at a mountain-pass known as "Dead Woman's Pass" which is 4200 metres above sea level and is the highest point of the Inca Trail. From here the trail descends down the Pacaymayu valley to your campsite for the evening.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Camping
Approximate walking time: 7-8 hours
Approximate distance: 13 kilometres
Approximate altitude: Start at 3000m, Highest Point at 4215m, Finish at 3800m
After the tough climb of Day 2 of the Inca Trail Day 3 is a rewarding trek through some of the most interesting sections of the whole trail featuring wonderful views and passing Inca ruins that are not accessible other than the Inca Trail. The first ruin you will visit is called Runkurakay which is a small Inca site on the edge of a valley. Later into the trek you will visit the ruins of Sayacmarca, which is translates to “Inaccesible Town”, which was most likely used as a resting station for Inca messages on their journey between Cusco and Machu Picchu. The next ruin you will visit is called Phuyupatamarca, which contains functioning ancient Inca water fountains. As the trail continues through the dense cloud forest you will descend to your campsite, near the Inca Ruin of Wiñayhuayna. This ruin is often referred to as mini Machu Picchu due to the dense green-shrubbery and steep Inca terraces that are reminiscent of Machu Picchu, and depending on your campsite location if there is time you may also be able to visit and explore this ruin before heading to your final campsite nearby.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Meal
Overnight: Camping
Approximate walking time: 7-8 hours
Approximate distance: 15 kilometres
Approximate altitude: Start at 3800m, Finish at 2650m
Today is the final day of the trek, and is the day you will complete your epic adventure and arrive at Machu Picchu. You will embark on this final leg of your journey early in the morning, trekking the final few kilometres towards your destination, before arriving at Machu Picchu via the traditional Inca Sun Gate. From here you will suddenly be able to see Machu Picchu spread out in front of you in all its splendour for the first time, a sight that makes all your hardwork worthwhile leaving ever-lasting memories of your journey. From the Sun Gate you will trek down the final entrance way to Machu Picchu itself, then will tour the ruin learning all about the incredible engineering abilities and the stunning architecture of the Inca. After the tour you will have free-time to explore Machu Picchu by yourself, before taking the bus down the valley to the town of Aguas Calientes. Here you will have some lunch before returning to your hotel in Cusco by train along the Sacred Valley.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight: Central hotel in Cusco
Approximate walking time: 2 hours
Approximate distance: 6 kilometres
Approximate altitude: Start at 2650m, Finish at 2400m
Today at the appropriate time we will meet you in your hotel and will escort you to Cusco airport for your return flight home.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: N/A
Included
- All excursions with English-speaking guides
- Entry fees to all sites included in the itinerary (including Inca Trail to Machu Picchu)
- All accommodation (hotels in Cusco, camping on the Inca Trail)
- All meals detailed
- All transfers as required
- Inca Trail includes: permits and tickets to enter the Inca Trail; safety briefing in Cusco before the trek; Inca Trail guide throughout the trek; Porters to carry 7kg per person of personal belongings, all tents, food and cooking equipment; drinking water from Day 2 of the Inca Trail; all meals, some snacks and tea and coffee during mealtimes; bus transport from Cusco to the start of the trek; train journey from Machu Picchu back to Cusco; full tour of Machu Picchu
Not Included
- International flights to/from South America. We exclude international flights to give the option to compare flight pricing or use airmiles, however we can include and provide international flights as part of your holiday and any international flights booked through us would be ATOL-protected as part of your package with us. Depending on time of year, departure airport and airline preference flight prices start from around £800pp economy. If you would like us to quote on international flights just let us know your preferred departure airport when you enquire.
Inca Trail Permit Information
Access to the Inca Trail is strictly controlled by the Peruvian government and authorities to help protect this important UNESCO World Heritage Site. Entry Permits for the Inca Trail are strictly limited to 500 per day (including guides, porters, cooks etc), are sold on a first-come-first-served basis, cannot be reserved in advance (as they are non-refundable and linked to passport details) and they sell out fast - we recommend booking at least 6 months in advance to avoid missing out. We will take care of all Inca Trail permit reservations for you. We take full payment for the Inca Trail at the point of booking as permits are non-refundable and once a booking is made it is not possible to amend, cancel, change the date, or change a name.
Inca Trail Campsites
The Peruvian Government Authority UGM are responsible for control of access to the Inca Trail and for allocation of campsites on the trail to the relevant trekking companies and groups. Although we make every effort to guarantee the tour is as described in very rare situations for a variety of reasons the UGM may allocate us to different campsites. We try to make Wiñahuayna our last campsite (as it is only a 2 hour trek to Machu Picchu) as described however we cannot guarantee this to be the case and on occasions we have been allocated space at Phuyupatamarca (nearly 5 hours from Machu Picchu). We therefore cannot guarantee you will be able to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. Unfortunately these matters are outside of our control and are outside the control of all tour companies. If any other company “guarantees” a specific campsite then approach with care as it is impossible for them to do so.
Contact us if you want more information or want to book this holiday. One of our South America holiday specialists will be more than willing to help.
