Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

The Route

Lima

Sacred Valley

Cusco

Inca Trail

Machu Picchu

Start: Lima, Peru

— Lima

— Sacred Valley

— Cusco

— Inca Trail

— Machu Picchu

End: Lima, Peru

* Private group

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

10 Days | 9 nights

The most well-known hike in all of South America

The Inca Trail is one of a kind because it combines a genuine trekking experience with high-end amenities. Inflatable (not foam) beds, separate ecological toilet tents, and 3-person tents that sleep only 2 people are all part of our high-quality equipment standard. This trip plan allows you to see some of Peru's finest highlights, including the world-famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu as well as Lima, Cusco, and the Sacred Valley.

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Itinerary

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day 1

Lima

At the airport, a fluent English-speaking representative from Kimsa will be waiting to greet you and hand over your personalized welcome pack, which will include a booklet outlining your trip itinerary and other helpful information. They will then take you to your hotel and help you with the check-in process.

Accommodations:

Hotel B

Belmond Miraflores Park

Atemporal

Villa Barranco

day 2

Sacred Valley

Our Kimsa representative will pick you up from your hotel for your private transfer to Lima airport and help you check in for your domestic trip to Cusco. Your private guide and driver will meet you at the airport in Cusco and take you to the "Sacred Valley" of the Urubamba Valley. Your guide will show you the Urubamba Valley, Cusco, and Machu Picchu.

Accommodations:

Explora Sacred Valley

Sol y Luna Lodge & Spa

Tambo del Inka

Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba

Hotel Rio Sagrado

Aranwa Aqua Hotel and Spa

day 3

Sacred Valley

You'll visit Chinchero (3,800m/12,500ft), Inca Topa Yupanqui's hometown, this morning. The hamlet has a lovely village, terraces with rock-outcrop shrines, and vistas of the snow-capped Cordillera Vilcabamba range. Before going to Maras, have lunch at a picturesque ranch. Maras has many irrigated terraces that evaporate salt from an underground stream. Pre-Columbian Salinas were built like Andean agricultural terraces. Salt-encrusted terraces are stunning. The mysterious Moray Inca terraces are near Maras. Several huge terraced circular depressions make up this unusual agricultural experiment site. Return to your hotel.

Accommodations:

Explora Sacred Valley

Sol y Luna Lodge & Spa

Tambo del Inka

Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba

Hotel Rio Sagrado

Aranwa Aqua Hotel and Spa

day 4

Inca Trail

The Inca Trail has spectacular mountain landscapes with rich subtropical vegetation and many kinds of flora, three sets of outstanding Inca ruins that can only be reached by foot, and breathtaking views at Machu Picchu. We sell tents, sleeping bags, and Therm-a-Rest pads. You will have a guide, porters, a cook and his helper, food, water, seats, tables, a cooking kit, and first aid. Porters carry most of your luggage. We avoid big groups of campers and backpackers by carefully choosing campsites along the path.

Accommodations:

day 5

Inca Trail

After a leisurely breakfast, hike a steep path with stunning vistas and changing plants. Before lunch in Llullucchapampa, you will walk through a protected cloud forest with native trees. Continue the steep climb to Warmiwañusta, or Dead Woman's Pass (4,200m/13,780ft), the trail's highest pass. Afternoon descent to Pacaymayo (3,600m/11,812ft) offers stunning vistas. Today's hike is 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), taking five to six hours.

Accommodations:

day 6

Inca Trail

The Incas' cobblestone walk awaits after breakfast. As you cross biological zones, you'll see abrupt changes in plant and geology. Today is long but rewarding since you will see Inca cobblestone paths and amazing archaeological sites. The second pass, Abra de Runkuracay (3,800m/12,467ft), is climbed. On a clear day, you may see the snow-covered Cordillera Vilcabamba and beautiful valley greenery. The trek's centerpiece, Sayacmarca (3,640m/11,943ft), showcases Inca engineering. After a picnic lunch, visit Phuyupatamarca ("the area above the clouds"). You'll stay here and have time to enjoy this magnificent campground (3,680m/12,074ft).

Accommodations:

day 7

Machu Picchu

On the penultimate day of the hike to Machu Picchu, sunrise in Phuyupatamarca is a highlight. After breakfast, you walk several hours on a stone-paved route with spectacular stone stairways, a tunnel, and various observation platforms. After crossing Phuyupatamarca ruins, the flagstoned route plunges into the cloud forest to Wiñay Wayna (2,644m/8,675ft). After lunch, visit Inti Punku, or Sun Gate. Machu Picchu will appear below you at this point. The mystery location is seen after descending the huge royal Inca route. Enjoy a brief nighttime visit after most daytrippers have departed. Hotel check-in.

Accommodations:

Inkaterra Machu Picchu

Sanctuary Lodge

Sumaq

day 8

Cusco

Your guide returns to the ruins this morning. Machu Picchu is stunning. The "lost city of the Incas" is a man-made marvel representing one of Latin America's most formidable civilizations. A century ago, Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham and the National Geographic Society of Washington DC excavated Machu Picchu for two years. Its 2,430m/7,972ft elevation atop a mountain range makes it intriguing. It was the royal estate of Pachacuti, the great Inca who enlarged the empire, and an Inca colony built to oversee neighboring industries. After your visit, take the bus back to Aguas Calientes to catch the Vistadome train (about 1.5 hours) to Ollantaytambo, where a private car will take you to your Cusco hotel (approx. 2hrs).

Accommodations:

Palacio Nazarenas

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Belmont Hotel Monasterio

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La Cazona Inkaterra

Aranwa

Palacio Manco Capac

Casa Cartagena

day 9

Cusco

Walk Cusco like the Incas did. Start in the Plaza de Armas, the Main Square, where Spanish colonists used beautiful Spanish Colonial architecture and decoration to influence religion and politics. Inca Cusco's brickwork is strong. Visit Koricancha, the Inca Empire's grandest "Sun Temple," and the Cathedral, which exhibits Cusco's colonial art and valuable archaeological artifacts. San Pedro's vibrant market and San Blas' lovely neighborhood await. Next, visit Sacsayhuaman, an Inca hilltop stronghold.

Accommodations:

Palacio Nazarenas

Belmont Hotel Monasterio

La Cazona Inkaterra

Aranwa

Palacio Manco Capac

Casa Cartagena

day 10

Lima

Private transport from your accommodation to Cusco airport for domestic trip to Lima. Your guide will greet you for a half-day city tour. Lima's museums contain replete with pre-Columbian artifacts from Peru's coastal deserts, and the city's roots predate the Spanish founding by several millennia. Lima's colonial district includes the Cathedral, the Convent of Santo Domingo, and the Main Square's baroque architecture. You'll also visit Casa Aliaga, the continent's oldest mansion and still family-owned after 17 generations. Transfer to Lima airport for international flight after city tour.

Accommodations:

Hotel B

Belmond Miraflores Park

Atemporal

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

The Route

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Lima

Accommodations:

Sacred Valley

Accommodations:

Sacred Valley

Accommodations:

Inca Trail

Accommodations:

Inca Trail

Accommodations:

Inca Trail

Accommodations:

Machu Picchu

Accommodations:

Cusco

Accommodations:

Cusco

Accommodations:

Lima

Accommodations:

Extensions

What's Included

What's No Included

Additional Notes