The Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu is our private flagship tour. We can depart at any time, as long as permits are available.
“The LEGENDARY stone paved Inca trail to Machu Picchu ” is Peru’s number one trail to Machu Picchu. This 5-Day trek is also one of the most famous & impressive treks in South America. The Inca Trail Trek tops the bucket list of many travellers.
To protect the trail's authenticity, local authorities limit access to just 500 trekkers a day. This includes porters, chefs, and guides. Often, permits for the Inca Trail sell out 6 months in advance.
The trail takes you from the snow-capped Andean peaks to the cloud forests of Peru. The trail has many interesting archaeological sites. These include Wiñay Wayna, the Sun Gate (Inti Punku), and more.
This is a high-altitude hike that involves crossing high mountain passes. The highest point of the Inca Trail is the infamous Dead Woman’s Pass at 4215 metres (13828 ft.) above sea level. You will be hiking to the pass on the second day of the 5 Day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu.
We strongly suggest you spend at least four days in the City of Cusco. This will help you get used to the altitude and avoid altitude sickness on the trail.
The 5-Day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu is a great choice for travelers. It allows you to enjoy the full experience at a more relaxed pace.
This version is different from the classic 4-day trek. It spreads out the distance. This allows for shorter hiking hours each day. You will have more time to explore archaeological sites.
It also gives you better chances to adjust to the altitude. It's ideal for photographers, families, or those looking to immerse themselves deeply in the Andean landscape and Inca history.
One major benefit of the 5-day Inca Trail trek is the inclusion of lesser-known ruins often skipped on shorter hikes. You will visit famous sites such as Wiñay Wayna, Sayacmarca, and Runkurakay. You will also explore Llactapata and Phuyupatamarca, which are less crowded.
This longer itinerary helps travelers learn more about Inca engineering and culture. It features beautiful views of cloud forests and high mountain passes.
The longer 5-day Inca Trail schedule helps hikers acclimate to high altitudes. This is important when crossing tough areas like Dead Woman’s Pass, which is 4,215 meters (13,828 feet) high. By walking fewer miles each day, your body has more time to adjust.
This lowers the risk of altitude sickness and makes your trek more enjoyable. This makes it one of the most comfortable ways to complete the classic Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu.
The 5-day Inca Trail, like all premium Peru hiking tours, offers full porter service. It also includes comfortable camping, quality meals, and licensed bilingual guides.
Their insights into local culture, flora, fauna, and ancient Inca civilization make the journey even more enriching. With more time on the trail, you’ll enjoy deeper interaction with guides and fellow hikers.
Your journey ends with a dramatic early-morning arrival through the Sun Gate (Inti Punku). From this vantage point, you’ll witness Machu Picchu at sunrise, a moment that captures the spirit of the entire trek. After days of fun, culture, and beautiful sights, this amazing view is your best reward. It will be a memory that lasts forever.
We are a fully locally owned tour company and a certified Classic Inca Trail Operator.
While hiking the Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu with us, you’re going to travel with healthy organic food. We are a licensed and official tour operator for the Inca Trail. We offer this Organic Group Service to Machu Picchu
Trekking with Happy Gringo Tours would offer you an authentic cultural experience. Our experienced and knowledgeable local guides are fluent in English. They have an extensive knowledge and awareness of Inca culture, Inca ruins, traditions, and history. Happy Gringo Tours’ guides and porters are determined and work very hard to offer you an unforgettable experience.
On any trek with Happy Gringo Tours, you will be served with plentiful and nutritious Organic Meal at all times. At Happy Gringo Tours, we will handle everything for you. From your pre-trek briefing to logistics, we aim to give you a real and easy experience.
Our Inca Trail hike group is ideal for families with young children, groups of friends, and/or honeymooners. With smaller groups, you get more attention from our expert guides. Each trekker has a personal porter. The porter carries 8kg of your hiking gear. This way, you can enjoy your Inca Trail to Machu Picchu vacation.
Do take a moment to check our reviews on TripAdvisor.
We will depart from your hotel at 7:00 AM for the 5-day Machu Picchu Inca Trail hike in private transportation. After about 1 hour and 30 minutes, we’ll stop in Ollantaytambo to explore the town. We’ll then continue driving for approximately 40 minutes to the Trailhead.
The Inca Trail begins past the village of Ollantaytambo. It is about a 3-hour drive from Cusco. The drive is long but very beautiful. We’ll arrive at the checkpoint after all 4-day hike groups have left (around 2 hours ahead).
Once everyone has their entrance permits checked, including the support crew porters, we will start our hike. We will cross the suspension bridge and continue along the left bank of the Urubamba River.
The hike is easy for the first few hours. We will walk to Mesqay for lunch. After our meal, we will hike to the Inca site named Patallacta. This is the place that welcomes everyone for the rest of the adventure on the Inca Trail with great views above the Urubamba River.
After getting the explanation, we will hike to our campsite. The campground for the first night is at the Hatunchaca. We will spend the time with very few people because the 4-day group will sleep in the Huayllabamba and Ayapata campsites.
Elevation Gain: 455 m / 1492ft.
Elevation Loose: 292 m / 958 feet.
Distance: 12 km (7,45 miles)
Hiking time: 4 – 5 hours
Maximum altitude point: 2,847 m (9,340 ft)
Campsite altitude: 2,847 m (9,340 ft)
Our team will wake you up at 6:00 am. You will have 30 minutes to get ready and eat breakfast at 6:30 am. We will start the hike at 7:00 am and head toward Wayllabamba.
The path is mostly flat until you reach the town of Huayllabamba, which is the last village along the Inca Trail. During this part of the hike, you will still have access to private toilets and small shops where you can buy snacks and water.
Once you pass the town, the trail becomes steeper as you hike uphill to the Ayapata resting point. The views of the snow-covered mountains and cloud forests are breathtaking.
The first section of the trek passes through lush vegetation, and the path climbs steadily. After resting in Ayapata, we will continue hiking to Llulluchapampa, where we will enjoy a delicious lunch.
After lunch, we will continue to the first and highest point of the hike: Abra Warmiwañusqa, or “Dead Woman’s Pass” in Quechua. Reaching the top of this mountain is challenging, but the reward is the beautiful green valley beyond.
It will take about 1.5 hours to reach the top. Then, it will take another two hours to go down to the Pacaymayo campsite, where we will have dinner.
At the summit, there will be very few people, so you won’t have to deal with crowds to take pictures with the “Dead Woman” sign. With some luck, we may also spot Andean deer and local birds along the way.
Elevation Gain: 1374 m / 4507 ft.
Elevation Loose: 628 m / 820 feet.
Distance: 09 km (5,59 miles)
Hiking time: 7 – 8 hours
Maximum altitude point: 4,200 m (13,786 ft)
Campsite altitude: 3,600 m (12,113 ft).
On the third day, our team will wake you up at 6 a.m., and you will have 30 minutes to get ready. We will have breakfast and begin our hike around 7:30 a.m. We will start walking on the Inca Trail, heading towards the second pass.
Along the way, we will see amazing waterfalls, plants, and animals. Soon after we begin, we will arrive at an Inca site called Runcu Raqay. Our guide will share its history. Then, we will continue our hike. We will walk far from modern cities, through valleys filled with bushes.
At the top of the pass, you’ll be able to take incredible photos of snow-capped mountains and stunning natural landscapes.
After that, we will begin the descent down to the Sayac Marca Inca Complex. As we go, we will gradually enter the jungle, where the plants will start to surround the path. At Sayac Marca, we will have a guided tour, followed by a visit to Qonchamarca for another guided tour.
We will then continue hiking to Chakicocha, where we will stop for lunch. After lunch, we will keep hiking to Phuyupatamarca.
The trail has both uphill and downhill sections. In the afternoon, we will watch the sunset and get a view of Machu Picchu Mountain and the Urubamba River down in the valley.
After dinner, everyone will go to bed early to rest for the next day’s beautiful sunrise observation.
Altitude Gain: 570 m / 1,870 ft.
Altitude Loose: 503 m / 1650 ft.
Distance: 07 km (4,36 miles)
Hiking time: 6 – 7 hours
Maximum altitude point: 3,944 m (12,939 ft)
Campsite altitude: 3,645 m (11,958 ft).
Today, after breakfast, we’ll head down the stone steps from the Inca site of Phuyupatamarca to Wiñay Wayna, where we’ll have lunch.
On the way, we’ll visit the Inti Pata viewpoint, which overlooks an important agricultural area for Machu Picchu. After exploring Intipata, we’ll continue down to Wiñay Huayna, one of the largest Inca sites outside Machu Picchu.
This site features impressive architecture, with upper and lower sections connected by a long staircase, and stunning terraces. It also offers close views of the Urubamba River. Lunch will be at the campsite near Wiñay Huayna
It is common to have a farewell ceremony for our Inca trail porters and cook. If you have tips or something to say, this is the right time. Afterward, we say goodbye to our crew team.
Then, we continue our hike to the Sun Gate. We walk along a flat Inca path for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Finally, we reach the amazing Sun Gate. From there, we see Machu Picchu for the first time in our lives. As the sun goes down, we will slowly make our way to Machu Picchu.
Once we arrive, we will explore Circuit 01, which is the upper part of Machu Picchu. Here, we will visit three of the best viewpoints to take a postcard Picture of Machu Picchu. After that, we will go to the checkpoint, take a bus to Aguas Calientes, have dinner (included), and stay overnight there.
Altitude Gain: 224 m / 734 ft.
Altitude Loose: 1440 m / 4724 ft.
Distance: 12 km (7,45 miles)
Hiking time: 6 – 7 hours
Maximum altitude point: 3,600 m (11,692 ft)
Hotel altitude: 2,000 m (6,561 ft) - We spend the night at Aguas Calientes town
We will wake up early today to reach Machu Picchu before it gets crowded. Around 5:30 AM, we will take one of the first buses to the site. These buses operate on a first-come, first-served basis, so everyone lines up with their permits ready.
Once we arrive at Machu Picchu, you’ll show your permit at the checkpoint.
After we pass through, we will follow Circuit 3.
We will visit important places like:
Our guide will explain each place during a 2- to 3-hour tour. After the guided tour, you will take a bus to Aguas Calientes, where you can have lunch. Lunch is not included, but there are many restaurants to choose from.
Afterward, you will take a train back to Ollantaytambo. There, a representative from AB Expeditions will meet you and drive you to your hotel in Cusco.
If you have permits for Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain, the guide will show you where the trail starts. They will help you register and give you tips for the hike and directions for returning to Aguas Calientes to catch the bus back. There, you will meet the guide again, and they will give you your train ticket.
Includes
Excludes
Stories, tips & travel guides from our team on the ground
Uncategorized
Peru Entry Requirements Covid differs between regions and cities based on regular updates about coronavirus. This Article Provides…
Uncategorized
In the heart of the majestic Lares Valley, weather patterns are as diverse as the landscape. This article…
Uncategorized
The photos do not show the breathing part. Vinicunca looks stunning on a screen. What screens do not…
Uncategorized
Hiking the Inca Trail in November Hiking the Inca Trail in November can be an exceptional experience —…
Uncategorized
In the secluded reaches of the Sacred Valley in Peru, not far from the world-renowned Machu Picchu, lies…
Uncategorized
Winay Wayna on the Inca Trail is one of the most important, emotional, and visually stunning archaeological sites…
