Inca Trail hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Classic Inca Trail is the four-day walk on an original Inca road from Km 82 on the Urubamba River to Machu Picchu. It crosses the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and passes a chain of Inca ruins, cloud forest and three high passes, the highest being Warmiwañusca (Dead Woman's Pass) at 4,215 m. You cannot walk it alone: every hiker needs a named permit and must go with a licensed operator and an official guide, and you sleep in tents at campsites assigned by the Ministry of Culture. Operators quote 39 to 43 km; the line on our map is 34 km, because mapped paths smooth out the many switchbacks and steps.

The route

The trail starts at the checkpoint at Piscacucho (Km 82 of the railway), crosses the Urubamba and follows the valley past the Inca site of Patallaqta (Llactapata) to the hamlet of Wayllabamba. Day 2 is the hard one: a long climb through woodland and the open valley of Llulluchapampa to Warmiwañusca, then a steep descent on stone steps to Pacaymayo. On day 3 the trail climbs past Runkurakay to a second pass, visits Sayacmarca, and follows a paved Inca road with a short tunnel along the ridge to Phuyupatamarca, before dropping about 1,000 m through the terraces of Intipata to Wiñay Wayna. On day 4 you start before dawn and walk an hour or so to Intipunku, the Sun Gate, for the first view of Machu Picchu, then descend to the citadel.

This guide follows the route mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 4 stages, about 8.4 km each, ending at the official campsites of the standard plan: Wayllabamba, Pacaymayo and Wiñay Wayna. Many groups are given a different plan, such as Ayapata, Chaquicocha and Wiñay Wayna, or Phuyupatamarca as the last camp; the route is the same, only the daily split changes.

Highlights

• Patallaqta: a large Inca farming and storage town seen from above on day 1
• Warmiwañusca (4,215 m): the highest point, with views back down the Llulluchapampa valley
• Runkurakay and Sayacmarca: a round lookout post and a fortress-like town on a rock spur
• Phuyupatamarca: "the town above the clouds", with ceremonial baths and a famous sunrise view
• Intipata and Wiñay Wayna: huge terraces above the Urubamba gorge
• Intipunku: the Sun Gate and your first view over Machu Picchu

When to go

The trail is open from March to January and closed every February for maintenance. The dry season, May to September, has the clearest views and cold nights, often below freezing at the high camps, and permits for these months sell out first. October, November, March and April are greener and quieter, with afternoon showers. December and January are the wettest months: steps get slippery and the trail can close at short notice after heavy rain or landslides.

How many days do you need?

The classic trek is 4 days and 3 nights. Allow at least 2 days in Cusco (3,400 m) or the Sacred Valley before you start, to get used to the altitude. Most people then take the train from Aguas Calientes back to Ollantaytambo on day 4; a night in Aguas Calientes lets you revisit Machu Picchu or climb Huayna Picchu the next day with a separate ticket. Short of time? The 2-day trail from Km 104 joins at Wiñay Wayna.

Permits and booking

Only licensed agencies can buy Inca Trail tickets, on the Ministry of Culture's Tu Boleto platform. Tickets are named, dated, tied to your passport, and cannot be changed or refunded. The daily limit is 500 people, including guides, cooks and porters, so only about 200 hikers start each day. Tickets for the next year go on sale in November; book 4 to 6 months ahead, more for May to August. The official Route 1 fee is S/292 for adults (S/147 students, S/135 minors), and in 2026 operators add the Machu Picchu circuit 3-B ticket (S/152), so expect about S/444 in permits within your trek price. Groups are at most 16 hikers with one or two guides. Carry your original passport every day; the name must match your ticket exactly.

Getting there and away

Operators collect you in Cusco or Ollantaytambo and drive to Km 82: about 2.5 to 3 hours from Cusco, or 30 minutes from Ollantaytambo. At the end, buses run from the Machu Picchu entrance down to Aguas Calientes (25 to 30 minutes, about US$12 one way in 2026), and PeruRail and Inca Rail trains take about 1.5 to 2 hours to Ollantaytambo, from where it is about 2 hours by road to Cusco. Most operators include the bus and train.

Money and phone signal

Bring Peruvian soles in cash from Cusco or Ollantaytambo: there are no cash machines on the trail. Villagers sell water and snacks on day 1 up to Wayllabamba, and toilets there cost 1 sol. Budget for tips to the porters, cooks and guide; your operator will suggest an amount. Mobile signal is patchy and found mostly on high points, so do not rely on it.

Difficulty

The Classic Inca Trail is a hard trek because of altitude and steps, not distance. Day 2 climbs about 1,200 m to 4,215 m, and day 3 ends with a knee-jarring descent of about 1,000 m on uneven Inca stairs. Walking times are 5 to 8 hours a day. Porters carry the tents, food and cooking gear; you carry a day pack with water, layers and rain gear, or hire an extra porter for your sleeping bag and clothes. Anyone fit enough for long hill days can do it after acclimatising.

What to pack

A warm sleeping bag (comfort about -5 °C in the dry season), a down jacket, hat and gloves for the camps, a light waterproof, sun hat and high-factor sunscreen, insect repellent for the lower forest, a head torch, water purification or a bottle to refill with boiled water, and walking poles with rubber tips (metal tips are not allowed). Leave drones, glass bottles and alcohol behind: they are banned.

Safety

Altitude sickness is the main risk: go up slowly, drink well and tell your guide at once about a headache, nausea or breathlessness; the cure is to go down. Guides carry first aid and usually oxygen. There is a small health post at Wayllabamba; otherwise a sick hiker is carried by porters to Km 82 or down to Aguas Calientes, and serious cases go on to Cusco. In Peru call 106 for an ambulance or 105 for the police. Get travel insurance that covers trekking up to 4,300 m and helicopter evacuation.

History

The Inca built this road in the 15th century as a royal pilgrim route to Machu Picchu, linking a string of religious and farming sites. It lay overgrown for centuries until Hiram Bingham's 1915 expedition traced and cleared parts of it. The sanctuary was protected in 1981 and listed by UNESCO in 1983, and since 2001 the number of walkers has been capped and access limited to licensed operators.