Inca trail
Experience this unique Inca Trail adventure for 9 amazing days, including 4 on the trail itself. This itinerary is the perfect combination of history and beauty. Your visits to amazing Inca ruins in the lush, green cloud forests of the Andean mountain passes and vast landscapes are book-ended by tours in both Lima and Cusco.
Hiking this trail with our in-country partner, Alpaca Expeditions, means completing it with no stress. We will take care of everything, including securing all the best campsites, serving delicious and nutritious meals, providing top notch equipment, and surrounding you with the most dedicated team in the business. Before you depart, enjoy the high-end, personal Hobnail Trekking service and extras, and upon returning home, stay in touch with your fellow trekkers through in-person reunions and private social media groups, if you choose.
In the video below, Alpaca manager Diego Miranda extends his personal invitation to Hobnail trekkers to visit Peru!
At a glance...
Country: Peru
Group size: Minimum of two (2)
Duration: 9 days/ 8 nights
Activity: Trekking, sightseeing
Travel style: Guided
Difficulty grade: Intermediate/Challenging (See details below)
Comfort: Various (tents, hotels)
Gallery
Inca Trail
(Please note: This trek requires a $900 deposit.)
Trek proceeds with two (2) or more trekkers.
2025 dates coming soon!
Must book at least 60 days prior to trek start date.
Inca Trail Details
CITIES OF CUSCO AND LIMA
The food, culture, and fun of these cities is unparalleled.
MACCU PICCHU
The Lost City of the Incas lives up to its billing as one of the must-see bucket-list items for any world traveler.
LIMA BICYCLE TOUR
It’s the best way to experience this vibrant, historical city!
- Hobnail Trekking Co. long-sleeve trekking shirt and ball cap
- Custom Hobnail mobile app
- Lots of freebies
- Opportunities to get to know your fellow trekkers include an invitation to a WhatsApp group for your trek, group training hikes if trekkers live in proximity to each other, and other local social gatherings
- Domestic flights from Lima to Cusco and from Cusco back to Lima
- All airport transfers
- 8 nights accommodations (including 5 nights in a hotel, and 3 nights in tents (double occupancy unless single occupancy is selected at time of registration)
- Daily breakfasts throughout your trek
- 5 lunches (including boxed lunch and picnic lunches)
- 3 dinners (including amazing homemade family-style, three-course meals cooked by culinary school-trained chefs while on the trail)
- Pre-trek briefing to go over final details
- All permits and entrance tickets while on trek, including for the extra hike up Huaynapicchu Mountain
- Local, English-speaking trek leaders and guides (male and female) who are eager to share their history with our trekkers; guides have all received first aid training from a physician and receive annual ongoing training
- Plenty of clean drinking water
- Porter service (porters are provided with livable wages, proper uniforms, warm jackets and hats, good hiking boots, a house to sleep in before and after treks with a medical doctor stationed there to attend to any needs, and social projects conducted at their villages that help them and their families (including with dental and educational needs))
- Duffel bag, 3-inch air mattress, foam mattress, sleeping bag, pillow, hiking poles, and rain poncho to borrow at no cost while on trek
- Hobnail daypack cover to keep
- Group first aid kit for basic emergencies, and oxygen
- Vistadome train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo (and included private transportation for return trip)
- Bicycle tour of Lima
- Farewell celebration
- T-shirt
- Satellite phone for emergencies big and small
- The company of new friends and the experience of a lifetime
- Travel insurance (See the Travel Insurance section on this page for details)
- International flights
- Peru entry visa
- Entry fees for attractions and exhibits not included in the tour
- Alcohol and specialty drinks
- Tips for leaders, guides, and porters (we’ll give you guidance on this)
- Tips for tour guides (we’ll give you guidance on this, too)
- Lunches and dinners not included in trek detail
- Spending money, including for souvenirs
- Personal trekking equipment like hiking boots, clothing, etc.
OK, here’s where we get serious. Hobnail requires that all trekkers purchase travel/medical insurance that covers them properly for all trekking activities.
There are a lot more details you need to know about travel insurance than we want to put in this limited space — including stuff about trip cancellations and what company we recommend — so when you’re ready, pop over to our Travel Insurance page.
We rate this trek as “intermediate to challenging” in difficulty.
For a trek classified as “intermediate”, you should expect 3-7 hours of hiking
We consider our treks to be adventures, not vacations. We’re not Hobnail Vacation Company, after all! Don’t get us wrong; we like vacations as much as the next person, but with our treks, you need to be physically and mentally ready. Here’s what we ask of you:
- You thoroughly read all the information we send you prior to departure.
- You get yourself an accountability partner and train properly. This doesn’t mean doing a few squats two weeks before departure.
- You familiarize yourself with your gear prior to leaving. Practice adjusting your backpack, filtering water if necessary, etc.
- If you purchase new boots, they are broken in well in advance of departure.
- When on trek, you FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS OF YOUR GUIDE. His or her only concern is helping you achieve your goal safely and in good health, but this won’t happen unless you follow their advice. This includes – but is not limited to – food recommendations, speed of pace, when to sleep and when not to, when to walk and when to rest, when to turn around due to illness, etc.
- When on trek, you treat your guide and the locals you encounter with the utmost respect. We are guests in their country and very grateful to be there.
All of these things may seem like common sense — and they are — but we feel that we must mention them. Hobnail’s goal is to provide you with the best experience possible, and you have an important role in achieving that goal.
A few days after registering for a trek (with a deposit of at least $900), we’ll give you a quick call to say hello and answer any initial questions you may have. If you use WhatsApp, we’ll add you to a group with your fellow trekkers so that you may interact with them, and possibly your guide, before departure. You’ll be able to post questions in the group anytime you’d like, talk about the cool gear you’re planning to take with you, organize group hikes if you live near each other, and generally just get to know those who will be sharing this incredible experience with you.
Within the first weeks after your trek is confirmed, you will receive a Welcome Kit from us. It contains stuff that you can use during training as well as on the trek itself, and some other just fun things to get you (even more) excited about your trip.
You’ll also receive a login to our Hobnail app, which is full of great information including a day-by-day schedule, nearby points of interest, beautiful photography, and yet another way to contact us – through its messaging service. As your trip gets closer, we will load your flights and other more specific information into the app so you’ll feel even more secure in knowing where you’ll be staying and even how to get around the airports you’ll travel through.
The closer you get to your trek, the more you’ll hear from us — but of course, you can reach out any time you have a question.
What happens if my trek is not confirmed?
If the minimum number for the trek you booked is not reached before the 60-day booking deadline, you will be eligible for either a refund or to transfer your deposit to another trek. See details HERE.
Our Mobile App
When you book, we send you the login credentials to your own, customized app. By departure, your app will contain your flight info, passport, travel insurance docs, and COVID info, as well as your full itinerary, points of interest, and other amazing stuff.
TREK ITINERARY
DAY 1: Welcome to Peru!
Once you exit the airport in Lima, look for the HOBNAIL sign. You’ll be escorted across the street, within the airport complex, to your hotel, where you will be welcomed with a pisco sour, the traditional cocktail of Peru.
Spend the night relaxing and recovering from the long flights.
Meals Included: None
Accommodations: Wyndham Costa del Sol Airport Hotel
DAY 2: Cusco city tour
Flights to Cusco will be in the morning. Hobnail clients should make their own way to the airport and check in for their flight. As soon as they arrive to Cusco, a Hobnail/Alpaca staff member will be waiting for them directly outside to drive them to their hotel.
Flights to Cusco will be in the morning. Trekkers will make their own way to the airport and check in for their flight. As soon as they arrive in Cusco, a Hobnail/Alpaca staff member will be waiting for them directly outside to drive them to their hotel.
At 1 pm, we will meet back in the hotel lobby and begin a tour of the city center and outside Inca ruins. We will leave the lobby and head to Cusco’s Plaza de Armas to visit our most famous cathedral. We will continue by foot to Q’oricancha, the Temple of the Sun, to continue the Inca education. Once done, we will head by bus to the city limits, about 25 minutes, to visit the four main Inca sites: Sacsayhuaman, Q’enqo, Puca Pucara, and our final stop, Tambomachay. We’ll then drive back down to Cusco and drop off trekkers at their hotel around 6 pm.
Everyone will have about 30 minutes to head back to their room and wash up before we meet again in the lobby at 6:30 to do our trek briefing.
Meals Included: Breakfast at Hotel, Picnic Lunch
Accommodation: Rumi Punku Hotel
DAY 3: Sacred Valley Tour
Pick-up will be at 8:00 am, heading straight out to the valley. The Sacred Valley was one of the main areas settled by the Incas. There is an unusual abundance of fertile plains in this high area of the Andes. You will also witness vast contour terracing and irrigation channels left behind by the Incas.
Our first major stop will be at the ruins of Pisac, where the group will see amazing works of stone art and impressive agricultural terraces. After exploring, we will head to the market of Pisac, which is a bustling handicraft market. This market is the real deal and easy to get lost in, finding lots of treasures. Once done, the group will meet and head to their picnic lunch. After lunch, we will drive along the Urubamba River towards the town of Ollantaytambo to visit the ruins – an important area of Incan construction, built during the Inca’s heydays. This is an extraordinary Inca site because you can find rock formations representing the Inca god, Wiracocha.
The group will head back to Cusco city after the tour and have a trek briefing with their guide.
Meals Included: Breakfast at Hotel, Picnic Lunch
Accommodation: Rumi Punku Hotel
DAY 4: We hit the Inca Trail!
Pick-up will be around 4:30 am, and the group will be driven about three hours to the trailhead. At Km 82, we’ll go through the first Inca Trail checkpoint to begin our trek. All trekkers must have their passport with the same information as is listed on the permit in order to enter the checkpoint of the Inca Trail. The first two hours of the trek are relatively easy as we make our way to our initial Inca site. Patallacta is an ancient Inca checkpoint for the approach to Machu Picchu.
From Patallacta, it’s another two-hour hike to our lunch stop. After lunch, we will hike for another 2.5 hours until we reach the first night’s campsite at Ayapata (10,827 ft). On this last stretch, we pass through two small communities, providing the last opportunity for the group to buy any energy drinks, snacks, or essential items they may have forgotten. We’ll arrive at our campsite by 5:00 pm. The group can relax and have a hot drink and snack with our team of porters, chefs, and guides. By 7:30 pm, dinner will be ready, after which a well-deserved rest is in order.
Walking distance: 8.7 miles/14 km (6-7 hours)
Campsite altitude: 10,827 feet above sea level
Considered: Moderate day (getting used to the Inca Trail)
Weather: Warm and windy
DAY 5: ONWARD TO CHAQUICOCHA
After an awesome sleep in the fresh Andean air, you’ll be awakened by our porters with a hot cup of coca tea to get you ready for the day. We will have an early start since today will be our longest day. We’ll hike for roughly four hours to the highest pass of the trek, Dead Woman’s Pass (13,829 ft). On reaching the pass, we’ll stop for a short break to enjoy the views before setting off again to descend to the next valley, Pacaymayu Valley – Hidden River.
It’s another hour and a half down the side of the valley to our lunch spot, where you will have a chance to refill your water bottles and hydration reservoirs. After lunch, we begin ascending again to the second pass of the trek. It’s two hours over the pass where we will stop at a small Inca site (Runcu Raccay) and see two huge waterfalls cascading down the opposite side of the valley. After the second pass, it’s another downhill hike to reach the magnificent Inca site, Sayacmarca (an otherwise inaccessible village).
We’ll stop here to rest and have a quick tour. Afterward, we will be able to watch the sunset over the Vilcabamba mountain range. It’s then just another 20 minutes until we stop for the night at our second campsite, Chaquicocha (Dry Lake, 11,811 ft). After dinner, if you have some reserve energy, you can do some star gazing, and we’ll point out the fascinating Inca constellations. In the magnificent Southern Hemisphere sky, away from all the artificial lighting, this sky is something to behold!
Walking distance: 9.94 miles/16 km (7-8 hours)
Campsite altitude: 11,811 feet above sea level
Considered: Top day (you will have survived the two highest passes)
Area: Andes and Cloud Forest
Weather: Chilly, with rain possible
Day 6: ONWARD TO WIÑAY WAYNA
We will start early again, waking up at 6:30 am to begin what is commonly considered to be the most beautiful day of the whole Inca Trail. We hike for two hours along what we like to call “Inca flat” (gradual inclines) and begin to enter the jungle, known as the Cloud Forest. As we walk, we will have the opportunity to see Salkantay, the second-highest mountain in the Sacred Valley, and a fantastic panoramic view of the Vilcabamba mountain range.
Towards the end of the Inca flats, we begin to make our way up to the last peak at Phuyupatamarka (11,800 ft), from where we’ll have great views overlooking the Urubamba River. Down the valley, we get our first view of Machu Picchu Mountain, but the site itself is still hidden. From Phuyupatamarka, it’s a three-hour walk down a flight of steps to our last campsite, close to Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young). Wiñay Wayna is the most spectacular Inca site on the trail (after Machu Picchu) and the most popular campsite because of its proximity to Machu Picchu. During the descent, we will visit two Inca ruins — Phuyupatamarka (Town in the Clouds) and Intipata (Terraces of the Sun). We arrive at our campsite around 1:00 pm to have lunch.
Then we will relax so that you are ready for your final day at Machu Picchu. At around 4:30 pm, your guide will give you a short orientation, and you will visit the Inca ruins of Wiñay Wayna for a 1.5-hour exploration. Your guide will explain the significance of the site and combine all the information given during the trek. This way, you will be fully prepared for your visit to Machu Picchu the following day.
We like to spoil our guests as we enjoy our last feast with the porters and chefs. It’s an Inca Trail tradition to organize a ceremony in the evening to introduce the team to the tourists once again. This is to thank them for a job well done (if you wish to provide tips for them then you can do so at this time). It’s a good idea to go to bed at a reasonable time because we’ll be getting up early to arrive at Machu Picchu at the crack of dawn in the hopes that the weather will give us a beautiful sunrise over the ruins.
Walking distance: 6.2 miles/10km (5 hours)
Campsite altitude: 8,530 feet above sea level (chilly weather)
Considered: Easy day – all downhill!
Area: High Cloud Forest
Weather: Warm and very humid, but chilly at night
DAY 7: Machu Picchu!
Hope you went to bed early, because wake up time is at 3:30 am! We’ll eat breakfast 30 minutes later and wait at the checkpoint to be one of the first to start trekking when they open the gates at 5:30 am. We’ll wave goodbye to our team of porters and chefs and then it’s “Forward On” to the Sun Gate (Inti Punku). From here, we have spectacular views of the mountains and Machu Picchu in all its glory. We will reach the Sun Gate by 6:30 am, and then it’s just an hour trek down to reach the Lost City of the Incas.
As we hike and get closer to Machu Picchu, the views of the city get better! At about 7:40 am, we’ll reach the final checkpoint and enter Machu Picchu to begin our two-hour, privately guided tour. After the tour, your guide will show the group where to line up to begin the Huaynapicchu hike. It will take you around 45 minutes to reach the top, and offers amazing views of Machu Picchu from above. Once everyone has taken all the photos they need, it’s another 45 minutes to the bottom. At this point, you will head down to the nearby town of Aguas Calientes by bus and meet your trekking guide for lunch at a local restaurant.
At lunch, your guide will hand out train tickets, so if you choose to skip, please arrange to get these before leaving him at Machu Picchu. Everyone will have tickets on the upgraded Vistadome train headed to Poroy, and then we’ll complete a 30-minute drive back to the hotel in Cusco.
Considered: The most exciting and magical day
Area: High Cloud and Subtropical Forest
Weather: Chilly to start off, but then hot and very humid (bring lots of water)
DAY 8: Back to Lima
In the early afternoon, you’ll head back to the airport where the Cusco team will say goodbye. A Hobnail/Alpaca representative will meet you at the Lima airport and transfer you to the Miraflores area of the city. This is right on the Pacific ocean with beautiful areas to visit and walk, and with amazing restaurants to check out.
After settling into your hotel, you’ll have a free afternoon/evening to explore.
Accomodation: Casa Andina Premium Miraflores
Meals Included: Breakfast at Hotel
DAY 9: Bicycle tour of Lima, Farewell
What a great way to top off this adventure! A bicycle tour is one of the coolest ways to experience the most touristic districts of Lima! Enjoy the beautiful landscapes throughout Lima’s bay, including an outstanding view of the Peruvian Sea and islands. The colorful districts of Miraflores and Barranco are worth the price of admission! (There is none, but you know what we mean.) By the end of the day you won’t believe that you biked 10 miles. (For non-bikers, this can be done as a walking tour as well).
The tour will end around 12:30 pm after which everyone can enjoy lunch on their own. Around four hours before your international flight, we will begin the process of transferring you to the airport and saying our goodbyes. Have a great trip home!
Meals Included: Breakfast at Hotel
GENERAL INFORMATION
About Peru
About the lodging
Once on trek, your lodging will be a combination of tent camping and comfortable hotels. Tents are designed for four people, but will only house a maximum of two, so there is plenty of room. Per our arrangement with Alpaca, Hobnail trekkers will be provided with a 3″ air mattress, along with a small pillow. Each campsite also has a clean, portable toilet tent that is removed after each group leaves to lessen the footprint on the landscape.
About the food
There is nothing comparable to what the Alpaca Expeditions chefs do on the mountainside. They will prepare amazing meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, often starting with a nutritious soup and mostly serving family style. There will always be a protein, salad, assorted sides, and even mouth-watering desserts. They will cater to all food restrictions and make sure everyone has enough to make it up the mountain. Please make sure to let us know about any food restrictions when you book your trek.
Inca Trail
(Please note: This trek requires a $900 deposit.)
Trek proceeds with two (2) or more trekkers.
2025 dates coming soon!
Must book at least 60 days prior to trek start date.
