Inca Trail treks follow the ancient 4-day route to Machu Picchu, passing ruins, cloud forests, and mountain passes. Permits are limited; booking 6+ months ahead is essential. Challenging but iconic.
Day one starts at Km 82. You’ll hike past Llactapata’s terraces, camp by the rushing Cusichaca River. Guides warn: “Train your legs—Day Two’s Dead Woman’s Pass (4,215m) is no joke.” Thin air burns lungs, but the view? Snow peaks and valleys stretching forever. Porters (chasquis) haul gear in colorful sacks, sprinting ahead to set up tents. Dinner is quinoa soup, lomo saltado, and cocoa tea. Nights freeze; rented sleeping bags save lives. Pro tip: Pack earplugs—snoring tentmates are inevitable.
Days three and four dazzle. Runkurakay’s circular ruins, Sayacmarca’s cliffside fortress—guides decode their purposes (military? religious? nobody’s sure). The trail narrows: stone steps, orchids, and moss-covered tunnels. Sunrise at Inti Punku (Sun Gate) over Machu Picchu? Pure chills. But crowds swarm by 8am. Guides rush to snap photos before buses arrive. Post-trek, most collapse in Aguas Calientes’ hot springs. Luxury tours upgrade to the Belmond train; budget groups cram into colectivos. Either way, you’ll smell like sweat and pride.
Now, the grit. Permits sell out fast—scammers sell fake ones; use registered agencies. Rainy season (Nov-Mar) turns trails to mudslides. Altitude sickness hits 1 in 3 hikers. Toilets? Basic, reeking pit latrines. Porters deserve tips (50-100 soles)—they carry 25kg loads in sandals! Some groups party loudly at campsites; others enforce strict quiet hours. Guides admit, “It’s not wilderness anymore—book for history, not solitude.” Still, tracing those 500-year-old stones, spotting Andean bears at dawn, or sharing coca leaves with Quechua porters? Unbeatable. Just know: blisters, rain, and bureaucracy are part of the magic. Machu Picchu’s worth it, but the trail? That’s where the real story happens.
