Inca Trail Booking 101
The Inca Trail hike with my 66-year-old mother is be an experience I will never forget. Before I started my RTW journey I asked my mom if she wanted to do the Inca Trail trek and Machu Picchu together. She immediately said yes, even though she had no idea what the trek entailed and wasn’t too sure what Machu Picchu was either. My mom thought we would be staying in hotels, but instead we spent 4 days and 3 nights hiking and camping 3000m above sea level. The Inca Trail was definitely hard, but also rewarding. There is so much history on the paths we walked, and every morning waking up in the clouds I felt accomplished. Sharing this experience with a loved one is unparalleled. Look below for Inca Trail booking tips!
When to book the Inca Trail hike
Early! If you want to book the Inca Trail you must book in advance, since there are only 500 passes available per day. During peak season I would recommend booking at least 6-7 months in advance. For example when I checked availability on March 6, 2016 all passes were sold out until August 24, 2016. During rainy season (November – January) I would recommend booking at least 4 months in advance, although sometimes people were able to find availability one month in advance. (Note: The Inca trail is closed in February). You can find availability on this site: Inca Trail Availability
Best Inca Trail tour companies
1. Best Value Option: X- Treme Tourbulencia
I have the most information for this tour group since I booked with them. X-Treme Tourbulencia is the cheapest option and has good reviews. I would recommend this tour, but if I were to do the Inca Trail again I would go with Llama Path.
Cheapest Option:Â $490 + $60 for porter
       Delicious Food:  I was amazed by how good the food was. There was always more than enough and great presentation skills. (i.e – making a parrot out of a cucumber and some carrots)
       Great Guide: Our guide was very passionate and proud of his heritage and the history of the Inca Trail. It was interesting to have a guide who shared a connection with the Aztecs.
       Small Group: The total group size was 5, which was really nice since I was with my mom. If I was traveling solo I would’ve wanted a bigger group, but since I had my mom a smaller group was more intimate and felt like a private tour.
       Disorganized: The company does not give a lot of information before the trek and is slow at responding to emails. Often times the prices would be different on various bills that they sent. One of the Inca sites during our 4 day Inca Trail hike
   2. Best Overall Option: Llama Path
During my trip I crossed paths with various tour groups and Llama Path stood out from the rest.  You could tell everything was tightly organized and that the porters were treated better than other tour groups. (The porters have a very hard job carrying 20 kg of camping supplies everyday and running through the Inca Trail in order to set up lunch and dinner before their groups arrive).  Llama Path offers a bit more luxury than X-treme Tourbulencia, for example after 8 hours of hiking I would walk by the Llama Path tents and see that their air mattresses and sleeping bags were already made, whereas with my tour group I would have to set up my sleeping bag myself. The cons with Llama Path are that is is more expensive and has a larger group. Even though Llama Path is more expensive ($675 + $90 for porter), it is worth the extra ~$200. The Inca Trail is a once in a lifetime experience, so paying extra to get the best of the best is not that much in the grand scheme.
   3. Highly Recommended Option: Alpaca Expeditions
Alpaca Expeditions is another great option to book the Inca Trail. They are ethical and pay their porters a good wage. It’s well organized, they really take care of you and the food is amazing (Option to have gluten free food) . This trek is also more expensive ($650 + $ for porter).
Inca Trail Tips Before Going
- Rent walking sticks and sleeping bags once in Cusco, it will be much cheaper, than booking through the tour agency
- Arrive in Cusco 48 hours before your hike to get acclimated to the high elevation.
- Buy Coca leaves or coca products and other snacks for your trek.
- Hire a porter – unless you are an experienced hiker.
| Highlights of Inca Trail Trek | ||
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| Worst Parts of Inca Trail Trek | ||
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Alternative Options to Machu Picchu
If you didn’t book the Inca Trail in advance, do not fret, there are other hiking options once you get to Cusco. I spent a month in Cusco and I heard the most about these treks: Lares Trek, Inca Jungle Trek, and the Salkantay Trek. All of these options are cheaper than the Inca trail trek, yet you will not see as many incan sites on the way to Machu Picchu. You can book these alternative treks with a tour agency in Cusco. There are also train options to get to Machu Picchu that can be done in 1 or 2 days, but my advice is to hike to Machu Picchu. The whole hiking experience makes Machu Picchu more worth it. Machu Picchu is extremely touristy and crowded, so going on a trek allows scenic views without the crowd.
Great read. I loved Machu Pichu but doing it with you Mum, what an amazing experience. Such a shame the clouds came in, but I think that makes it all very special as well too. Doing the hike it one of those epic things to do in the world, in my opinion. And who else gets to drink champagne is such a place. Well done to your and your Mum.
Thanks for reading! How did you do Machu Picchu? Did you hike?
Now that seemed like an awesome trek. I have heard so much about the Inca trail and would love to do it someday. Think I need to get fitter first. Your article was well detailed which is always good, especially when attempting to choose tour companies. Thanks for article and how brave of you and your mum to do the hike.
Fantastic read. I have always wanted to do this so I really enjoyed your pro and con list as well. I think I may look into booking this once my knee heals!! 🙂
Wow this is a really informative post – thanks for sharing the price breakdown as well as your experience. I hope to get there next year after I leave Mexico!
Your mum is determined and amazing. Congratulations to both of you.
Wow Melody! I am shocked! You are so amazing! I just went to send you an email and I see you’ve been on an exciting adventure. Kesi is exceptional! Not many young people want their Mother on a trip with them. So happy you were able to spend quality time with Kesi. I could not view the pictures but I look forward to hearing from you when you have time. I don’t know if you’re home but in case you are not have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving wherever you are…….Take care….Love to you and Kesi…God Bless……Marcia
You couldn’t see the pictures? Were your browsing the post on your phone or web browser?
What an amazing trip! And your mom is one amazing woman. I’ve been wanting to hike the Inca Trail for so long and your post is very inspiring and informative. Thank you so much for all the detailed information. I need to make this trip a reality soon!
Wow, amazing views! Would love to go there. I am glad that they limit the people per day. Otherwise, it would be very hard to preserve such a beautiful place. Great post !
Yes it is good that their is a limit. I’ve read in a lot of blogs that the Inca trail is “over crowded” but I would disagree. I would pass by other groups from time for time, but for the most part it was just me, my mom, and nature.
Amazing! What a detailed Blogpost about that! Also saved it to my pinterest board so I can go back and read it when I’ll be going there…one day I hope so! Great Job 🙂
Thanks for saving it! I’ll be updating my blog with more Peru posts this week!
Your mom is a real super woman!!!
The pictures are amazing, I can understand why you are saying that the hike allows better views! Great the one with the llama 🙂
The post is really rich in useful infos, I don’t know when, but Machu Picchu is a place that I would like to visit, so I saved it on pinterest too!
This is such an informative post with valuable information for anyone looking to go to Machu Picchu. I did the Salkantay Trek a few years ago & can highly recommend that one!
It took me 66 years and a desire to do something special with my then 25 year old daughter to experience one of the 7 wonders. Thank you Kesi. It was a first time experience for me and how fantastic. I plan not to make it my last, so I will be following your blog just in case you get too busy to mention other special places.
ow, you have really put every single detail and option in the post. 🙂 Thanks for that. And great admire for taking your mother with yourself!
I did the Inca Jungle Trek myself because I couldn’t book the Inca Trail. My complaint is the swarm of mosquito-like flies that feasted on my legs. Congrats to you and your mom!
How did you like the inca jungle trek? Who did you book it through? Were the mosquitos the only negative?
I have never been to this part of the world so far. However, I love easy trekking. Great accomplishment by you and your mom!!
I wouldn’t necessarily say the inca trail is easy.
I have an adventurous mother too! I’ve been thinking about going to Peru for a while, and I can’t thank you enough about the tour operator reviews on the top! I’ll take it into consideration before I plan my trip! Thanks a lot Kesi!
I highly recommend going with your mom! If you have any questions feel free to reach out 🙂 I’ll be posting more posts about Peru this week.
First of all, congrats on you doing this with your mama!! Travelling with parents is always an experience in itself :-)) such an amazing detailed post, so informative. I have always been so curious about this place. My spiritual teacher went on a holiday there for 6 weeks and she was blown away by it. I would love to visit it one day. Awesome post!
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Just an incredible experience, especially with you mum. I am so impressed! Congratulations. You must feel so proud. There are really no excuses for me, then! Would love to do this with my husband one day.
Love the way you have detailed out everything in a tabular format. Including price. And 3000m above sea level!! Hats off. I would love to go here one day
Food for your mom for putting up with camping and hiking, despite the fact that she expected to stay in a hotel! I wish I’d done the Inca trail myself when I visited Peru thirteen years ago. Returning and completing the hike is high on my to-do list! Good tip to arrive in Cusco 48 hours before the trek. I remember getting altitude sickness when I visited!
It’s wonderful to hear that you and your mom were able to experience this trip. The Inca trail is super special and its better to share with someone you love. And kudos to her for being so fit to do this trail!
What a lovely way to spend time with your mother, I’m sure it is something both you and her will look back on and be so happy and appreciative that you did together! I think I just might have to take my parents on a trip like this one day xx
Thumps up for a cool mum you have! Way to go, chicas! 😉 Thanks for all the useful information. I’ll definitely keep it in mind.
Wow great Post!, I would like to book the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu for this year and I found two companies, do you know some information about this operators?
Tierras Vivas https://www.tierrasvivas.com (This company offer all personal camping equipment such sleeping bag, inflatable sleeping roll mattress, infltable pillow, blanket, extra porters, etc )
United Mice http://www.unitedmice.com (This company offer only the tent and roll sleeping mattress, if you want to comfortable equipment, I have to pay extra)
Hope to hear back from you, Thanks
I always wanted to hike the Inca trail, and this information helps me a lot. Thank you for the blog, please continue writing about it.
Nice inca trail
The Inca Trail was one of the greatest challenges I have ever faced in my life. When I went with my cousins there were moments when we wanted to leave the trek but in the end we got the reward that was the satisfaction of having achieved it and to know the wonder of the Machu Picchu world. The Inca Trail is an exciting trek, I hope to do it again someday.
It was such an amazing reward to make it to Machu Picchu. I’m happy you shared the experience with your family as well!
The Inca Trail was one of the greatest challenges I have ever faced in my life. When I went with my cousins there were moments when we wanted to leave the trek but in the end we got the reward that was the satisfaction of having achieved it and to know the wonder of the Machu Picchu world.
A very complete article, interesting information for every traveler