Inca Trail to Machu Picchu 4 Days / 3 Nights

The classic Inca Trail begins at 4:00 am with the pick up from your hotel to Piscacuchu, a community located at kilometer 82 of the Ollantaytambo – Aguas Calientes railway, the trip will be approximately 3 and a half hours, this will be the starting point of the classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We begin our trek by crossing the bridge over the Urubamba River and we will walk along the left bank on a flat terrain, we will arrive at Miskay, place to have our lunch and from here we will ascend to the highest part of a viewpoint to appreciate the impressive Inca city of Llactapata at 2650 meters high. After a brief rest we continue walking through the valley created by the Kusichaca River, ascending gradually for about five hours until we reach the community of Wayllabamba, where our first camp will be. Along the way we enjoy spectacular views of the Vilcanota mountain range where we will have an impressive view of the Verónica mountain.
Here we will rest and spend the night

After breakfast we begin the hike with a steep ascent that extends for 9 km. Throughout this climb, the landscape changes from an inter-Andean valley to the puna (dry and high area with little vegetation) the highest point will be the Abra Warmihuañusca (Dead Woman’s Pass at 4200 meters high), in this place we can see llamas and alpacas grazing, in addition the area is very cloudy and you can see different types of birds such as hummingbirds, sparrows and the Andean bear, also called spectacled bear. We recommend that on this day especially, your backpack is well stocked with sweets, chocolates and coca leaves that will keep your sugar level high and help with altitude sickness since this section is the most complicated of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Immediately after the pass, we descend to the Pacaymayo valley at 3600 meters above sea level, where we camp after approximately 7 hours of hiking.

We wake up around 5:00 am and after breakfast, we resume the hike, since this day we will travel the longest stretch of the Inca Trail due to the number of archaeological sites and different ecological floors that we will cross from Pacaymayo we climbed the Abra Runkurakay to the second pass at 3970 meters high. Halfway we will make a stop to visit the archaeological complex that consists of a small oval structure that is believed to have served as a watchtower. After crossing the pass, we descend towards Yanacocha (Black lagoon) and enter the cloud forest to finally reach Sayacmarca at 3624 meters high, this is a beautiful complex made up of a semicircular construction, enclosures at different levels, narrow streets, liturgical fountains, patios and irrigation canals. Continuing with an easy ascent, we reach the third pass, the Abra Phuyupatamarca. Throughout this climb we will be able to appreciate the magnitude of the stone carving of the Incas, as we walk along perfectly fitted steps, we will also pass through a 10 meter long Inca tunnel to then reach the aforementioned pass and descend to the complex of the same name. This is one of the most complete and best preserved archaeological complexes along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and is located at the highest point of a mountain. Curiously, Phuyupatamarca means “town above the clouds.” From above you can see a sophisticated sacred complex made up of water fountains with solid foundations and also impressive views of the Urubamba River valley.
We continue our walk along the long descending stone steps that lead us to Wiñayhuayna, an impressive Inca complex composed of an agricultural center with numerous terraces, a religious sector and an urban sector, near which our camp is located. After visiting the impressive archaeological site, we enjoy our last dinner at our camp and will spend the night in this place.

On this fourth and last day we got up at 4:00 am to leave Wiñayhuayna and after an hour of walking arrive at Intipunku (Puerta del Sol). From this unique place we will be able to appreciate the sunrise over the Inca city of Machu Picchu, from Intipunku we will descend to Machu Picchu and 40 minutes later we will enter the citadel in the company of our guide, then we will descend to the checkpoint where we register and leave our backpacks to immediately begin a complete guided tour of the Inca citadel that will take approximately two and a half hours. Next we will take the tourist bus to the town of Aguas Calientes, in this place we will have lunch and you will be able to walk through the streets of this small city. In the afternoon we will board the train heading to Ollantaytambo, here our transportation and the driver who will take you back to the city of Cusco will be waiting for you.