The Inca Trail in Comfort

• Four nights in premium hotels and three nights’ full-service camping
• Four days walking with full porterage
• Altitude maximum: 13,829ft (4,215m); average: 10,007ft (3,050m)
• Increased personal weight limit of 22lb (10kg) on trek
• Travel by private bus and train

The diverse geography of Peru results in a very varied climate between different regions.

Cuzco and the Andes

December to March is the rainy season, while April to November is the dry season; characterised by clear skies and strong sunshine in the mornings, sometimes clouding over as the day progresses.

Daytime temperatures are usually pleasant (approximately 20C/68F on average) but nights are only 5C-10C (41F-50F), except for May to August when days are cooler and nights are around freezing point. In the Andes, anything is possible at any time of year, including cloud, rain or even snow, plus rapid and unexpected changes.

Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu

In the cloud forest, they experience large amounts of precipitation all year, as clouds move up from the Amazon Basin. Rain can be heavy, but seldom prolonged. Cold fronts sometimes occur from July to August.

Additionally, Peru is affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon, whereby the warming of Pacific Ocean surface water off South America drives a shift in the atmospheric circulation resulting in abnormally high levels of rainfall over parts of South America. These events occur at irregular intervals of two to seven years, and last nine months to two years. A strong El Niño event occurred in 2018-19.

This trip is rated Activity Level 3 (Moderate) – please refer to our activity level guidelines –with four walking days with full porterage.

This trek is manageable for anyone in good health and fitness. However, it does have tougher stretches (in particular the ascent and descent of Dead Woman’s Pass) and we would not recommend it to anyone with no trekking experience. If you are not a regular walker, you should put in some physical preparation beforehand. The trek is also not suitable for those with bad knees, due to the number of steep and uneven steps, particularly on the third and fourth days of the trek.

You may find our Fitness Training Guide a useful reference.

As this trip spends considerable time at altitude, we ask you to refer to the altitude warning within the Trip Notes. We spend one day in Cuzco (11,155ft/3,400m) and one in Ollantaytambo (9,186ft/2,800m) acclimatising before starting the trek.

Protest action/strikes are not uncommon in Peru, while these are generally peaceful, they can involve roadblocks and cause disruption to travel. Occasionally, your leader may have to adapt your itinerary in response to this.

Walking hours stated within the itinerary are given as approximates only. Timings stated include lunch and photo stops and will vary depending on the pace of your group.

Inca Trail regulations

There are several important regulations regarding the Inca Trail that we would like to make you aware of:

Spaces on the Inca Trail are on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and we urge you to book as early as possible.

If you cancel your booking more than eight weeks before departure and wish to transfer your deposit to another departure or another trip, the transfer fee is approximately US$180 as we will lose the permit we have purchased on your behalf. This is an amendment to our Booking Conditions. No transfers are possible within eight weeks of departure.

Bookings can only be made if we are supplied with your full name, passport details, date of birth and nationality, exactly as per the passport you will be using to travel to Peru (this information is used to purchase your Inca Trail permit). If your passport details do not match those on your permit, you will be refused entry to the Inca Trail by the local authorities.

Should the passport used to purchase your permit be lost, stolen or expire before your Inca Trail start date, you must purchase a new passport and notify Exodus immediately as we will need to apply to amend your Inca Trail permit. To do so, you must supply copies of both your old and new passports to Exodus before travel and pay an administration fee of approximately US$30. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you make a copy of your passport at the time of booking and keep it somewhere safe.

These regulations may change at any time, and Exodus is not responsible for decisions made by Peruvian authorities.

There is a possibility that the Peruvian authorities may increase the entrance fees to the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu and other major sights at any time. If they do so, we will inform you of this increase and the extra amount will need to be paid locally in cash in Peru.

Please note: While your departure date may be ‘Guaranteed’, your Inca Trail permit itself will initially be ‘On Request’. If travelling within the current year, we will try to purchase your permit immediately upon receiving your booking. If travelling next year, we will apply for your permit as soon as they are released for sale. In either case, if we are unable to get your permit, we will contact you to discuss your options.

Alternative Moonstone Trek

Once Inca Trail permits have sold out for a given date, we can no longer accept bookings for the classic Inca Trail trek. However, we can offer an equally spectacular alternative trek (not requiring a permit) in its place. The remote high-altitude Moonstone Trek takes in several recently discovered Inca and pre-Inca archaeological sites and there are practically no other tourists along the route. (Alternatively, we have a Train Option, which we can also offer in place of the Inca Trail, which includes the One-Day Inca Trail)

If selected, the Moonstone Trek will replace days 3 to 6 of the standard itinerary. The maximum altitude on the Moonstone Trek is 15,174ft (4,625m), higher than that of the classic Inca Trail, and the route is slightly more strenuous. Therefore, we class it as Activity Level 4 (Moderate/Challenging).

Depending on the split of the group between the Inca Trail and Moonstone Trek, you may find small group sizes on the Moonstone Trek. It is even possible that the Moonstone trek will be provided for solo travellers. Please ask your sales representative if you would like to know how many people are booked on each, and/or have any specific questions or concerns.

While the Moonstone Trek can also be booked preferentially while Inca Trail permits are still available, a small group supplement may apply.

Regulations for visiting Machu Picchu:

The main points impacting your visit are the following:

Tickets are only valid for one entry, which means you cannot leave the site and re-enter.

Once you have done the chosen circuit with your guide, you cannot walk back to view anything already visited and once you finish the circuit, you will have to leave the site.

There are two visiting times for the site: 6am-midday and midday-4.30pm.

Local authorities have restricted the temples that can be visited at Machu Picchu depending on your visiting time.

These regulations will affect how long you can spend at Machu Picchu and which temples you can visit. In the past, passengers could stay longer after the guided tour to explore the site. This is not possible anymore. To allow you further time, the alternative we are implementing is to explore the upper part of Machu Picchu (Sun Gate and Inca Bridge) before starting the guided tour. The guided tour will be about two hours’ long, after which you will need to exit the site. You can visit the Condor’s Temple, but not the Sun Dial Temple or the Sun Temple on this itinerary.

Schedule of visit to Machu Picchu on this itinerary:

Early bus to Machu Picchu and explore upper part with the tour leader

Start the guided tour between 9am and 10am

Leave Machu Picchu between 11.30am and 12.30pm

Please see our COVID Travel Guide for Peru for more information on current guidelines for travel in Peru.