Inca Trail to Machu Picchu: 4-Day Trek from Cusco

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Four Days on Stone: The Inca Trail from Start to Machu Picchu

You hike four days on original Inca stone pathways, passing through five major archaeological sites and climbing to 4,215 meters before descending into cloud forest and arriving at Machu Picchu at sunrise on the final morning. The trek includes hotel pickup from Cusco, a professional guide, porters, camping with meals prepared by a chef, and a guided tour of the citadel itself. You return to Cusco by evening on Day 4.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Cusco to Ayapata via Inca Trail

Pick up at Cusco hotel at 4:30 a.m.
Drive through Sacred Valley to Ollantaytambo
Stop for photos and breakfast
Arrive at trailhead Kilometer 82
Meet porters and chef
Hike 2.5 hours to Wilkaraqay Inca site
View Llactapata ruins and learn history
Hike 2 hours to Hatunchaca
Lunch at Hatunchaca
Hike 2.5 hours to Ayapata campsite

Day 2 — Ayapata to Chaquicocha via Dead Woman’s Pass

Breakfast at campsite
Hike 2 hours through cloud forest to Lluchapampa
Rest 15 minutes at Lluchapampa
Hike 2 hours to Dead Woman’s Pass
Pause and admire mountain scenery
Descend to Pacaymayu camp for lunch
Climb 45 minutes to Runcuraccay ruins
Tour Runcuraccay ruins
Hike 1 hour to Runcuraccay pass
Descend 90 minutes to Sayacmarca ruins
Explore Sayacmarca ruins
Hike 25 minutes to Chaquicocha campsite

Day 3 — Chaquicocha to Wiñay Wayna via Phuyupatamarca

Hike 2 hours to Phuyupatamarca ruins
Tour Phuyupatamarca ruins
Hike 2.5 hours downhill to camp
Visit Inti Pata viewpoint
Hike 40 minutes to Wiñay Wayna campsite
Lunch at campsite
Relax and rest
Tour Wiñay Wayna archaeological site

Day 4 — Wiñay Wayna to Machu Picchu and Cusco

Early breakfast at campsite
Hike 1 hour to Sun Gate
View Machu Picchu and sunrise
Hike 45 minutes downhill to Machu Picchu entrance
Take classic Machu Picchu photos
2-hour guided tour of Machu Picchu
Bus to Aguas Calientes
Train to Poroy
Private vehicle to Cusco hotel
Arrive in Cusco around 8 p.m.

The Experience

What if the most famous hike in South America is also the one you actually remember? The Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is four days of walking on original paved pathways built by hand centuries ago, and it moves through altitudes that climb from 2,700 meters to 4,215 meters at Dead Woman's Pass before dropping back down into cloud forest. Your guide picks you up at your Cusco hotel at 4:30 a.m. on Day 1 and drives through the Sacred Valley to Kilometer 82, where the trail begins. The first day is gentle — 2.5 hours of relatively flat ground to Wilkaraqay, where you see the Llactapata ruins and get a sense of what you're walking into, then two more hours to lunch at Hatunchaca, then another 2.5 hours to the first campsite at Ayapata. You're camping in a four-person tent (two people per tent), and the support crew — cooks and porters — have already set it up and have food ready.

Day 2 is where the trek shows its teeth. After breakfast you climb for two hours through cloud forest and different bio-zones, reach Lluchapampa at 3,800 meters, take a 15-minute break, then push for another two hours to Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 meters. The views from the top are the kind that make you stop talking. You descend to Pacaymayu for lunch, then climb again to Runcuraccay — a circular Inca site where messengers used to rest — and your guide walks you through the ruins before you continue to Sayacmarca, another archaeological site carved into rock walls. From there it's 25 minutes to camp at Chaquicocha. The altitude hits different on Day 2, and the terrain is uneven, but the trail itself is built for walking — these are Inca stones you're stepping on.

Day 3 starts with a two-hour hike to Phuyupatamarca, the "City Above the Clouds" at 3,680 meters, where you can see Machu Picchu Mountain and Huayna Picchu in the distance. Then you drop into the rain forest for 2.5 hours, passing through Inti Pata — a spot where many hikers say the best photographs of the entire Inca Trail happen — and reach Wiñay Wayna, the largest archaeological site on the trail. The name means "forever young" in Quechua. You have lunch, rest, and then your guide takes you through the site itself, showing you the terracing and the caves that archaeologists believe were used for spiritual retreat. Most trekking companies don't include a guided tour of Wiñay Wayna; this one does.

On Day 4 you wake early, hike for about an hour on easy terrain to the Sun Gate — the ancient entrance to Machu Picchu — and if the weather cooperates, you see the sunrise over the Andes and your first view of the citadel. Then it's a 45-minute downhill walk to the entrance gates, a photo stop at the classic viewpoint, and a two-hour guided tour led by an expert in the site's history and mythology. After that you take a bus to Aguas Calientes, then a train to Poroy, where a private vehicle is waiting to drive you back to your hotel in Cusco, arriving around 8 p.m. The whole trek is supported by professional cooks, porters who carry the camping gear, and a guide who knows the trail and the sites. You carry only a day pack.

What’s included

Your trek includes private transportation from your Cusco hotel (pickup at 4:30 a.m. on Day 1), a professional guide, sleeping tent and mattress, support staff including cooks and porters who carry all equipment, meals at each camp, pre-trek briefing, emergency supplies with first aid kit and oxygen, and a two-hour guided tour of Machu Picchu on Day 4. Return transport by bus, train, and private vehicle to your Cusco hotel is included.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelInfant seats availableNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Action Peru Treks

Is this one for you?This trek is for anyone who wants to walk the most famous Inca pathway in South America without arranging permits, logistics, or guides separately — the four-day structure and support crew handle all of that, leaving you to focus on the altitude, the ruins, and the final sunrise at Machu Picchu.