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Inca Trail 4-Day Trek to Machu Picchu from Cusco

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1/24

Duration4d

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Four Days on the Original Inca Trail: Reach Machu Picchu at Sunrise

You hike 43 kilometers over four days on the original Inca Trail, camping each night with meals and a guide included. The second day is the most demanding, climbing to 4,215 meters, but the final morning rewards you with a sunrise arrival at Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. Permits are included and limited to 500 people per day, so book as far in advance as possible.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Cusco to Wayllabamba Camp Trek

Pick up from accommodation early morning
Bus to Ollantaytambo
Breakfast and buy snacks in Ollantaytambo
Bus to Piscacucho (KM 82)
Present passport and tickets at checkpoint
Begin hiking along Inca Trail
Lunch halfway on trail
Continue hiking to Wayllabamba Camp
Overnight camping at Wayllabamba

Day 2 — Hike Dead Woman's Pass to Pacaymayo

Early breakfast at camp
Hike 6 km to Dead Woman's Pass
Enjoy views at the pass
Descend 3 km to Pacaymayo Camp
Lunch and rest at camp
Afternoon relaxation at camp
Dinner and overnight at Pacaymayo

Day 4 — Sun Gate and Machu Picchu Visit

Wake early and have breakfast
Hike to Wiñaywayna checkpoint
Wait for gate to open at 5:30 am
Hike to Sun Gate for sunrise views
Descend to Machu Picchu site
2-hour guided tour of Machu Picchu
Free time to explore Machu Picchu
Optional Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain trek
Return to Aguas Calientes
Train to Ollantaytambo
Bus back to Cusco
Drop off at Plaza San Francisco

The Experience

You start before dawn on day one. Pickup from your Cusco accommodation happens between 5:45 and 6:00 am, and then it's a bus ride to Ollantaytambo for breakfast on your own, then another hour south to Piscacucho (KM 82), where the actual trail begins. Your guide has your Inca Trail permit already — it's included in the booking, which matters because only 500 people per day are allowed to start, and that limit includes porters and cooks. The first day is moderate: 10 kilometers through the Vilcanota River Valley, rolling terrain, a few small archaeological sites along the way, lunch prepared halfway. You reach Wayllabamba camp at 2,980 meters by afternoon and sleep in a tent.

Day two is the hard one. You leave around 6:00 am and spend the next five hours climbing 6 kilometers straight uphill to Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 meters — that's a vertical gain of 1,200 meters, and you feel it. The reward is immediate: snow-capped peaks and waterfalls appear as soon as you crest the pass. Then you descend 3 kilometers down ancient stone steps to Pacaymayo camp at 3,600 meters, which takes about two hours. Lunch and a nap happen here, and most people are asleep by 8 pm. Day three is longer but less steep: 15 kilometers with moderate ups and downs, passing through Runquracay Pass at 3,950 meters and stopping at two more archaeological sites — Sayacmarca and Phuyupatamarca — before reaching Wiñayhuayna High Jungle camp at 2,650 meters. The landscape shifts from high altitude to high jungle, and the air gets warmer.

On the final morning, you wake between 3:30 and 4:30 am and eat breakfast in the dark. The walk to the Sun Gate takes about an hour on a narrow, flat path. The gate opens at 5:30 am, and if the weather cooperates, you see the first light hit Machu Picchu from above — that's the moment people talk about afterward. Then it's 40 minutes down to the archaeological complex itself, where your guide leads a two-hour tour before you have free time to wander and photograph. After that, you take a tourist bus down to Aguas Calientes, catch a train to Ollantaytambo (two hours), then a bus back to Cusco, arriving around 8:30 pm at Plaza San Francisco.

The trek includes a professional bilingual guide, all camping gear (tent and sleeping pad), meals with vegetarian options available, and a thermal sleeping bag if you book the Complete option — the Basic option means you bring your own sleeping bag and carry your own backpack. Porters carry shared equipment and, on the Complete package, up to 7 kilograms of your personal gear. Groups stay small, averaging six people with a maximum of fifteen. There's a mandatory pre-departure briefing at the Cusco headquarters the evening before you leave, where you confirm details and get a packing list. Bring your original passport — the permit is tied to your exact passport information and cannot be changed once booked.

What’s included

Your trek includes Inca Trail permits (required and limited to 500 people per day), pickup from your Cusco accommodation on day one, bus transport to the trailhead at KM 82, four nights of camping with tent and sleeping pad, all meals and three daily snacks with vegetarian options available, a professional bilingual guide for the trek and the two-hour Machu Picchu tour, porters to carry shared equipment, tourist bus from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes, the two-hour train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo, and the bus back to Cusco. The Complete option adds a thermal sleeping bag, foam sleeping mat, duffel bag, and a porter to carry up to 7 kilograms of your personal gear; the Basic option excludes these and you carry your own backpack and sleeping bag.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelNot for back problems

Operated by Bamba Travel

Is this one for you?This trek is built for people who want to reach Machu Picchu on the original Inca Trail without arranging permits, guides, camping gear, or logistics themselves — the fixed itinerary and included guide handle all of that, which is what makes a four-day high-altitude trek manageable from a planning standpoint.