Inca Trail

The Classic Inca Trail is a 4-day, 3-night camping trek from KM 82 near Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu — roughly 43 km of stone paths, high passes and Inca ruins. Permits are capped and sold only through licensed operators; you hike with guides, porters and a cook team — not independently.

Lee hiked it on an earlier Peru trip — after planning Rainbow Mountain as altitude prep — and still compares Dead Woman's Pass (~4,215 m) to Lava Tower on Kilimanjaro. Most fit hikers with Cusco acclimatisation can finish, but the stone steps and summit-day timing are demanding.

This hub is the planning entry: use the complete guide for the permit and operator booking workflow, then the dedicated itinerary, cost, packing, accommodation, getting-there, difficulty, food and navigation pages below for the details. Track operator-held release timing on the 2027 booking calendar — no live permit inventory here; licensed operators remain authoritative.

Build daypack kit in the Packing List Builder and model package tiers in the Trek Cost Calculator — or jump straight to Planning for every supporting guide.