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Machu Picchu Hike

machu picchu hike

The Inca Trail - a myth of the trekking community like the Everest Trek or the Milford Sound Trail. 

First of all: Snow-capped mountains can only be seen here now and then. But the diverse landscape has something else to offer: it starts with a dry section in the Urubamba valley, which is characterized by cacti. After you turn left and climb up, it gets greener and greener. Several passes are climbed, the highest around 4,200 m. That is actually not a height for well acclimatized travelers to Peru, but the 1,000 meters of ascent from the last camp to the pass should be approached carefully, especially since after the pass it is another 600 m downhill. The closer you get to Machu Picchu, the more tropical it becomes. Hummingbirds buzz through the humid air, lush, dense vegetation with ferns and bromeliads line the path. This follows the old connection route from Cusco to Machu Picchu and you usually walk on the old pavement - which is why trekking poles without rubber stoppers on the tip are forbidden (the stoppers can be bought in Cusco if necessary).

Shortly before Machu Picchu you reach a pass in which the sun gate is located. From there you can see the impressive Inca city for the first time. The easy descent is then to visit the world cultural heritage, or first to Aguas Calientes - or, as it is often called today, Machu Picchu Town - which can be reached from the ruins on foot or by bus.

The Inca Trail is heavily regulated. The access numbers are as strictly limited as the luggage that the porters are allowed to carry. It is often not that easy to spontaneously get a place in a trekking group, also because the personal details have to be registered early. Nothing can be done individually here anyway, a guide with a license for the Inca Trail is mandatory.

You will spend the night in tents on the prescribed campsites. That means that you are not alone with your group. On the way, the hiking community gets a little bit lost again - no, not in the sense of getting lost ;-) ... You don't feel like you are in a procession, thanks to the boundaries. The Everest Trek between Lukhla and Namche Bazar is worse.

The temperatures are mostly pleasant, but depending on the season it can also rain a lot (in southern summer) or even snow in the higher regions (in southern winter).

The agencies that handle the trekking work i. d. Usually good, prices differ depending on the service: stay tent or not, quality of food, group size, language skills of the guides, etc.

The light, inexpensive, small and handy booklet Inca Trail with the Cusco region is recommended as a companion and for organization.

By the way, you don't have to walk the Inca Trail completely, there are several starting points on the railway line that shorten the trail. Notes on this, inter alia. in the above Booklet.

Machu Picchu Hike

2500 - 4200 m above sea level.

Inca Trail permits and Machu Picchu tickets US $ 100 (22/2021).

For the trail you need a licensed guide, but not necessarily an agency!

Hiking & trekking

Machu Picchu Hike is starting in the Km 82. (Inca Trail trailhead)

Corihuayrachina / km 88 (2200 m) - Llactapata (2600 m) 2 km, 0.5 h

Llactapata - Huayllabamba (last village before MP) 7 km, 8.5 h

Huayllabamba - Llulluchapampa 1.5 km, 1 hour

Llulluchapampa - Llulluchayoc 2.5 km, 2 hours

Llulluchayoc - Huarmihuanusca 4 km, 3 1/2 hours

Huarmihuanusca - pass (4100 m) - Runcuracay (3700 m) 4.5 km, 2 1/2 h

Runcuracay - Sayacmarca (3600 m) 5.4 km, 3 1/2 hours

Sayacmarca - Phuyupatamarca (3500 m) 5 km, 3 h

Phuyupatamarca - Huinay Huayna (2650 m) 5.75 km, 3 1/4 h

(from Phuyupatamarca there is a recommended variant to Wiñay Wayna)

Wiñay Wayna - Inti Punku 5 km, 2 hours

Inti Punku - Machu Picchu 1.5 km, 1/2 h

Total trail of the Inca Trail = 44 km, 30 1/4 hours

Inca Trail Tips

If you want to more information about the Inca Trail tips. Click in the this link: Preparing for the Inca Trail

MP / Aguas Calientes: Sports field / tents at the bridge to MP, Aguas Calientes itself is relatively expensive.

Attention: the restaurants in Aguas Calientes often charge taxes and service charges in addition to the prices indicated on the menu! Ask beforehand!

Inca Trails

There are 3 Inca route from Cusco to Machu Picchu.


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Location: Peru

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