Inca Trail, 5 Days
The classic route at a slower pace, with two visits to the citadel
- 5 days
- 4,215 m max
- Challenging
- Cusco to Cusco
The same trail as the four-day trek with a fifth day folded in — shorter stages, one pass per day, a night camped at Phuyupatamarca above the clouds, and Machu Picchu twice over. Once through the Sun Gate in the afternoon light, then again the next morning after a hotel bed.
The four-day Inca Trail is the famous one, and it has one real flaw — day two. It crosses Dead Woman’s Pass at 4,215 m and then a second pass, in one ten-hour push, and it is the day people remember for the wrong reasons.
Adding a fifth day fixes it. One pass a day, shorter stages, and the night at Phuyupatamarca that the shorter itinerary walks past in the morning. It also changes the ending. Instead of arriving at the Sun Gate and going home the same afternoon, you arrive in the late light, sleep in a hotel, and come back the next morning for a proper guided visit on a different circuit.
If the only thing stopping you booking the Inca Trail is a doubt about day two, this is the answer.
What you'll see
Machu Picchu twice
Through the Sun Gate on day four in the late afternoon, when the site has emptied, and again on day five after a night in a bed. Two entries, two circuits, two entirely different visits.
A night at Phuyupatamarca
The city above the clouds, at 3,680 m, and the finest campsite on the trail. On a clear evening you get your first distant sight of Machu Picchu Mountain from it.
One pass a day
The four-day trek crosses two passes on its second day. This one crosses Dead Woman's Pass on day two and Runkuraqay on day three, which is the whole point of the extra day.
A hotel before the main visit
You sleep in a 3-star hotel in Aguas Calientes on night four and walk into the citadel the next morning rested, rather than straight off four days of camping.
The Vistadome is in the price
The panoramic train home is included rather than sold as an upgrade.
Sensible for families and slower walkers
Shorter stages and more time at the ruins. This is the version we suggest for anyone who would rather look at the trail than race along it.
Inca Trail, 5 Days: day by day
Times are what we actually aim for, not a best case. Traffic into Cusco and the train timetable move them by a little.
Day 1
Cusco to Wayllabamba, past Willkaraqay and Patallacta
Thirteen kilometres and six hours, and a deliberately easy start. Collection at 05:00, breakfast in Ollantaytambo, then the Urubamba and Cusichaca valleys to camp at 3,000 m with warm water waiting for a wash.
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner
- Night
- Camping at Wayllabamba, 3,000 m
Day 2
Dead Woman's Pass, and then a rest
Ten kilometres and six hours to Warmiwañusca at 4,215 m, the highest point of the trail, and down to Pacaymayo at 3,650 m. On the four-day trek you would cross a second pass today. Here you stop and recover instead.
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner
- Night
- Camping at Pacaymayo, 3,650 m
Day 3
Runkuraqay Pass, Sayacmarca, and the camp above the clouds
Fourteen kilometres and eight hours over the second pass at 4,000 m, past the circular ruins of Runkuraqay and the ridge-top site of Sayacmarca, into the cloud forest and up to Phuyupatamarca at 3,680 m.
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner
- Night
- Camping at Phuyupatamarca, 3,680 m
Day 4
Wiñay Wayna, the Sun Gate, and a bed in Aguas Calientes
Twelve kilometres and eight hours through Phuyupatamarca, Intipata and Wiñay Wayna, reaching Inti Punku in the afternoon for your first view of the citadel. You enter on Circuit 1, then descend to a hotel and a hot shower.
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Night
- 3-star hotel in Aguas Calientes
Day 5
Machu Picchu in the morning light
One of the first buses back up and a full guided visit on Circuit 3 — temples, palaces and fountains — with fresh legs. Then the bus, the Vistadome train and a private van, reaching your hotel around 19:30.
- Meals
- Breakfast
- Night
- Not included — you are back in Cusco
What the price covers
Before you set off
- Safety briefing the day before the trek
- Collection from and return to your hotel door in Cusco
- Certified bilingual guide, with a second guide for groups of nine or more
- All transport across the five days
Permits and entries
- Inca Trail permit and Machu Picchu entrance on Circuit 1
- A second Machu Picchu entrance on Circuit 3 for the morning visit
Camp and crew
- A personal porter carrying up to 7 kg of your gear
- Experienced chefs and a porter team with responsible welfare standards
- Three nights of camping with quality equipment, tents for every two people
- Private portable loos
- Pillow, sleeping mat, rain poncho and hand towels
- Satellite phone, first-aid kit and oxygen carried throughout
Beds and meals
- One night in a 3-star hotel in Aguas Calientes
- Every meal except lunch on the final day
- Drinking water and daily snacks
Getting home
- Return on the panoramic Vistadome train, included rather than an upgrade
Not included
- A sleeping bag and an inflatable sleeping mat, both of which you can hire
- Trekking poles, also available to hire
- Lunch on the last day, after the citadel
- Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain
- Travel insurance, which for this trek you really should have
- Tips, which are genuinely optional
Inca Trail, 5 Days: prices and options
Add-ons
- +£15
Sleeping bag hire
Rated to -10 °C, for the whole trek. The camps at 3,650 m and above are cold.
- +£15
Trekking poles
A pair for the whole trek, with the rubber tips the rules require.
- +£60
Huayna Picchu
Two hours there and back, on the morning of day five. Book well ahead.
- +£60
Machu Picchu Mountain
Three hours there and back, and a broader path than Huayna Picchu.
What to bring
Papers and money
- The original passport your permit was issued against
- Cash in soles in small notes, for tips and the last-day lunch
- Your medication and any personal first aid
- A head torch
On your back
- A daypack of 20 to 30 litres
- A refillable water bottle
- A camera and a power bank
- A quick-dry towel
Clothes
- Walking boots, broken in well before you fly
- Thermal base layers, trekking trousers and hiking socks
- A fleece and an insulated jacket for the camps
- A waterproof jacket, a warm hat and gloves
- Camp sandals and a change of clothes for the hotel night
Sun and cold
- High-factor sun cream
- Sunglasses with UV protection
- Lip balm
- Insect repellent for the cloud forest
Questions we get asked
Is the fifth day worth the money?
For most people, yes, and for three reasons. You cross one pass a day instead of two on the hardest day. You camp at Phuyupatamarca, which is the best site on the trail and which the four-day itinerary walks straight past. And you see Machu Picchu twice, the second time on fresh legs after a hotel night rather than at the end of four days under canvas.
How is it different from the Ultimate five-day trek?
Both take five days. This one walks the classic route more slowly — shorter stages, one pass per day, more time at the ruins. The Ultimate starts on the quiet right bank of the Urubamba to reach half a dozen Inca sites most hikers never see, then crosses both passes in a single ten-hour day. Same length, opposite philosophies. This one is the gentler trip.
How fit do I need to be?
Fit enough for five days of walking, with an eight-hour day on day three and another on day four. Day two is the one people fear and this itinerary makes it the shortest of the trek at ten kilometres. If you walk hills at home most weekends you will manage it.
What are the two circuits?
Circuit 1-C on day four, entering through the Sun Gate, which gives the upper observatories and the panoramic views. Circuit 3-B on day five, which is the lower citadel — the Temple of the Sun, the Twelve Niches, the storehouses, the Temple of the Condor and the water mirrors. Very few Inca Trail itineraries include both.
When do I have to book?
Four to six months ahead for May to September. Permits are named, non-transferable and tied to one date the Ministry of Culture will not move. Only 500 people may start the trail each day, and that number includes every porter, chef and guide.
Is the trail ever closed?
The whole network closes every February for maintenance. The citadel stays open, so a February trip is possible by train instead.
How cold does it get at night?
Below freezing at Pacaymayo and Phuyupatamarca. The sleeping bag is not included and it is the one piece of kit not to economise on — hire the -10 °C bag from us or bring a proper one.
How much do I carry?
A daypack. A personal porter takes up to 7 kg of your things, and the camp, kitchen and loos are the crew's. Your main luggage stays in Cusco.
Ask us about Inca Trail, 5 Days
Tell us your dates and we'll come back with availability, the circuit we'd recommend, and a firm price. No deposit to ask, and we answer within one working day.