Luxury Inca Trail, 4 Days
The same 42 km, with a bed, a hot shower and a massage at the end of each one
- 4 days
- 4,215 m max
- Challenging
- Cusco to Cusco
The classic four-day trek walked properly — Patallacta, Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 m, Phuyupatamarca, Wiñay Wayna and the Sun Gate — with a private crew who move your camp ahead of you. Walk-in tents with real cots, hot showers, a massage every night and a chef plating dinner in your own dining tent.
There is a version of this trek where the walking is glorious and the nights are grim — a thin mat, a cold wash and a plate eaten sitting on a rock. Plenty of people do it that way and are glad they did.
This is the other version. The route does not change: forty-two kilometres, the climb to 4,215 m on day two, Phuyupatamarca on day three, the Sun Gate at the end. What changes is that a second crew has spent the day moving your camp ahead of you, so that you walk in to a hot shower, a massage and a bed with a duvet on it.
It is the most expensive trip on this site by a distance, and it is worth being clear about what the money buys. Not an easier trail — a better recovery, three nights of proper sleep at altitude, and a guide who is working for nobody else.
What you'll see
A real bed on the trail
Walk-in tents with queen or twin camping cots, warm blankets, pillows and a bathrobe. After ten hours over a 4,215 m pass, the difference between a cot and a mat is not a small one.
Hot shower and massage, every camp night
Private toilets and hot showers, a massage tent with a proper chair, and a massage therapist who walks ahead of you to have it ready.
Fully private, start to finish
Your guide, your chefs, your porters, your massage therapist. Nothing on this trek is shared with another group.
A table worth hiking to
Chef-plated Peruvian cooking in a private dining tent, with drinks at lunch and selected drinks in camp in the evening.
Ten kilos carried for you, poles included
A personal porter takes up to 10 kg rather than the usual 7, and trekking poles are in the price rather than an extra.
Both circuits, then the Observatory train
Arrive through the Sun Gate with Circuits 1 and 3 included, lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge, and ride home on the Vistadome Observatory train.
Luxury Inca Trail, 4 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 Patallacta
Private pickup, breakfast looking out over Ollantaytambo, and a gentle first day along the Urubamba past Patallacta. You walk into camp to a sunset drink, a hot shower and a tent that is already standing.
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner
- Night
- Luxury camp at Wayllabamba
Day 2
Dead Woman's Pass, then the reward
Hot coffee at the tent door, then the hardest climb of the trek to Warmiwañusca at 4,215 m, taken at your own pace. Down to Pacaymayo for a hot shower, a massage and dinner under the stars.
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner
- Night
- Luxury camp at Pacaymayo
Day 3
The city above the clouds
The finest stretch of the whole trail — Runkuraqay, Sayacmarca, Conchamarca and then Phuyupatamarca, the city above the clouds, where the last camp is pitched.
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner
- Night
- Luxury camp at Phuyupatamarca
Day 4
The Sun Gate, the citadel, and the Observatory train
Down the ancient stone steps past Intipata and Wiñay Wayna to Inti Punku and your first full view of Machu Picchu. A private guided tour, lunch by the citadel, and the Vistadome Observatory train home.
- Meals
- Breakfast and lunch
- Night
- Not included — you are back in Cusco
What the price covers
Before you set off
- Pre-departure briefing at your hotel
- All transport for the four days
- Your Inca Trail permit and Machu Picchu entrance, issued in your name
- A private professional guide, for your group alone
The camp
- Spacious glamping tents with queen or twin luxury camping cots
- Warm blankets, pillows and sleeping bags
- Private dining tent and kitchen tent with tables and chairs
- Massage tent with a massage chair, and a massage on every camp night
- Private toilets and hot showers
- Towels and basic camp toiletries
- Three nights of camping with luxury equipment
Carrying and walking
- A personal porter carrying up to 10 kg of your gear
- Trekking poles
- First-aid kit, satellite phone and oxygen carried throughout
The table
- Professional trekking chefs travelling with your group
- Four breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners
- Lunch at the Tinkuy restaurant at the Sanctuary Lodge on the last day
- Daily snacks and boiled water
- Hot drinks, drinks at lunch and selected drinks in camp in the evening
Machu Picchu and home
- Circuit 1-C on arrival through the Sun Gate, with the observatories and panoramic viewpoints
- Circuit 3-B for the lower citadel — Temple of the Sun, Twelve Niches, Temple of the Condor
- Return on the Vistadome Observatory train
Not included
- Dinner on the last day
- Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain, which do not usually fit this itinerary's timings
- Travel insurance, which for this trek you really should have
- Tips, which are genuinely optional
Luxury Inca Trail, 4 Days: prices and options
Add-ons
- +£60
Huayna Picchu
Rarely compatible with the timings of this trip. Ask us before booking rather than after.
- +£60
Machu Picchu Mountain
The same caveat applies — the day-four schedule is tight. Talk to us first.
What to bring
Papers and money
- The original passport your permit was issued against
- Cash in soles for tips
- Your medication and any personal first aid
- A head torch
On your back
- A light daypack — your camera, your layers, your water
- A refillable water bottle
- A power bank
Clothes
- Walking boots, broken in well before you fly
- Thermal base layers, trekking trousers and hiking socks
- A fleece and an insulated jacket
- A waterproof jacket, a warm hat and gloves
- Something comfortable for the evenings in camp
Sun and cold
- High-factor sun cream
- Sunglasses with UV protection
- Lip balm
- Insect repellent for the cloud forest
Questions we get asked
Is it still a proper trek?
Entirely. You walk the same forty-two kilometres, over the same 4,215 m pass, on the same stone. Nothing about the route is softened. What changes is what is waiting at the end of each day — a shower, a massage, a cot and a plated dinner instead of a mat and a bowl. The climbing is identical.
How does the camp get there before I do?
A larger crew, moving ahead of you all day. Porters, chefs and a massage therapist leave camp after you and pass you on the trail, so that everything is standing by the time you arrive. It is the single most impressive thing about the trip and the reason it costs what it does.
How fit do I need to be?
Fit enough for four days of walking with a ten-hour day at altitude. Graded moderate to challenging, and challenging mainly because of the altitude rather than the terrain. The comforts help recovery between days, which genuinely matters by day three, but they do not carry you up the pass.
What is the massage, exactly?
A dedicated massage tent with a proper massage chair, and a therapist travelling with the crew, on every camp night. It is included rather than charged per session.
Can I add Huayna Picchu?
Usually not, and we would rather say so up front than take the booking and disappoint you. The day-four timings — Sun Gate, guided tour, lunch at the Sanctuary Lodge, Observatory train — do not leave room for a two-hour climb. If one of the peaks matters more to you than the rest of day four, tell us before you book and we will see what can be rearranged.
When do I have to book?
Four to six months ahead for the May to September window. Luxury departures need exactly the same government permits as every other Inca Trail trip, and only 500 people may start the trail each day — porters, chefs and guides included in that number.
Which circuits do we get?
Both of the ones that matter. Circuit 1-C on arrival, which takes in the observatories, the Sun Gate and the panoramic views, and Circuit 3-B for the lower citadel — the Temple of the Sun, the Twelve Niches, the storehouses, the Temple of the Condor and the water mirrors.
Is the trail ever closed?
Every February, for maintenance. Machu Picchu itself remains open.
Ask us about Luxury Inca Trail, 4 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.