ON FOOT · MACHU PICCHU & INCA TRAIL TREKS
The good machu picchu & inca trail treks cap their group sizes and fill up weeks ahead. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and where they differ.
This fast, demanding route takes you from Cusco over the 4,630-meter Salkantay Pass to Machu Picchu in three days. You get meals, a guide, safety gear, a horse-carried duffel, one night at Mountain Sky View, and one hotel night in Aguas Calientes. Guides such as Marco, Guido, and Cesar Quispe have helped hikers manage the toughest sections.
Leave Cusco before dawn for a four-day Choquequirao trek through the Apurimac Canyon. You will hike steep trails, camp three nights, explore the Inca citadel, and visit Saywite. A guide, chef, porter, meals, transport, and hotel pickup are included. The group is capped at 16 people, with personal porter service for up to 7 kilograms.
This five-day Salkantay trek takes you from Cusco to Humantay Lake, Salkantay Pass, cloud forest, Llactapata, and Machu Picchu. Expect small groups of up to 16, fresh meals, glamping, mule-supported camping, and guides such as José, Cesar, or Roger, depending on your departure.
“In particular our guide, Roger, was fantastic. He must be the best guide TreXperience has, and one of the best I have experienced during many years of worldwide travel.”
You’ll hike from Soqma through waterfalls, Inca ruins, high Andean villages, and the 14,599-foot Kuychiccasa Pass before reaching Machu Picchu. The 4-day trip includes camping gear, meals, park fees, guides, hotel transfers, and one night in Aguas Calientes. Guide assignments vary, with Lino among the company’s named guides.
Walk the classic four-day Inca Trail from Km 82 to Machu Picchu with a guide, chef, porters, camping gear, meals, permits, and return transport. You will cross Dead Woman’s Pass at 4,215 meters, visit major Inca ruins, and enter Machu Picchu through the Sun Gate. Guides include Nico, César, Plinio, and Josias.
This four-day Salkantay Trek takes you from Cusco to Machu Picchu via the 4,650-meter Salkantay Pass, cloud forest, waterfalls, and tropical valleys. You sleep in Sky Lodge domes and a hotel in Aguas Calientes. Guides such as Fernando, Nildo, Jose, Steven, and Adela are known for patient support, local insight, and careful altitude guidance.
This two-day trip takes you by train from Ollantaytambo to Km 104, then along the Short Inca Trail past waterfalls and Wiñay Wayna to the Sun Gate. You sleep in Aguas Calientes and return to Machu Picchu with a guide the next morning. José and Carlos have been especially praised for clear explanations and thoughtful care.
Walk from Cachora through the Apurímac Valley to Choquequirao, an Inca citadel larger than Machu Picchu but far less visited. You will camp three nights, carry only a small personal bag, and rely on a guide, cook, mule team, and small group of up to 12. The trek includes Saywite Monolith and Cconoc hot springs.
You’ll hike from Challacancha to Machu Picchu with an English-speaking guide, cook, muleteers, and a group of up to 10. Expect Humantay Lagoon, the 4,630-meter Salkantay Pass, cloud forest, coffee farms, eco-domes, and a final guided visit to Machu Picchu. Guides may include Herbert, Gilber, or Rene.
“Our guide, Gilber, was very knowledgeable. It was great to have long conversations with him, learning about some historic and other little-known facts.”
You’ll trek from Soraypampa to Machu Picchu over five days, crossing the 4,600-meter Salkantay Pass, visiting Humantay Lake, walking through cloud forest, and spending one night in Aguas Calientes. A bilingual guide, cook, camping gear support, meals, train, and Machu Picchu entry are included. You’ll need to arrange the mountain bus, sleeping bag, and walking poles.
This four-day route links Cusco, Lares, high mountain passes, Patacancha, Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu. You will hike at elevations up to 4,400 meters, camp two nights, sleep one night in a three-star Aguas Calientes hotel, and travel by train and bus. A bilingual guide leads the trek and Machu Picchu visit. Percy is one guide praised for his humor, care, and strong English.
“My husband and I went on this tour in May 16. Percy was our tour guide. He's very experienced, funny, helpful and considerate when we went on the hike. His English was also very good. In addition to this, food was awesome and thanks to our chef! It was my first time to go on a hike and the view was absolutely amazing and I really enjoyed this tour.”
This five-day trip links the peaceful Lares Trek with the Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Expect remote Quechua villages, hot springs, high mountain scenery, two nights camping, and two hotel nights. Guides such as Manolo, Sara, Anthony, and Gilbert may lead groups, with cooks and horsemen carrying camp gear.
Hike from Soraypampa to Machu Picchu on a five-day Salkantay route with bilingual guides, cooks, horses, camping gear, and a night in Aguas Calientes. You’ll see Humantay Lake, cross the 15,252-foot Salkantay Pass, visit a coffee plantation, view Machu Picchu from Llactapata, and finish with a guided visit to the citadel.
Follow a demanding five-day route from Cusco to Machu Picchu via Humantay Lake, Salkantay Pass, Santa Teresa, and the Hydroelectric trail. Guide Roger leads the small group through high Andes and jungle terrain, with camping, meals, porter support, a hostel night, and a guided Machu Picchu visit included.
“The Salkantay 5 day trek to Machu Picchu was a wonderful experience. Being in a small group made it more exceptional and personal. Our guide, Roger, was super, very helpful, and friendly! I would do it again”
Spend seven days in Cusco and on the classic Inca Trail, hiking past Dead Woman’s Pass, Phuyupatamarca, Wiñay Wayna, and the Sun Gate before sunrise at Machu Picchu. A guide, cook, porters, camping gear, meals, permits, trains, buses, and airport transfers are included. You carry your own personal gear.
“We had a wonderful time with Valencia Travel. The service and food on the trail was fantastic. The porters did a terrific job in all respects. Alex, our guide was friendly, accommodating and very knowledgeable. It was not easy. Three of our group Read more”
Other ways to spend the day on foot
Rock, ice, forest or crater rim.
