3 Day Inca Jungle Trail to Machu Picchu

Today, you will unleash your adventurous spirit as you embark on a 65 km biking adventure and enjoy 1.5 hours of thrilling river rafting.

Join us for an exciting Cusco adventure as we pick you up from your hotel around 6 am and drive through the breathtaking Sacred Valley of the Incas. Prepare to be amazed by the charming towns, the stunning Vilcabamba and Vilcanota mountain ranges, and the traditional town of Chinchero. After a 2-hour drive, we’ll take a break in the ancient Inca town of Ollantaytambo, where you can stretch your legs and explore.

Our journey continues to Abra Malaga Pass (4350m / 14,271ft), where we’ll provide you with all the necessary gear and a biking tutorial. Get ready for an exhilarating 60km downhill ride that starts with a magnificent view of the snow-capped Veronica peak. As you cycle through the beautiful Andes, we’ll make a stop at the Huamanmarca Inca site for a delicious lunch and some exploration.

After immersing yourself in the rich history of the area, we’ll hop back in the car and head to Santa Maria for an adrenaline-pumping 1.5-hour white river rafting adventure. Prepare to be captivated by the stunning landscape as you navigate the exciting rapids. Once the rafting is complete, we’ll return to town and take a local car for a 1-hour ride to Santa Teresa.

When we arrive in Santa Teresa, you can check into your hotel and relax. If you’re in the mood, we can also visit the nearby hot springs for a couple of hours, where you can rejuvenate and unwind in the soothing warmth and natural beauty. Later, we’ll return to Santa Teresa town to enjoy a delicious dinner and get a good night’s rest at your hotel.

• Biking distance: 55 km, approximately 3 to 4 hours of downhill biking
• River Rafting Adventure: 1 to 1.5 Hours of Exciting Fun
• Difficulty: Moderate day (packed with adventure)
• Weather: Warm and windy during the day, with pleasantly warm nights
• Accommodations: Overnight stay at a Basic hotel in Santa Teresa
• Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Get ready for an action-packed day starting at 6:30 am. After breakfast, be prepared for an exhilarating experience. Around 8:00 am, the zipline company will pick you up and take you to the zipline base. After a short orientation, get ready for a thrilling 2-hour adventure featuring four different ziplines and a suspension bridge.

Once you’ve enjoyed the excitement of ziplining, we’ll take a 1-hour car ride to Hidroelectrica, where a well-deserved lunch awaits you. After lunch, embark on a scenic 3-hour hike along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes town. Take in the breathtaking views along the way and immerse yourself in the natural beauty of the surroundings.

Upon arrival in Aguas Calientes, check into your hotel and take some time to recharge and relax. At 7:00 pm, treat yourself to a delicious dinner at a local restaurant before heading back to the hotel for a restful night’s sleep. Wake up early the next day, filled with anticipation to explore the magnificent Machu Picchu.

• Zipline Adventure: Experience 4 Unique Ziplines and 1 Thrilling Suspension Bridge
• Hiking distance: 11 km, approximately 3 to 3.5 hours
• Difficulty: Moderate day (packed with adventure)
• Weather: Warm and tropical during the day, with pleasantly warm nights
• Accommodations: Overnight stay at a hotel in Aguas Calientes
• Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

There are two ways to reach Machu Picchu from Aguas Calientes: you can walk up the stone stairs, which takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on your physical condition, or you can take the official bus, which takes around 25 to 30 minutes.

To enter Machu Picchu, visitors must have an official entrance ticket with a specific entry time, route, and circuit. The visit must follow the circuit assigned on your ticket, according to the current Machu Picchu regulations. For this reason, it is important to enter at the correct time and carry your original passport or the same document used for the reservation.

By starting early, you will have a better chance to enjoy the first views of Machu Picchu in the morning. However, sunrise views depend on the weather conditions and the entrance schedule assigned on your ticket.

Once inside Machu Picchu, your guide will lead you through the authorized circuit for approximately 2 hours, explaining the history, architecture, and importance of this incredible Inca citadel. After the guided tour, free exploration inside the site is limited, because visitors must follow the established route and cannot freely walk through all areas of Machu Picchu. Re-entry is not allowed once you leave the archaeological site.

After finishing your visit, you will return to Aguas Calientes by bus or on foot, depending on your preference. There, you will have time for lunch before taking your train back. Your train may arrive at Ollantaytambo  depending on the schedule, and from there you will continue by transfer to Cusco. Your guide or travel coordinator will provide you with the train details and instructions for your return.

At Inka Trail Backpacker, we offer you the basic and essential version of the popular treks in the region. We are a 100% local company that wants to provide everything you will need at the real cost of operations—never unfair upcharging! That is why our slogan is “Fun, Not Fancy Trip.”

Inka Trail Backpacker has been a Licensed Inca Trail Tour Operator since 2014. All companies managing the Inca Trail must be certified and have an Inca Trail operators license. This license is issued annually each December; Inka Trail Backpacker is licensed through the year of 2027.

Our license as an Official Travel Agency is under the name Inka Trail Backpacker E.I.R.L. Our license as an Inca Trail Operator is under the name of INKA TRAIL BACKPACKER E.I.R.L

As a traveller, you know that one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences of going to new places is meeting people along the way. When you book a tour with us, you can be confident that your group will be filled with similar travellers looking for adventure in the Peruvian Andes. Our groups provide a great opportunity to meet new people and bond with them in an exciting environment. You never know who you will meet!

We are really proud of the work we do for our community. This is a main focus for our company. We have worked with villages directly to help supply them with needs, buy all our food from local farmers and markets, and serve the freshest ingredients.

At Inka Trail Backpacker, we like to think we do trekking a little differently than our competitors. We stand by our customers and guarantee that we meet 100% of our departure dates on our treks even if you are a solo traveler.

Our office is located at 392 Calle Triunfo (the street is also called Sunturwasi), inside the Centro Artesenal Arte Inka Building, which is on the corner across the street from the Museo Arzobispal and the Twelve-Angled Stone, by a small fountain. We are on the second floor, in Suite 209.

At Inka Trail Backpacker, providing a personal experience and ensuring you are thoroughly prepared for your trek is very important to us. Before you depart on the Inca Trail trek, you will receive a briefing in our office. At the briefing, you will get to meet our staff, receive maps and a detailed description of each day of your tour, be given duffel bags if you have hired a porter, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Our team of guides are all local to the Cusco area and speak both Spanish and English fluently. Many of them also speak Quechua (the native language of Peru). With degrees in tourism and with two years minimum of experience under their belts, they are full of energy, information about the native flora and fauna, and the Inca sites, with a vast knowledge of Andean stories and legends.

The size of your group depends on the day’s activity. The maximum size of our group service is fourteen people, and the minimum is two to three people. For groups of over eight people, we also employ an assistant guide to help out (the assistant guide is a fully qualified guide but may lack some of the experience of the main guide or still need to improve his/her English skills.)

Yes, you must be moderately fit and exercise regularly to do this trek! Your first day will be spent bike-riding downhill on the road; the second day will involve several kilometers of walking over “Andean flat” terrain.In preparation, try walking ten kms per day or go to a fitness club in the months leading up to the trek. It is also important to be well acclimatised to the altitude. Try to spend at least three or four days in Cusco (3350m/11,047ft) prior to starting the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu.

If you plan to renew or change your name on your passport between making your trek booking and starting your trek, you can book your trek or tour with your current passport number or name, but you must send us a copy of your old passport and a copy of your new passport when you have them. We can then make the change with the government before you arrive. The extra cost to make the change is US$25 per person. (This will cover the change in number or name for your Inca Trail Permit, Machu Picchu Entrance, and train.)

If you do not advise us of the change or do not want to pay the fee, bring the original of both passports (the old and new one). You can enter Peru with your new passport but you must show the government authorities your old passport in order to enter the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu or train. If you cannot do so, you will not be allowed to start your trek by the government officials. All names and numbers must match!!

All of the hostels have clean, private bathrooms. However, bathrooms along the trail are limited, and you may have to pay (usually 1 sol) to use them. If you do need to use the toilet between sites, please defecate away from the trail and water supplies; you can dig a hole, or cover your feces with a rock, and take the paper with you in a bag to deposit in one of the several bins along the way.

Tips for guides are always welcome. The group will pool money for the tip, this is not an individual amount.

If Inka Trail Backpacker fails to confirm the reservation, your payment will be refunded in full.

A participant must declare if he/she has any sickness or medical disorder and must bring his/her own medication. We recommend that you meet with a doctor before you book the trek if you have questionable health.

During this trek, you will eat all of your included meals in local restaurants with your tour group.

We offer standard meals as well as a vegetarian meal option. Just let us know if you want vegetarian meals when you book your trek.

Vegetarian meals have no red meat, chicken or fish. We will assume that eggs and dairy are OK. We are unable to cater specifically for vegans as it is too complicated for our cooks (remember they are cooking in a tent). Most of our main meals in the evening are served as a buffet service so you can always leave out what you don’t like. If there is a particular food that you don’t like (i.e. tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, etc) we will ask the cook to do his best to leave them out of the dish, but we cannot guarantee this. We can also cater to lactose-intolerant and gluten free diets (mild reactions only, no life threatening allergies accepted- see below). We reserve the right not to accept a trek booking based upon dietary requirements, this may be because we already have several people booked requiring special meals and don’t want to further inconvenience our cook. Thanks for your understanding.

Meal options:

Standard (no dietary requirements, will eat everything)
Vegetarian
No red meat (chicken & fish ok)
No fish (red meat and chicken ok)
Lactose-free (mild reactions only)
Gluten free (mild reactions only)

Unfortunately, we don’t offer a combination of the above i.e we don’t accept vegetarian AND gluten-free.

You can leave any of your belongings that you do not want to bring on the trek at your hotel or hostel you were previously staying in. These hostels/hotels usually have a secure, locked room where you can store your belongings. If you do not trust your hostel, we would be more than happy to securely store your belongings for you.

Yes, they are included in the tour price

We require everyone to be in Cusco at least two nights prior to starting the trek, although three nights is even better. You must pay your trek balance at least two days before the trek departure. For example, if your trek departs on a Monday you must come to our office before 7:00 p.m. on Saturday to pay the trek balance. This ensures that everyone in the group is well acclimatized to the high altitude before starting the trek.

It is very important to be well acclimated before exerting yourself on a trek. This is why we require everyone to be in Cusco for a minimum of two days prior to regular treks like the Inca Trail and Inca Jungle. However, if you are doing the Salkantay Trek, you will need at least four days to acclimate because this trek occurs at much higher altitudes than Cusco. You can use this time spent acclimatizing to visit the city of Cusco, nearby Inca ruins, and the Sacred Valley of the Incas.

Both sneakers (trainers or running shoes) and hiking boots are suitable for this hike. However, whichever you choose, be sure that they are broken in and will be comfortable over long distances. Lightweight, waterproof hiking boots are especially recommended.

In the hostels, there are three types of room available: matrimonial (one double or queen size bed), double (two beds), or triple (three beds). If you are traveling alone, you will share a room only with other members of the same sex. A private room can be made available for an additional cost. Each room has a private bathroom.

No, you can put your daypacks in the support vehicle, which will follow behind us as we ride down the road. However, you will not be able to access the packs during the ride. Therefore, if you have an extremely small or light backpack which will not interfere with your riding ability, you may want to carry it to hold sunscreen, water, or other essentials. (There are water bottle holders attached to the bikes).

The bike ride portion of the first day will last approximately three hours.

To avoid altitude sickness on the trek, we recommend that you spend time in Cusco or in the Sacred Valley beforehand. If you have never been in high altitude, we recommend that you first spend a day in the Sacred Valley, because it is at a lower altitude than Cusco city.

Yes, you must be moderately fit and exercise regularly to do this trek! Your first day will be spent bike-riding downhill on the road; the second and third days will each involve several kilometers of walking over “Andean flat” terrain.In preparation, try walking ten kms per day or go to a fitness club in the months leading up to the trek. It is also important to be well acclimatised to the altitude. Try to spend at least three or four days in Cusco (3350m/11,047ft) prior to starting the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu.

As of July 1st, 2017, tourists will be able to access Machu Picchu from either 06:00 to 12:00 or from 12:30 to 17:30. Given this limit, we highly recommend that you book your tour far in advance, especially if you are interested in going during the peak tourist season (May to September). Machu Picchu entrance tickets and train tickets are often sold out weeks in advance.

Yes, all our tour guides take an oxygen bottle with them along the trail and will provide oxygen as needed.

On the morning of the trek departure, we will pick you up from inside your hotel in Cusco (don’t wait outside in the street) and drop you off either in the Plaza de Regocijos ( next to the main square) or Plaza San Francisco (two blocks from the main square) upon your return to Cusco. You won’t be dropped off directly at your hotel/hostels.

It helps us if you try to stay in a hotel/hostal that is within a few blocks of the Plaza de Armas (Main Square). If your hotel/hostal is far away from the main square we will ask you to come to our offices with the exact location and name of your accommodation. If you are not staying in the city center, we cannot pick you up from your hotel. You must take a taxi to the center.

The guide will come into your hotel and ask for you at reception. Because the centre of Cusco is full of small cobblestone streets, our larger bus/van is not permitted to enter certain zones in the city centre, so you will then have to walk a short distance to where the bus/van will be waiting for you. Traffic regulations prohibit large buses/van from entering the main square but usually after 10pm we don’t have a problem and will be able to drop you off in the main square upon your return. You can then take a taxi back to your hotel (between US$2 to US$4 for a taxi).

If we have to drop you off in Plaza San Francisco, you may be a bit disoriented (some people may need to be woken up!!) but we recommend that you ask for directions to the Plaza de Armas and our guide or driver will be happy to help. It’s only two blocks away, but usually it’ll be quite late at night so it is best to walk together as a group back to the Plaza before taking a taxi or walking back to your hotel.

Your entrance time to Machu Picchu will depend on when you book your trek. As of July 1, 2017, there are two possible entry times to the site: 6:00 am to 12:00 pm, or 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Your ticket will grant you entry for either the morning or the afternoon—not both. The morning entry is significantly more popular and quickly sells out—unless you book your trek two to three months in advance, we cannot guarantee a morning entry.

If you book far enough in advance to secure a morning entry, you will start to hike up to Machu Picchu at 4:30am, arriving at the site by about 6:00 am—just in time for the sunrise!

Yes, the Machu Picchu entrance is included in the tour package.

No, as a company, we do not have any hidden costs which is why we list everything that is not included in our tour on our own website. However, we highly recommend that you take some extra money with you on the trek (about 300 soles, at least). Small bills in soles are recommended.

Yes, all meals are included except the first breakfast on the first day, and lunch/dinner on the last day.

At meal times we will give you tea, coffee, etc to drink. During the trek, you may have to buy water directly from the local people, which is possible approximately every two hours. Remember that the price of the water will be more expensive than in the city.

We recommend bringing no more than a 35 or 40L backpack to carry your things, as you will carry it yourself on the second day.

We require a minimum group size of just two people. During the last few years, Inka Trail Backpacker has always managed to meet the minimum group size for ALL of our departure dates and has never had to cancel any group departures due to group size.

In the unlikely event that we do not reach the minimum required number of persons, we reserve the right to combine our clients with another trekking company of similar cost.

No, transportation to and from the airport is not included in your tour. Please plan accordingly.

The train travels between the town of Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley and Aguas Calientes, a small town located fifteen minutes below the Machu Picchu complex. The journey from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes is an hour and forty minutes. (The return journey will be about three and a half hours, because the drive from Ollantaytambo station to Cusco is about an hour and forty minutes.) From Aguas Calientes, it is either a fifteen minute bus ride or hour hike up to Machu Picchu. There is no direct train from Cusco to Machu Picchu. Although there is an additional station located at Poroy, about 25 minutes from Cusco, it is not always open. Train service from Ollantaytambo, meanwhile, is constant and reliable. Furthermore, taking the train from the Poroy station extends the total length of your journey between Cusco and Aguas Calientes to more than four hours, instead of three and a half.

We always book through the Continental, El Tambo or Machu Picchu hostels in Aguas Calientes, which offer private double rooms. These hostels offer comfortable beds, hot showers, WiFi, and breakfast.

However, we can only guarantee these hostels will be reserved for you if you book your trek 2 months in advance. Otherwise, we may be forced to offer you an alternative hostel to stay in.

Every traveller has their own expectations for accommodation and that is why we offer you the option to book your own hostel independently. The three hostels that Inka Trail Backpacker books are considered basic and if you wish to upgrade to a hotel you need to either do this yourself or ask us to book the new hotel for you.
If you wish to book a hostel independently, a US $10 discount is given per person off the tour price. You can use this money to pay for an alternative hostel.

Before traveling to Peru, you should consult your doctor. Routine vaccines, Hepatitis A, and typhoid vaccines are recommended for most travelers by the CDC. Some travelers may also need vaccines for Hepatitis B, rabies, and yellow fever. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should also be advised that the Zika virus is present in Peru.

Malaria pills are not necessary for these treks.

The rainy season in Cusco is generally from November to April, when there are near-daily showers and the ground—especially in trekking areas—is wet and muddy. However, there are occasional showers throughout the rest of the year; you should always pack a rain jacket, regardless of when you plan to visit. For treks, a rain poncho is highly recommended—since you will be walking through rain for potentially several hours without shelter, a poncho will be much more effective at keeping all of your belongings and your base layers warm and dry. Waterproof shoes are also strongly recommended.

In the event of illness or injury, we will offer all of the support and care we are able; however, you should carry any medications you expect to need with you (ask your doctor for specific recommendations or prescriptions for altitude sickness, traveler´s diarrhea , colds and sore throats, and pain or inflammation). If you are not capable of completing the trek, we will transport you back to Cusco, where you can seek medical treatment. However, the cost of this transportation is not included in your tour and you will be expected to pay the additional expense—for this reason, we highly recommend travel insurance for your trek.

Yes, in all of the hostels that we book for you, you will have a private room and bathroom.

Although not required, walking poles are recommended for any trekkers worried about joint stress or balance. They also are quite helpful in providing stability and leverage on especially steep climbs and descents. If you do not have poles or are unsure how to use them, we are able to rent them to you and provide instruction.

As of July 1, 2017, you must have your original passport to enter Machu Picchu. You also need to have your entrance ticket, which your guide will give to you at the appropriate time. The passport that you bring to Machu Picchu must be the same one that you used to book your tour and entrance; if you change or renew your passport between booking and your trip, please be sure to bring the originals of both.