Inca Trail

v.e.r.b.a.l

Myself and my girlfriend are going RTW for a year starting March. I reckon we'll be in Peru by roughly early to mid May.

Can someone help with information about the Inca trail? Everything I look up about it seems to contradict another thing I read somewhere else!!

When do we need to book it? How soon, I mean?

Any recommendations on which group to go with? I really want to do the most detailed and longest one there is. Get a real feel for the place. Become Incan etc.

All links are welcome (so long as you don't RickRoll me!)

Aurora Borealis

v.e.r.b.a.l wrote: »

Myself and my girlfriend are going RTW for a year starting March. I reckon we'll be in Peru by roughly early to mid May.

Can someone help with information about the Inca trail? Everything I look up about it seems to contradict another thing I read somewhere else!!

When do we need to book it? How soon, I mean?

Any recommendations on which group to go with? I really want to do the most detailed and longest one there is. Get a real feel for the place. Become Incan etc.

All links are welcome (so long as you don't RickRoll me!)

I didn't do the actual tour but I hear early booking is advised though I did hear of some alternative going when I was in Cuzco.

It's really gorgeous there i.e Machu Picchu itself. Make sure you climb Huayna Picchu when you're there. Was mad foggy when I did it but still fabulous and can only imagine the views on a clear day.

Placid_Casual

I did it in December 06 and booked about a month ahead. General advise is to book as far ahead as possible to avoid disappointment as they say. Though I think May might be one of the less busy periods (could be wrong).
The standard Inca Trail is 4 days, not sure there's much scope for doing longer unless you take a different route.
Think I used this crowd - http://www.perutreks.com/
They were very good but as its a competitive market I think all of the companies are of a similar (high) standard. You have to go as part of an organised tour group, you can't do it by yourself.
Its a great hike, beautiful scenery, fascinating history and ruins. There will be a lot of people on the trail, so don't go expecting solitude.

v.e.r.b.a.l

Placid_Casual wrote: »

General advise is to book as far ahead as possible to avoid disappointment as they say.

So I guess I should be booking it now in the next month or two then?

Placid_Casual wrote: »

The standard Inca Trail is 4 days, not sure there's much scope for doing longer unless you take a different route.

Are there different routes available, or do all companies bring you on the same trek?

What's this i hear about a permit to camp beside maccu piccu so you can wake up at sunset on the site (almost)?

Glowing

I went with 'Llama Path' - www.llamapath.com, and again, highly recommended! The food they can put together on the top of a mountain is just amazing!

Book as soon as you can confirm your dates. I did the 4 day trek and it was so much fun. You can choose to do longer, 5 or 6 day treks if you're up to it. The scenery in that area is stunning. Llama Path have a good choice of treks actually ....

Meathlass

There is only one route to Machu Pichuu. There are many other trails you can follow though to different Inca sites in the same valley, none of which you need permits for as far as I know. Mid May is definately off peak but you still need to book asap. There is a website run by Peru tourist board which tell you how many permits left for each day. One of the best companies would be someone like Gapadventures.com. They will be more expensive than ever one else but it will give you something to measure other prices against. There are alot of cowboys doing the trail. Didn't do it myself as heard it was very tough going, plus can be very foggy so it's like you're hiking in soup. Spent 2 days at MP instead and hiked in surrounding valley on my own.

Meathlass

Just had a quick look there at the official permit site ( I just googled inca trail permits and the company andeanlife had a link to the permit site, it can only be booked by tour operators and is in spanish but will give you an idea of availability) They issue 500 permits a time now not 400 a day so that means that there can only be 500 people walking the trail at any one time, one website said that means only about 250 tourists as guides and porters make up the rest of the numbers - sorry about the previous misinformation. but the website only details availibiliy until jan. The later dates in 2009 don't go on sale till mid jan so you'll have to wait till then to book. You need to have paid in full 30 days before hand and to book your permit the travel agent needs your passport details. This is to stop tour operators buying permits in bulk and auctioning them off for high prices as the dates get nearer.

darrenh

myself and my girlfriend are going rtw the world as well next march and hope to do the trail mid to end of may!! www.travelblog.org is a good site for information. i hope to book with llama Path and have got good reviews of them. apparently going with the cheapest one is not the best option. prices range from $250 to $600. supposedly the cheap companies pay their porters very little.

shrapnel222

verbal, just to let you know you can do different things out there. although a long time ago, i'm sure it's still possible to do this kind of thing. check this thread out

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055083223&highlight=inca+trail

Glowing

Meathlass wrote: »

One of the best companies would be someone like Gapadventures.com.

Disagree, they're good but they're not the best. I heard one person doing it with Gap got food poisoning at the same time that we were doing the trek (with Llama Path), and their equipment didn't look as good as Llama Path's or Peru Treks ....

Meathlass wrote: »

Didn't do it myself as heard it was very tough going, plus can be very foggy so it's like you're hiking in soup. Spent 2 days at MP instead and hiked in surrounding valley on my own.

It is tough. But its not impossible. You kinda forget that you're going to be having the best craic along the way, so it really helps with ignoring the pains in the legs! If you're anyway active, it'd be no bother to you. If it's tough, you just take it slowly, and take plenty of rests. You leave shortly after dawn so you have plenty of time to get to the next camp before sunset. There is always a guide at the back of the group going with the slowest person, and there is never any pressure in having to keep up, ever! There was a guy in our group who was 60 - he wouldn't win any time trials, but he finished it!! Fair play.

Attached are some pics of my trek with Llama Path .... I'd do it again tomorrow

v.e.r.b.a.l

wow! so many options!!! I'll have to look into all this! quick question for those who have done this trek (with any company) - what food do they serve? be as specific as you want, i'm very wary about what food will be available for the 4/5 days as I'm not the best eater...

*looks away in shame*

Placid_Casual

v.e.r.b.a.l wrote: »

wow! so many options!!! I'll have to look into all this! quick question for those who have done this trek (with any company) - what food do they serve? be as specific as you want, i'm very wary about what food will be available for the 4/5 days as I'm not the best eater...

*looks away in shame*

I can't remember anything specific about what food was served but I do recall that it was excellent and there was plenty of it. Especially considering it all has to be carried up and prepared on the trail. There was a vegetarian option aswell.
You won't go hungry unless you're very fussy. And everything tastes better when you've been hiking for a few hours!

v.e.r.b.a.l

Placid_Casual wrote: »

You won't go hungry unless you're very fussy.

fussy eh? heh... i may be a bit peckish after 4 days then...?

Glowing

Hmm I was amazed at the quality of the food that they could prepare on the side of a mountain!

We were never given anything 'weird' - it was mostly western style food, and there was always loads of it. As Placid_casual said, after hiking for 9 hours, you'd eat ANYTHING!

I remember we got pizza on the last night, and a cake!! There was soup most days, fish, meat, rice, veg, spagetti & sauce, popcorn and biscuits. Breakfast was little pancakes, hot chocolate, bread or porridge, and fruit. We even got little snack bags of fruit and juice to eat along the way.

You can always bring your own stuff to supliment what they offer, but honestly, the food was great ... and the downside is you'd have to carry it yourself!

p to the e

the quality of food was top notch. different every night and you don't have to lift a finger. be warned it gets frightfully cold on any trek. I did the 4 day Lares trek and it was fantastic. only booked about three weeks in advance. here's the company i went with. very professional
http://www.qente.com/ingles/english.html

SheroN

Sorry for dragging up this thread.

Is it worth paying the extra for the Inca Trail proper or are they alternative (cheaper) trails as good?

damoz

p to the e wrote: »

the quality of food was top notch. different every night and you don't have to lift a finger. be warned it gets frightfully cold on any trek. I did the 4 day Lares trek and it was fantastic. only booked about three weeks in advance. here's the company i went with. very professional
http://www.qente.com/ingles/english.html

I did it with qente too and can highly recommend them. Very good guides, with alot of history and discussion all day. Hike itself is fine, as long as you have some time at altitude before you set off.

Ritchi

Couple of questions here. Plan on doing the trail in a couple of months, is there anywhere to leave backpacks at the start of the trail, or are they carried for you by the porters. Ours are rather large, as we're in the middle of a RTW.
Also what kind of footwear do people recommend, do we need to spend 100euro on hiking boots, or will a decent pair of runners do? Any brands or anything would be a help.

dolliemix

You leave your backpacks in lockers and bring the bare minimum. You are given a weight limit - depending on the company. You carry what you may need during the day and the porters carry whatever you may need at night.

I would recommend hiking boots. The Inca Trial has thousands of steps and it's basically fours days of ascending and descending. It would be very easy to go over your ankle in runners.


Having said that if you're doing a rtw trip you im sure you dont want to be lugging big hiking boots around with you, unless you're planning to trek elsewhere.

It also depends on what time of the year it is. If it's the rainy season you're more likely to slip in runners.

Whatever you do don't use a pair of boots that you're not used to wearing and end up coming back down on morning one due to blisters!

Ritchi

dolliemix wrote: »

You leave your backpacks in lockers and bring the bare minimum. You are given a weight limit - depending on the company. You carry what you may need during the day and the porters carry whatever you may need at night.

I would recommend hiking boots. The Inca Trial has thousands of steps and it's basically fours days of ascending and descending. It would be very easy to go over your ankle in runners.


Having said that if you're doing a rtw trip you im sure you dont want to be lugging big hiking boots around with you, unless you're planning to trek elsewhere.

It also depends on what time of the year it is. If it's the rainy season you're more likely to slip in runners.

Whatever you do don't use a pair of boots that you're not used to wearing and end up coming back down on morning one due to blisters!

Cheers. I think we'll invest in some boots, hopefully we'll get a bit of use out of them elsewhere, but either way it could be worth getting them.

damoz

Definitely go for boots - but you dont need to spend big bucks - pick them up in the country you visit before Peru.... I got a pair of Hi-tech - probably 60 bucks - still have them - but dont use too often. Make sure you get a walking stick too - can buy them at the start of the trail - worth every penny, especially when your coming down 1000 steps !

As for backpack - either travel light as suggested above, or you can have a porter carry a certain number of kgs for a few quid. I did both. Only carried a small day pack myself. Found the hike easy as a result.

Enjoy it, it is a great few days.