Peru Travel Guide: Hiking The Inca Trail Cuzco to Machu Picchu

The Inca Trail Cuzco to Machu Picchu is one of the most well-known, and well-trod, paths in the world.

The Inca Trail once ran from Cuzco to the exclusive religious citadel of Machu Picchu, roughly 100 kilometers of well-preserved trail that the mighty Incas Empire used centuries ago.

Lush greenery is a common sight along the Inca Trail Cuzco to Machu Picchu

Now, the Inca Trail Trek from Cuzco is rarely walked completely. The vast majority of trekkers start at Piscacucho, KM82 on the train line from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu, nearly half-way through the Sacred Valley.

Inca Trail trekkers sign up in Cuzco with a tour agency, which then organizes bus transport to Piscacucho. It is manadory that you go with an INC registered tour group.

It is also mandatory that you obtain an Inca Trail permit. These permits sell out months in advance, especially for the high-season months June-August, so it is advised to book well in advance. The Inca Trail permit is necessary for both The Two Day Inca Trail and The Four Day Inca Trail treks. The numbers allowed on the Inca Trail is now limited to only 500 people per day.

What is today known as “The Inca Trail” is actually only one of many Inca trails that spans the Andean Inca Empire, which was at its height in the 15^th century when the Spanish conquistadors landed.

The Incas’s advanced and well-maintained road system was one of the reasons that the Tupac Inca Empire was able to spread out from Cusco as far north as Ecuador, and as far south as Chile and Argentina. The Inca trail network expedited goods and correspondence, and rest stops and guard posts were placed strategically along the way.

The Spanish also used the network extensively. The Inca outposts, towns, and cities within direct access of the Inca Trail were the ones most easily conquered. In a sense, the extensive network leading to the key Inca outposts of the Empire was part of its downfall.

However, Machu Picchu, the spectacular citadel high atop the Andes, was spared Spanish colonialization.

Walking the Inca Trail is one of the best experiences you can have in Peru. You arrive at the spectacular Sun Gate, the entrance to the mind-blowing Machu Picchu, at 5:30am, before all the crowds and just as the sun rises.

Until my first visit I always thought Machu Picchu was over-rated, but there is something special about the place. It’s calmness and setting are unique. It´s incredible to think that a civilization that did not even use the wheel was able to build such a city in a place that modern man still struggles to reach.

One top of the mountain, you feel separated from the world below and you are surrounded by great peaks that shoot up from he valley’s ground, with snow capped mountains peaking through in the distance.

I have visited the pyramids and tombs of Egypt and this place compares without any doubt as one of the great wonders of the world.

If you are interested in an Inca Trail Trek or a Cusco to Machu Picchu tour, check out this popular tour, Peru Packages: Heart of the Inca.