Before hiking the Inca Trail, I did not do a whole lot of research on what each day would be like. All I researched was what to pack, so I went into the trek pretty blindly. I wasn’t sure what the toilets would be like or how steep or flat different sections were. So I am here to educate you, so that you don’t go into it blindly.
Day 1 AM
This will be the easiest and the hardest part at the same time. It is fairly flat, you just have to get your body in gear. If it is sunny and hot, there are many covered areas with benches to sit and rest and have a drink or snack along the way. At this point in the trek, the toilets are plentiful, clean and some even have toilet paper! At some resting points there will be people selling drinks and snacks. But don’t hesitate, this may be your last chance at a Gatorade or Snickers bar.
Day 1 PM
And the climbing begins. These are pretty steady climbs, nothing too steep. Enough to leave you out of breath though. When you reach your first campsite you’ll be pretty freaking happy. This is when all your introductions are made to your crew and you take a group shot, since this is totally a group effort. We were able to buy beers from locals at our campsite to celebrate the end of our first day! The bathrooms at all of the campsites are Eastern-style toilets and there will be running water for the chefs to boil and cook with. On this day your poles aren’t really needed, but you will definitely need them for day 2.
Day 2 AM
Your wakeup call is at around 5:30am, you use the bathroom real quick, get dressed and head to the food tent for breakfast. By 6:30am you are on the trail. This is by far the hardest section of the Inca Trail. You go from about 11,000 ft to 14,000 ft in just a few hours. But, the view at the top is so worth it. After enjoying the view and catching your breath for a bit, you head back down aways to where you will have lunch. This can be tough on the toes and knees, use your poles.
Day 2 PM
There’s another steep incline right after lunch, but the views at the top of this one are also pretty amazing. After enjoying the views, it’s back down again. Eventually you will reach an Inca site and you will be able to see your campsite from there. This is going to be your longest day if you are going with Intrepid Travel. They go further than most groups on the second day, so that you have free time to explore on the third day. Once you reach the campsite, you are going to be pretty freaking proud of yourself and super tired. This was the most impressive campsite, I could have stayed there forever.
Day 3 AM
This section was a rainy one for us, but luckily it was a pretty flat one. At this point, the toilets are basically just a glorified hole in the ground. On this section you will pass through a few Inca sites, learn about the history of them and move on to the next. Because it was raining we did not spend a whole lot of time at the first couple of Inca sites. Halfway through this section the trail thinned out and we pretty much had the trail to ourselves. As we reached the last Inca site before the camp site the rain became just a mist. This made for a really cool foggy, jungle seen for the hike and exploring the last Inca site.
Day 3 PM
This afternoon is a relaxed one if you’re with Intrepid Travel. This is when you get the chance to shower if you want to, keep in mind it is a cold shower. Once we dried out and ate lunch, we were given some free time to go explore Wiñay Wayna or rest. I obviously jumped on the opportunity to go explore some more. Wiñay Wayna was honestly my favorite Inca site, even over Machu Picchu. It is just as impressive, but was virtually empty. I was able to take some pretty awesome pictures and relish in the absence of people.
Day 4 AM
And the last leg to Machu Picchu begins at the @$$ crack of dawn. Seriously, wake up call was at 3:30am just to get in line. The gate to climb up to the Sun Gate opens up at 5am. People start lining up very early because they want to be the first to get to Machu Picchu. It took us about 2 hours to reach the Sun Gate and the view from up there is stunning. We had a beautiful, sunny day and the view looking down upon Machu Picchu was breathtaking.
Day 4 PM
After exploring Machu Picchu, you take the bus down to the town of Aguas Calientes. Here you can grab lunch and do some shopping before taking the train back to the Sacred Valley.
Food
The food was surprisingly very good on the trail. I give these guys a lot of credit for carrying all the supplies and creating amazing meals with what they’ve got. We would start dinner with tea and a snack such as popcorn. Next, we would have a soup, my favorite was the vegetable quinoa soup. After that was the main course, which usually consisted of a meat protein with rice and veggies. You even got dessert! I have some food restrictions and they were very accommodating and for that I am extremely grateful.
Toilets
You will need to bring some loose change with you because some toilets along the way charge you 1 or 2 Sol. There will be a few Western-style toilets earlier on in the trek, but the majority will be Eastern-style toilets. Be prepared to squat and bring your own toilet paper or wipes! For the most part there will not be garbages and you will have to pack out your own trash, I used a stasher bag for this.
All in all, the Inca Trail was an amazing experience. It did not feel busy, you are fully immersed in nature and the blood, sweat and tears are totally worth it!
Don’t forget to book your trip with your favorite travel planner, yours truly. If you found this blog post useful, check out What to Pack for the Inca Trail!
