Important info for Inca Trail to Machupicchu.
*Since 2004, the number of trek permits is limited to 500 per day (about 200 tourists and 300 trekking staff) so if you want to do this trek it is VITAL to book well in advance. For the high season (May to September) it advisable to book at least 3 months in advance to guarantee a place. Permits are sold on a first come, first served basis, and once all places have been booked, NO trekking operator can offer you a space on the Inca Trail. There is no system with a waiting list. All spaces are personal and non-transferable and even if someone would cancel, no one else could take that space. Even in the low season you should book as far in advance as possible. Please also note that the Inca Trail is closed in February of each year for maintenance.
Inca Trail booking advice:
When you book, you need to send us:
- Full name and nationality as in passport.
- Passport number.
- A photocopy of your passport or a scan of your passport.
- If you are a student, YOU MUST scann us you ISIC card.
- Downpayment of 50% of the total amount.
Preparation for your hike
http://www.incatrail-peru.com/inka-trail/img_web/zoom/incatrail_hikers.jpgThe number of trek permits is limited to 500 per day (about 200 tourists and 300 trekking staff) and it is NOT possible to do the trek independenly, not even by contracting a guide. If you want to do the trek it is VITAL to book well in advance at a professional travel agency (preferably a tour operator). For the high season (May to September) it advisable to book at least 3 months in advance to guarantee a place. Permits are sold on a first come, first served basis, and once all places have been booked, No trekking operator can offer you a space on the Inca Trail. There is no system with a waiting list. All spaces are personal and non-transferable and even if someone would cancel, no one else could take that space. Even in the low season you should book as far in advance as possible. Please also note that the Inca Trail is closed in February of each year for maintenance.The tour packages include tents, mattresses, and meals and the only thing you need to take is a small backpack with your clothes, and personal items, like a sleeping bag and a torch. It is important to take a plastic poncho or jacket for the rain, especially in the months November to March.
In regard to safe drinking water, it is possible to buy bottles of water during the first two days, but on the third day it is necessary to purify water, for this we recommend that you carry purifying tablets or drops to make the water safe to drink.
We suggest you Bring:
- A Back Pack and Sleeping Bag
- Hiking Shoe sand Long Pants
- T-shirts that you can layer
- Warm clothes, including jacket, fleece, sweaters and 4 pairs of socks
- A Rain Jacket or a Poncho
- Plastic bags to store your spare clothes
- Flashlight and Batteries, pocket knife
- A Water Bottle & water purifying tablets
- A Hat and beanie to protect you from the sun and the cold
- Gloves and scarf for the nights
- Sun Block & Insect Repellent
- Toilet Paper
- Some extra snacks (biscuits, energy bars, chocolate)
- Towel
- Swimsuit (recommend for the hot springs)
- Some cash (there is no ATM in Aguas Calientes)
- TIPS for porters, guides, cooks - (please see note below)
- Personal medical kit
- Original passport and ISIC Card (if you have one). Photocopies are not acceptable.
We also suggest that if you are going to do the Inca Trail that you have spent 2 days in Cusco or at high altitude in order to have acclimatised and be ready for the trail in respect to altitude.
Rules of use of the Inca Trail:
- The flora and fauna are natural World Heritage and we must not disturb the animals or cut the plants or flowers.
- Use only the marked paths without leaving them for any reason
- Camp in marked areas, you cannot camp inside of the archaeological sites or in restricted zones.
- Rubbish and waste should be carried out in plastic bags and disposed of at the end of your trek.
- Campfires are dangerous and are not permitted
- Archaeological sites are intangible and for this reason you should not leave the path.
- In the case of emergency follow the instructions of the person in charge.
General Information of Machupicchu:
These brothers investigated why Machu Picchu was constructed in its’ location and came up with some revoluntionary discoveries. The Incas had a cosmological vision of their existence, following the myths and legends and everything was sacred. Sacred was connected with the word, “huaca” which had a range of meanings, and could mean something sacred, a temple, consecrated place, things that appeared to http://www.incatrail-peru.com/inka-trail/img_web/zoom/machupicchu_living_quarters.jpg exist out of the natural order, and things notable because of their exceptional beauty or excellence, or things that became sacred because of their natural energy, like sculptures of humans, of animals etc.
In addition, the Incas had a parallel meaning for the Huaca – that of Huauque or brother. For example, they saw the Valley of the Urubamba like a reflexion of the Milky Way, el Mayu. The abundance of sacred elements found at Machu Picchu confirms the conviction that the Incas constructed a sacred city like a place of pilgrimage or sanctuary. The signs constructed by the Incas, known as the the sign of the Inca, was probably the chronological order followed by the Incas before they found the place in which they http://www.incatrail-peru.com/inka-trail/img_web/zoom/machupicchu_inti_huatana.jpg built Machu Picchu. Like a reclining jewel this city in the centre of the surrounding peaks and circled by the Vilcanota River that twists around the city like an enormous serpent down to the tropical rainforest.
The mountain Machu Picchu (and the same city that is situated at its foot) and the mountain Huayna Picchu upwards makes a belt around this magical place. The higher mountains around represent a second belt. The Incas believed that this place was chosen by the cosmos to construct a sacred city. In the Inti Raymi (24th June) there appears a triangle in two concentric circles carved inot the Intihuatana that signals to Machu Picchu).
Terms and Conditions of trip, 2011
