Why Book your Inca Trail Trek with Alpaca Expeditions…?
1. #1 Inca Trail Trek Provider in Peru
Alpaca Expeditions is the number 1 tour operator for all treks that lead to Machu Picchu, especially when it comes to the Inca Trail. We have been ranked #1 on TripAdvisor for 7 years in a row with more than 5,000 5 star reviews. This is a result of a superior quality of our service and endless dedication to our team and community. The Inca Trail requires a tremendous amount of logistics, all handled by our team so you can focus on the views and your hike.
2. 100% LOCAL COMPANY – LOCAL STAFF, LOCAL OWNER AND LOCAL OPERATOR
Alpaca Expeditions is a local company based in Cusco city. Our office is located half block away from the main square and easy to walk and in the center of Cusco. We are direct operator and operate all our own treks: we will never put you into another operator even if we end up with a small group. Tours are never cancelled unless natural catastrophe. Our entire staff are from Cusco. They are all extremely well trained and ready to provide the best quality of service – responsibly and punctual.
3. BOOKING SYSTEM
Simple and clear booking system allows you to comfortably reserve your tour with ease. You receive an itemized invoice within 24 hours of booking showing clearly what you are signed up for. A full sales team is ready to answer any questions.
4. HIKE BRIEFING
Join us at our conveniently located office, close to the center of Cusco, for a 45 minute briefing before all camping treks. Briefings are at 6:30 with your trekking guide and last for 45 minutes. We will answer all last minute questions and hand out your duffel bags that will be carried by the porters.
5. DUFFLE BAGS , BACKCOVERS, PONCHOS, & PERSONAL PORTER
Most of our competitors charge extra for a personal porter to carry your belongings, but not Alpaca. In order to make your trek as comfortable as possible, we include this service in our price. We provide a duffel that can be packed up to 7kg/15lbs of your personal items needed outside of hiking times so you can just carry your daypack of necessities and keep it as light as possible. We also offer free daypack covers to keep your bag dry in case of rain and plastic ponchos. These are recycled and reused.
6. HOTEL TO HOTEL SERVICE
No other company offers this service. We will pick you up directly from your hotel before the trek and drop you back at your hotel at the end. Cusco streets are historically narrow and difficult to pass through, but we will make the special effort to get to you to make this vacation hassle free for you.
7. AMAZING MEALS
We include your meals from your very first breakfast on Day 1 until your last breakfast…always with variety of healthy and delicious meals. We cater to all food restrictions and make sure everyone has something tasty to eat. Only your last lunch in Aguas Calientes after Machu Picchu is not included.
8. WELL PAID STAFF
It is our job to take care of our team and we take this seriously. We offer everyone at Alpaca Expeditions a better salary so that they can live comfortably. And it is very obvious upon meeting our team that they are happy, dedicated and proud of their work.
9. PORTER WELFARE
We treat with respect our Porters. They have the hardest job on the inca trail and we work hard to make sure they are repaid for their commitment. We provide a place for them to sleep safely and comfortably in Cusco and soon in the Sacred Valley. We provide all hiking uniforms and equipment to them for free including hiking belts, boots, warm jackets, down sleeping bags and tents to sleep in.
10. EQUALITY FOR ALL
Tourism is the number 1 industry in Cusco, but historically most jobs have only been open to men. We are working hard to include more and more women in our company in every role…management, guides, chefs and now porters. In 2018 we started our WOMEN EMPOWERMENT initiative opening our doors to our first group of female porters. That number has grown by almost 5 times in 2019 and we hope it continues to grow. We make sure the experience is comfortable and safe for our female porters. We have training sessions to make sure both men and women teammates work side by side with respect. Being a porter is a hard job and not all women are interested in such exhausting work, but those who do seem to love it.
11. EQUIPMENT
We use top quality equipment that makes our clients as comfortable as possible. Spacious 4 man Eureka tents are shared by 2, Therm-a-Rest air matts, Black Diamond Walking Sticks. All top quality.
12. PORTABLE PRIVATE TOILETS
Public toilets are terrible on the Inca Trail, cleaned only once a day and with piles of toilet paper. Our company has introduced private portable ecological toilets for only our groups to use. They are set up for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
13. SATELITTLE PHONES, OXIMETERS, TENSIOMETERS
We are the only company that carries these very important safety devices on all our treks. And we are the only company that has satellite phones that are extremely helpful in emergencies or can just be fun to use to contact your family from the top of a mountain.
14. SOCIALLY CONCIOUS
We are dedicated to our community and environment. We believe that the company should not only focus on how much we grow as business , but on our neighbors and community. We dedicate shares of our income on important social projects focusing on making the lives of our porters and their families better. We bring doctors and dentists to them, we celebrate special moments with clowns and fun activities for their kids, we plant trees in their village, we donate warm jackets and boots. And this year we have donated a year’s salary to the school to make sure they have a professor of English, literature and mathematics. She will teach 150 children at Llullcha community. She plans on sending us monthly reports of how the kids are doing and we hope to share these online.
15. ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY
Alpaca Expeditions always has pachama on our mind. We use ZERO plastic…everything we use is reusable and recyclable. We ask our clients to leave plastic ponchos and daypack covers at home, because we supply and reuse ours. We try to create as little waste as possible and lead treks just to clean our trails throughout the year. We have planted more than 10,000 queuna trees in more than 5 villages along the Sacred Valley and Ausangate area. Quena trees are the only native tree from the Andes and according to studies, it’s one of the few trees that helps to protect soil and water on the hills.
16. FIRST AID
Our guides are extremely well trained in different safety and health emergencies that can come up during one of our hikes. Each guide will have a fully stocked First Aid Kit complete with medications required by law, thermometers, oximeters, blood pressure cuffs, bandages, etc. However we still suggest to bring your own first aid with your preferred medications and remedies.
17. OXYGEN TANK
Each of our guides will carry a full tank of oxygen. Passing over 4200M can literally take your breath away and we are here to help anyone in need at any time.
18. BEST STAFF
Of course this should not be last…this is what truly separates us from the rest. We have the most passionate guides, precise chefs and dedicated porters. Our office staff works endlessly answering questions and preparing our clients for their adventure. Our drivers are prompt and courteous. We believe that every question should be answered with yes and a smile and we are so happy to show you our home. As the owner of Alpaca Expeditions, I am honored that my team works so hard for me and for you. Meeting foreigners and learning from our clients is a pleasure…share a story from home and we will teach you about our ancestors.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
In Tripadvisor
October 9, 2026
Wir haben den 5D/4N Inka Trail gemacht und waren super zufrieden mit der Betreuung. Einen besonderen Dank möchten wir unserem Koch Melquiades aussprechen, der trotz Unverträglichkeiten super leckeres Essen auf den Tisch gezaubert hat. Danke auch an unseren Porter Romulo und sein Team für das Tragen und Aufbauen des Camps. Wir empfehlen Alpaca und besonders die 5-Tages-Tour jedem weiter!
October 8, 2026
I loved my experience with alpaca expeditions! I did the 4 day/3 night Inca trail, which has been a dream of mine for a long time. The trip met and exceeded all my expectations. My guides Fletcher and Emerson were wonderful, so knowledgeable & helpful and really made the whole experience better. The food was delicious, the scenery was beautiful. Couldn’t be more happy with my experience.
October 8, 2026
The adventure was absolutely awesome! Both guides – Fletcher and Emerson were incredibly informative, helpful and funny. All the rest of the crew were well organized, super-professional and nice. Porters are real heros, doing so much work for us. I will recommend the company and the crew to all my friends 🤙 If you want to take on the Inca Trail – don’t think twice. Alpaca is the top of the top! ❤️
October 8, 2026
I loved the trip. It was well organized. The chef was incredible. The service from the porters was mind blowing. Machu picchu is so incredible. Trip of a life time!!
October 8, 2026
Spent the last 4 days and 3 nights hiking the Inca trail and visiting Machu Picchu with Alpaca expeditions. Everything was amazing. Door to door service, clear explanations of the plan each day, amazing food and kind, hardworking porters. Fletcher and Emerson were the best guides. Explaining what we were seeing and being fun, great people. Fletcher even took the time to help me find and identify birds along the way as it’s a special interest of mine. Could not have asked for a better team or experience.
5.0
Out of
5 stars
5 stars
Excepcional trek por los Andes hacia Machu Picchu
He realizado el Camino Inka con “alpaca EXPEDITIONS” (4 días/3 noches). Organización perfecta con un dispositivo VIP. Tuvimos unos guías muy profesionales, Javier Arizabal y David. Durante todo el camino Javier nos proporcionó muchas explicaciones sobre la cultura Inka y sobre cada monumento o templo que descubríamos por el recorrido. Una lección de historia inestimable, un ejemplo de turismo deportivo y cultural. El equipo de cocina de Julián, nos proporcionó unos desayunos, comidas y cenas en las alturas de los Andes propios del mejor restaurante de Cuzco. Recalco el mejor “Ají de gallina” que he comido en Perú, mejor que en todos los restaurantes de Lima o Cuzco donde he comido. El equipo de porteadores, siempre alegres, y siempre súper profesionales, a nuestra llegada por la tarde en cada campamento, todas las tiendas montadas perfectamente con nuestra bolsa de viaje colocada, el comedor y baño portátil preparados para nuestro descanso después de muchas horas de camino. Incluso a mediodía en las cumbres altas de los Andes (a más de 4000 metros de altura) teníamos nuestro comedor y baño montados y una comida exquisita esperándonos. No se puede pedir más, muchas gracias a “alpaca EXPEDITIONS” por haberme proporcionado el mejor trek que he hecho en mi vida.
Unforgettable Experience
An unforgettable experience, couldn’t recommend Alpaca Expeditions enough! 🏔️ What an incredible experience and one we will never forget! A massive thank you to our amazing guides, Raúl and Joel, who truly made this experience what it was. They were absolutely incredible from start to finish! Any questions we had, they always had the answers, and they made us all feel like one big family. They genuinely went above and beyond throughout the whole trek, making sure everyone was happy, comfortable and enjoying every moment. From the 4am pick-up on the first day to meeting us at the train station at the very end to make sure we were okay, they were there for us every step of the way. We couldn’t have asked for better guides! The whole experience was so well organised, and we genuinely didn’t have to worry about a thing. Every little detail was taken care of, from our luggage to the amazing food to even helping us secure better tickets for Machu Picchu. Nothing was ever too much trouble! The Salkantay Trek itself was honestly one of the most incredible things we’ve ever done, made even more special by the amazing team at Alpaca Expeditions. We couldn’t recommend this experience enough to anyone thinking of doing it. We’re so grateful to Raúl, Joel and the whole team for making it such an unforgettable adventure. Thank you so much! Amber & Daniel
Love the views and the history…had awkward tipping experience
Would do this again and hopefully we can do the classic trail if we ever go back. Great communication and guide (Reynaldo). Our trip was very informative. Amazing views and history! Had a little mishap regarding our duffel bags at the end of the tour but Rey finally found it. One or two negatives I may say and I have seen it from other review as well is the awkwardness around tipping for the porter and cooks. It is optional but feels like mandatory. My husband and I are a huge tipper but it is off putting most of the time, if not all the time, when asked for a certain amount. Our group definitely appreciate all the food served but it was too much food considering that we just hike for hours and will hike right after eating. Based on our previous hikes in Salkantay Pass and in Humantay Lake, the appetite for huge meal is not there after a big hike. Unless, given an appropriate time to rest before eating, that would be a different scenario.
Mucho Awesome
Fantastic trip our tour guides Ivan and Edwin were amazing. Would 100% recommend
Beyond my expectations!
Our experience with Alpaca was fantastic from start to finish. Our guides Ivan & Edwin went above and beyond for us to ensure we had the best 5 days. We felt safe, and in good hands at all times. We appreciated Ivan’s cultural knowledge & way of explaining things that was passionate and engaging & Edwin also brought lots of fun to the group. Both Ivan & Edwin really made our trip and made a great team. The trek surpassed my expectations, and we would highly recommend!