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Check the calendar below for availability, then click the “book now” button to get started.
The #1
Tour Operator of Peru
Tour Operator of Peru
2027 Inca Trail Availability & Permits
Important Booking Tips!
The majestic Inca Trail is one of the most important trails in the world. For many, this is a bucket list trip, and 2026 is the perfect time to cross this off your list. Get out of your routine to travel to Peru. The classic Inca Trail is an ideal trip for family, friends, fellow students, and more, as the total distance is 26 km/ 25 miles. Additionally, please let us know if you have a large number of travelers in your party, so we can accommodate you.
The Inca Trail is open to the public in 2026, but you must book early. Permits will go on sale the first week of October for 2025.
Alpaca Expeditions, a number 1 tour operator in the area, has daily departures for the classic Inca Trail. The 4 days and 3 nights option is the most popular, but we also have 5 days and 4 nights, 2 days and 1 night, and 7 days and 6 nights.
Trails are located in the Machu Picchu National Park and are highly regulated by the government. Permits are limited; therefore it is recommended not to wait. Simply fill out the brief form and put down a minimal deposit to secure your spot. Ensure all information is correct for ease of permit acquisition.
How to Reserve Your Inca Trail Hike
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Fill out your personal information and select the type of service and number of passengers for your trip.
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You can add extra services such as Huayna Picchu tickets, Machu Picchu Mountain tickets, and the ability to upgrade your train tickets.
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Review and accept our service policies before submitting the form; after submitting the form, you will have the option to pay USD 200 per person via PayPal.
Calendar 2027 Inca Trail Permit Availability
IMPORTANT TO NOTE: The Inca Trail Permit Availability Calendar will show 100% permit availability for 2027 until the Peruvian government starts releasing permits to tour operators, starting typically in Octuber of 2026. This does not mean that those spots all open! Tour operators are collecting permits now through fall and will secure permits as soon as they open. your trip dates as soon as possible to ensure you get permits. Alpaca Expeditions has a great success rate of getting permits for all our trekking guests. Reservations require only a $200 deposit.
If you don’t see permits for your ideal trip dates for the Inca Trail, we highly recommend exploring exceptional alternative treks around Peru! If you have any questions during this process, call or email our amazing bilingual team in Alpaca’s Cusco office!
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Inca Trail Hikes – Which One Should You Choose?
While our most popular tour is the 4-Day Inca Trail Trek to Machu Picchu, we have Inca Trail trips that range from 2 days to 7 days. Check our tour options below and choose the Inca Trail trek that best fits your interests!
Inca Trail Treks
Inca Trail (Classic) 4D/3N Group Tour + Vistadome Train Experience
per person
$835
4 Days / 3 Nights
Challenging
Inca Trail Treks
Inca Trail 4D/3N Private Tour
per person
$1,695
4 Days / 3 Nights
Moderate
Inca Trail Treks
Machu Picchu Inca Trail 5D/4N
per person
$995
$1,050
5 Days / 4 Nights
Moderate
⚡ Likely to sell out
Inca Trail Treks
2-Day Short Inca Trail Trek + Vistadome Train Experience with Hotel
per person
$585
2 Days / 1 Night
Moderate
Inca Trail Treks
Inca Trail + Salkantay Trek 7D/6N
per person
$1,195
$1,225
7 Days / 6 Nights
Challenging
Inca Trail Magazine – See Everything About the Inca Trail Tours
The pictures in this magazine are amazing, and somehow, it still doesn’t do the area justice. Download our Inca Trail magazine to get a peek into what you’ll see and experience on the Inca Trail!
Get Your Inca Trail Magazine here
Alternative Treks Around Peru – Salkantay, Lares, Rainbow Mountain & More
Alternative Treks, like Salkantay, Lares, Ausangate & Rainbow Mountain, and Choquequirao, are hiking tours that travel on historic footpaths that are not the Classic Inca Trail. As a result, they are less crowded, have more booking flexibility and availability, and do not require trail permits. They still end up at Machu Picchu, but not via hiking directly into the UNESCO mountaintop citadel. Not sure how all these treks compare to each other? Check out Which Trek is Right For Me
If there are no Inca Trail permits for your ideal dates, we highly recommend you explore our alternative treks, or book a year out.
WHY CHOOSE ALPACA EXPEDITIONS?
Local, Sustainable, Indigenous and Award-Winning #1 Tour Operator in Peru
Alpaca Expeditions is a 100% Peruvian, indigenous-owned company. Started by Raul Ccolque, a former porter and tour guide, Alpaca Expeditions is dedicated to both our customers and our team. We work very hard to ensure that all client needs are handled throughout the tour, from providing quality camping equipment and satellite phones to offering delicious chef-made food for every meal.
At the same time, we never forget about our brothers and sisters working tirelessly for us to make all of this possible. We pride ourselves in offering responsible and sustainable tourism that gives as much to our community as to our clients.
WHY TRAVEL WITH ALPACA EXPEDITIONS?
At Alpaca Expeditions, we take pride in being a local company based in Cusco , the tourism capital of Peru. Here, tourism is more than an industry—it’s the lifeblood of the community. Every journey we organize not only connects travelers to the rich history and culture of the Andes but also directly supports local families and fosters sustainable development.
+4
4 ISO Certifications + Green Footprint ISO
The only company with 4 ISO + Green FootPrint ISO, International Organization for Standarization
9001, 45001, 14001, 21101
+31K
31,000+ Excellent Tripadvisor Reviews
The only company with more than 31,000 excellent reviews on Tripadvisor
Join a small group of like-minded travelers
+Impact
Empowering Women
We empower women with real opportunities in tourism through training, employment, and leadership.
See our women's initiatives
+Care
Inca Trail Porter Welfare
We support our porters with fair treatment, safe working conditions, and real care on every trek.
Learn about porter welfare
+Support
Community Commitment
We support education, local social projects, and create a positive impact beyond tourism.
Explore our community work
+Pro
Top Hiking Logistics
We provide professional equipment and logistics for safe, comfortable, and well-organized treks in the Andes.
Discover our trek logistics
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
In Tripadvisor
March 18, 2026
We had a wonderful time with Juan visiting the Inca sites in Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Juan is very knowledgeable about the history and prehistory of the Inca civilization. He also knew all the best spots for pictures! We really appreciated his expertise.
March 17, 2026
In general: What an experience! Great guides, chefs, and porters. Alpaca Expeditions is a green company that pays close attention to their carbon footprint, sources their food locally, and has various programs that give back to their community. Bonus: they have a portable toilet that is well maintained and stocked with TP at all times. My personal experience: This is long, but hopefully helpful if you have any reservations about whether you can accomplish this trek! I arrived in Cuzco to acclimate 3 days early…however, I unfortunately succumbed to the altitude on day one of the actual hike and got worse on day 2 and 3. It is not lost on me that I was ONLY able to complete the trek because of the Alpaca team. The chef team, led by Cecilio, were very accommodating to my needs and prepared different teas to try to help me. Our groups guides, Alvin and Yojhan, were beyond encouraging and made sure I was safe the whole time. One of them was always with me even though I took twice as long as the rest of the group. >_< I can’t stress enough how important it is to have the right team supporting you in any situation. Their company’s back bone is stellar, but their actions during the hike showed me their heart is unbeatable.
March 17, 2026
I recently completed the 4-day Inca Trail with Alpaca Expeditions alongside my teenage daughters, and it exceeded every expectation. The weather was perfect all four days, which made the stunning views even better. Our guides, Yojhan and Alvin, were true experts, sharing deep insights into Incan history, the wildlife, and the flora and fauna of the area. They were incredibly patient and answered every question we had about Peru and more. From the start, they encouraged us to keep smiles on our faces and told us we’d become a "super family" by the end—and that is exactly what happened. The "super porters" worked tirelessly, and our chef Cecilio and his assistant cooked incredible meals for us along the way. Everything went perfectly to plan, and we finished the expedition with celebratory toasts and a shared album for photos with our new friends. I cannot recommend this team highly enough!
March 17, 2026
Muy buena experiencia con Alvin y Yojhan haciendo el camino Inka clásico. La comida que nos hizo Cecilio y Angelito estaba impresionante. Repetiría seguro!
March 17, 2026
The 4 day Inca trip was the best trip i have had in my lifetime. Beyond the scenic scenery everything has been well planned through. Alvin and Yohan were there for any possible inquries and shared a lot of nice insights along the inca trail. The food was better than any regular meal you can grab in town and was served three times a day by the amazing chef Cecilo and his crew. If you don’t do this trip you miss out.
Meet the AE Trekking Team!
Everyone on the Alpaca Team is from Cusco region, living the traditions and history they share with you while on one of our tours. Our guides are all graduates of university studying tourism, history and english. Our chefs are trained every February by a professional cooking team learning new meals, adding varieties of entrees for all types of eating. And all our porters are from HUARQUI, HUACAHUASI, PATACANCHA, QUISWARANI, CANCHACANCHA, QUEYUPAY, UMACHURCO and CCACCACCOLLO villages, very often working this job on top of maining their farms back at home. Most of our team has been with us for years, as we have the most loyal, hard working, happy employees in Cusco. We know how lucky we are to have the best team trekking and you will immediately fall in love with all the men and women who call Alpaca Expeditions their home.
Equality Matters
In these days of women’s empowerment around the world, Peru has fallen very short when it came to empowering Peru women. Especially in our villages and poorer areas, Peru women have been traditionally expected to be quiet and obedient. Peru Women are generally less educated, expected to marry young and raise their children. Very sadly […]
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Our Guides
Travelling and trekking along the mountains is one of the best activities in the World. Connecting with nature and conquering your own limits to get to the highest points of the creation can’t be beat by anything.But this activity needs to be supported by professionals and for that same reason we have our professional trekking […]
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Our Chefs
Trekking along the mountain on your way to conquer Machu Picchu is a once in a lifetime experience. Which won’t be possible to be done without our staff. Our guides and porters make the trek possible and provide all the needed help but the real secret behind our motto ‘’the journey is the destination’’ is […]
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Get Questions to Answers about Hiking the Inca Trail
ISO (Organización Internacional de Normalización)
In the pursuit to stand out from the rest, Alpaca Expeditions has obtained four ISOs plus our carbon footprint certificate to date. These achievements result from our efforts to implement the internationally-recognized integrated management system. They also represent our commitment to all of our clients and staff of operating sustainability and responsibility in every way possible.
Recognition & Excellence
TRIPADVISOR RECOGNITIONS
Our goal at Alpaca Expeditions is to create the best experience for all of our clients. We create journeys that are to be remembered for a lifetime. Journeys you can be proud of and can share with everybody around you.
#1
Tour Operator
in Peru
31,142+
5-Star Reviews
Superb . Amazing . Memorable 🫶
Words cannot express the way I feel about The Salkantay Trek 7days 6 nights with our awesome Guide - Group Leader Ismael, was one of the most memorable experiences that I will treasure in memory forever. Ismael’s knowledge and passion in sharing the history of his culture, and the surrounding landscape, the historical sites, coupled with the flora and fauna was outstanding. He conveyed it with such enthusiasm, zealous paired with great humour made it all the more memorable and interesting.
The food that nourished us day today was superb, Marcelino was and outstanding chef.
The rest of the Alpaca crew was amazing, from setting up our camp site, we couldn’t have done this without our Alpaca Familia.
Kudos to you all, and many thanks 🙏🏽 🙏🏽🙏🏽 for making this one of the most unforgettable experience of a lifetime. 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶
Viva Peru 🇵🇪 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Best trip ever with Raul and Edwin! We highly recommend this tour and these guides.
We had an amazing experience with our guides Raul Angel and Edwin. They took excellent care of our group the entire time!
Bucket list must if you love the outdoors
The hike was absolutely incredible. Our guides Raul Angel and Edwin were amazing! They were helpful, supportive and full of knowledge to share. I can’t rave about them enough. The food was sooo good. We ate like kings every night! If I could give 10 plus stars to our guides and the porters and chefs I would! This is a bucket list trip that is a must if you like adventure and beautiful scenery!
Great experience
Had an amazing experience with Rolando and Meliton as guides on the 4 day Inca expedition. They did a great job explaining the history of each Inca site we visited, and they kept hike very entertaining. We had lots of great food as well
Inca Trail 4 Day Hike
We did the four day/three night Inca trail with Ronaldo and Meliton and it was an amazing experience! They did a wonderful job as guides and if I come back for any future trips I will be requesting them! Thanks for a wonderful time in Peru!