Trekking to Machu Picchu: Inca Trail vs. Salkantay - A First-Timer's Guide (2026)

Few ruins anywhere repay the journey quite like Machu Picchu, and for many travellers the journey itself is the point. You can reach the citadel by train from Cusco or the Sacred Valley in a few comfortable hours - but arriving on foot, through mist and over a mountain pass, is a fundamentally different experience. The two most popular walking routes are the classic Inca Trail and the Salkantay Trek, and choosing between them is the first big decision of any Peru trip. Here is how they compare, and how to plan either one.

When to Go: Timing Your Trek

The Peruvian Andes have a simple rhythm. The dry season runs roughly from May to September, and it is the best window for both routes: stable weather, clear views and firm trails. April and October sit on either side of it as shoulder months - usually walkable, with a real chance of rain. From November to March the rains arrive in earnest.

Two calendar facts matter more than any forecast. First, the Inca Trail closes entirely every February for maintenance, so the wettest month is also the one with no permits at all. Second, if you are reading this in late September or October, you are at the tail of the dry season - one of the last reliably dry windows of the year, and noticeably quieter on the trail than June through August. Nights at altitude are cold in every month, so pack for near-freezing mornings regardless of when you go.

The Inca Trail: The Classic, Permits and All

The four-day Classic Inca Trail is the route most people picture: roughly 43 kilometres (about 26 miles) of original stone Inca roadway, climbing over the 4,215-metre Dead Woman's Pass, passing several smaller ruins along the way, and finishing on the final morning at Inti Punku, the Sun Gate, as the citadel appears below at first light. Nothing else puts you in Machu Picchu quite so dramatically.

How the permit system works

The trail is capped at 500 people per day, and that figure includes guides, cooks and porters - only around 200 of the slots actually go to trekkers. You cannot walk it independently: every group must go with a licensed operator, and every permit is tied to a specific date and passport number. For the May-to-September window, permits routinely sell out five to seven months ahead, so booking is the first thing you should do, not the last. If your passport changes between booking and departure, tell your operator immediately so they can update the permit.

What it costs

Because an operator is mandatory, the Inca Trail is the pricier option - typically somewhere around US$700–900 per person for a four-day group trek with porters, food and camping equipment included. Higher-end operators charge more, and bargain operators that underpay their porters exist, so ask any company directly how they treat their teams before you hand over a deposit.

The Salkantay Trek: The Wild Alternative

The Salkantay is longer and wilder: around 70 kilometres over five days, crossing the 4,630-metre Salkantay Pass beneath the 6,271-metre glacier of Nevado Salkantay, then descending out of the high Andes into orchid-filled cloud forest before finishing at the small railhead of Hidroeléctrica. From there it is a mostly flat three-hour walk along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. Many itineraries add a side hike to the turquoise Humantay Lake or a soak in the hot springs near Santa Teresa.

The practical differences are just as important as the scenery. Salkantay requires no trekking permit, there is no daily cap, and you can walk it independently or with an agency - agency treks typically start from roughly US$250–500 depending on group size and comfort level, which makes it the budget-friendly choice. The trade-off is altitude and exposure: the pass sits over 400 metres higher than Dead Woman's Pass, and there is no permit system quietly limiting how many people are up there with you.

Which One Is Right for You?

• Choose the Inca Trail if you want the famous finish through the Sun Gate, you love the idea of walking on original Inca stone, and you can book many months ahead and pay more.
• Choose Salkantay if permits are already sold out (they usually are by the time most people start planning), you want more dramatic and varied scenery, you are comfortable at higher altitude, or you are travelling on a tighter budget.
• Consider other routes if neither fits: the Lares Trek trades ruins for traditional weaving villages, the shorter "jungle trek" mixes downhill biking with a raft trip, and the tough Choquequirao Trek rewards the very fit with a far larger sister city that sees a fraction of Machu Picchu's visitors.

Acclimatisation Is Not Optional

Both routes start high. Cusco sits at 3,400 metres, and the trailheads are higher still. Give yourself at least two to three full days in Cusco or the Sacred Valley before your first day of walking - and if you can, spend your first night in the valley rather than the city, because Ollantaytambo, at around 2,800 metres, lets your body adjust more gently. Take the first days slowly, drink more water than feels reasonable, and go easy on alcohol. Many trekkers swear by coca tea; whatever you think of it, it is on sale in every market in Cusco. Mild headaches and breathlessness are normal at this altitude, but if symptoms turn severe, descend - that is the only reliable cure.

Booking Machu Picchu Itself

Whichever route you take, you still need an entrance ticket for the citadel, and that is separate from anything you book for the trail. Entry is by timed ticket, and each ticket follows a fixed one-way circuit through the site, so choose your circuit when you book. The famous Huayna Picchu climb - the green peak in the background of every classic photo - needs its own separate ticket and sells out furthest in advance. Bring the same passport you booked with; the name on your ticket must match it at the gate.

From Aguas Calientes, a shuttle bus takes about 25–30 minutes up the winding road to the entrance, or you can climb the steep staircase on foot in around 90 minutes. Most people bus up before dawn and walk back down after.

Getting There and Getting Back

Fly Lima to Cusco - about an hour and a half - and build the acclimatisation days in before your trek. Trains from Cusco or, more usually, Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes are run by two main operators, PeruRail and IncaRail, with everything from basic carriages to panoramic-window services; booking a few weeks ahead usually beats walk-up fares. The genuinely budget option is the Hydroelectric route: a combination of buses and shared vans from Cusco via Santa Teresa to the Hidroeléctrica stop, then the three-hour track walk - the same way Salkantay trekkers finish their route.

What to Pack

• Broken-in hiking boots - new boots and a 4,000-metre pass do not mix
• Layers you can add and shed: warm days on the trail, near-freezing nights and mornings at the passes
• A waterproof shell, whatever the season says
• Sun protection - the UV at altitude is fierce even on grey days
• A headlamp for pre-dawn starts, plus a water filter or purification tablets
• Peruvian soles in cash for tips, toilets and village stalls along the way

The Rest of the Sacred Valley

Do not treat the Sacred Valley as merely the corridor to the trailhead. Pisac's hillside ruins and famous market, the fortress above Ollantaytambo, the experimental agricultural terraces of Moray and the salt pans of Maras all sit within an easy day trip of Cusco, and most are covered by the Boleto Turístico, Cusco's combined tourist ticket that stays valid for ten days. The salt pans themselves need a separate small ticket. Building these days in before your trek doubles as acclimatisation time - the rare case where the responsible plan and the interesting plan are the same one.

The Bottom Line

If your dates and budget allow, the Inca Trail is a genuine bucket-list experience and the Sun Gate finish earns its reputation. If permits are gone, your budget is tight, or you simply want wilder country underfoot, Salkantay is not a consolation prize - plenty of trekkers who have walked both prefer it. Whichever you choose, the planning that matters most happens months before you lace your boots: permits, entrance tickets and acclimatisation time. Get those three right, and the mountain does the rest.