Luxury Inca TrailInca Trail Trek: 4 Days and 3 Nights with AB Expeditions
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The classic Inca Trail trek covers roughly 42 kilometres (26 miles) from Km 82, a figure some operators put closer to 45 to the Sun Gate and Machu Picchu, and this listing from AB Expeditions walks it in 4 days and 3 nights at $998 per person. It carries 1,047 reviews at a 5.0 rating on Viator, which makes it one of the most reviewed options among the luxury Inca Trail tours on this site. The Inca Trail permit and the Machu Picchu Circuit 1 ticket are both in the price, along with a porter who carries up to 7 kg of your belongings and a private hotel pickup in Cusco. This page sets out what that money buys, what it leaves out, and which travellers should book a different listing instead.
About This Tour
AB Expeditions runs this classic Inca Trail trek from Km 82 for small groups, with a professional English-speaking guide, a chef and a porter team. Tents sleep two people on foam mattresses, and a dining tent carries tables, chairs and a toilet. A personal duffel and porter service moves up to 7 kg of your gear.
The trek ends with roughly two hours of guided time at Machu Picchu on a Circuit 1 ticket, then the bus down to Aguas Calientes and the Expedition train to Ollantaytambo. Private pickup and drop-off at your Cusco hotel bookends the trip.
$998 per person, listed on Viator with a 5.0 rating from 1,047 reviews
4 days and 3 nights, all of them camping, with no hotel night
The booking data allows up to 12, the description says 2 to 8 people maximum. Shared service, not private
3-season tents for two with foam mattresses, a dining tent with tables, chairs and a toilet. No hotel night
Expedition train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo in the afternoon, with a Vistadome upgrade for $20
Sleeping bag $20, walking sticks $20, Huayna Picchu $65, lunch on day 4, hot springs entrance in Aguas Calientes $5 and tips. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund
Check Dates and Availability
Permits are issued per person and per passport and the trail closes every February, so confirm your date before you commit. The widget below shows live departure times and remaining spaces for this listing.
From $998 per person · 4 days · 5.0★ (1,047 reviews)
You'll confirm the exact date and time on the secure booking page.
Quick answer Price, inclusions and fit at a glance
This 4-day, 3-night Inca Trail trek costs $998 per person and includes the Inca Trail permit, the Machu Picchu Circuit 1 ticket, a porter for 7 kg of gear and the Expedition train back.
Key takeaways
- Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure, though permits cannot move to another person. See the permit rules.
- It is a small-group trek, not a private one. Travellers wanting private service should look at the Private 5-Day Inca Trail.
- Sleeping bag, walking sticks, Huayna Picchu, day 4 lunch and tips are all paid extra. Details in the price breakdown.
- Want to compare it against the rest of the market? The luxury Inca Trail tours lines up every listing.
What the Price Actually Covers
The $998 covers most of what a trekker has to pay, but not all of it. The table below splits the headline items into what is included, what is rented and what you settle on the day, using only the AB Expeditions listing.
Included in the $998
The listing includes the Inca Trail permit and the Machu Picchu entrance ticket for Circuit 1. Also in the price are the private hotel pickup and drop-off in Cusco, private transport from Cusco to Km 82, a professional English-speaking guide, a chef and porter team, 3-season tents for two with foam mattresses, a dining tent with tables, chairs and a toilet, a personal duffel with porter service for up to 7 kg, all meals on the trail (3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners) with boiled drinking water from day 2, the bus from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes and the Expedition train to Ollantaytambo in the afternoon.
Smaller items add up too: a rain poncho, a daypack cover, water for basic washing, safe luggage storage in Cusco, an Inca Trail T-shirt, a pre-departure briefing, satellite phone, radio communication, a first aid kit and emergency oxygen. The ticket is sent automatically after booking.
- Inca Trail permit and Machu Picchu Circuit 1 ticket
- About 2-hour guided tour of Machu Picchu
- Bus to Aguas Calientes and Expedition train to Ollantaytambo
- Porter service for up to 7 kg of personal gear
- Satellite phone, first aid kit and emergency oxygen
What You Pay Extra
The sleeping bag and walking sticks rent at $20 each, and the Vistadome train upgrade costs $20 over the included Expedition class. Huayna Picchu is $65 if you want to add the climb. Lunch on day 4 after Machu Picchu is not included, nor is the $5 entrance to the hot springs in Aguas Calientes.
Tips are listed as optional, and no mandatory extras are stated in the listing.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Inca Trail permit | Yes | Tied to your passport and non-transferable |
| Machu Picchu Circuit 1 ticket | Yes | About 2-hour guided tour |
| Cusco hotel pickup and Km 82 transport | Yes | Private vehicle |
| Tents, mattresses, toilet tent, dining tent | Yes | Two people per 3-season tent |
| All trail meals | Yes | 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners, boiled water from day 2 |
| Bus and Expedition train back | Yes | Afternoon train to Ollantaytambo, then to your Cusco hotel |
| Vistadome train upgrade | No | $20 extra |
| Sleeping bag and walking sticks | No | $20 each to rent |
| Huayna Picchu | No | $65 extra |
| Lunch on day 4 | No | Buy in Aguas Calientes |
| Hot springs entrance | No | $5 in Aguas Calientes |
| Tips | No | Optional, not stated |
How the Price Sits in the Market
At $998 this is a mid-price shared trek with the permit, ticket and train all covered. The Premium 4-Day Inca Trail Trek at $1,499 leaves the return train out of its price, and the full-service Luxury 4-Day Inca Trail at $6,222 is a private trek with massage therapists and wine pairings but no refunds. If you want the most reviewed listing on the site instead, the 4-Day Inca Trail with Vistadome Train has 11,562 reviews.
Sources: UNESCO, Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Wikipedia, Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
A camp below Patallacta, the first big Inca site on day 1. Photo: Christoph Strässler, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
How the Trek Runs, Day by Day
The listing does not print a full hour-by-hour itinerary, so this section sticks to what AB Expeditions states plus the fixed points of the route.
A private vehicle collects you at your Cusco hotel and drives to Km 82, the Inca Trail start. The drive from Cusco to Ollantaytambo is about 61 kilometres and takes about 1 hour 40 minutes, and Piscacucho at Km 82 sits about 3 hours from Cusco by bus via Ollantaytambo. The guide checks permits at the trail control and the group walks the first stage to camp.
The exact camp is not stated in the listing.
Day 2 is the hardest day. The climb from camp to Dead Woman's Pass (Warmiwanusca) takes 4 to 5 hours and the pass tops out at roughly 4,200 to 4,215 metres depending on the source, the highest point of the trail. The whole route gains about 2,500 metres (8,200 feet) of elevation,.
The porter carries your 7 kg duffel so you walk with a daypack only. Read more on Dead Woman's Pass.
The trail crosses the Runkurakay and Phuyupatamarca ruins and descends through cloud forest toward Winay Wayna, the usual last camp before Machu Picchu. The listing does not name its camps, so treat this as the standard shape of the classic route rather than a promise. The dining tent, toilet and chef service run every night.
Day 4, the Sun Gate, Machu Picchu and the Way Back
The final morning walks to the Sun Gate (Inti Punku) at about 2,720 to 2,745 metres depending on the source, roughly 2 km from the Machu Picchu entrance, for the first view of the citadel. The guided tour at Machu Picchu runs about 2 hours on Circuit 1. Then the included bus drops to Aguas Calientes, where lunch is on you, and the Expedition train leaves in the afternoon for Ollantaytambo, a journey of about 1 hour 30 minutes.
Private transport then returns you to your Cusco hotel. More on the Sun Gate.
Complete Four Day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Ruins, food and camps over four days. Third-party video by Everything Travel with John. This site did not shoot it and has no relationship with the creator.
Who This Tour Rules Out
The listing states its own limits clearly, and some of them are hard lines. Here is who should not book it, and what to book instead.
AB Expeditions asks for a high level of physical fitness and does not recommend the trek for pregnant travellers, people with spinal injuries or anyone with poor cardiovascular health. Day 2 over Dead Woman's Pass is the reason. Altitude sickness can appear from about 2,500 metres and the pass sits at roughly 4,200 to 4,215 metres depending on the source.
If three cold camp nights and a long climb sound like too much, the short Inca Trail from Km 104 reaches the Sun Gate in 2 days with a hotel night instead.
The listing takes bookings for travellers aged 8 to 17 as children and 18 to 65 as adults. If you are older than 65, check with the operator before booking. The service is shared, with the booking data allowing up to 12 and the description 2 to 8, so travellers who want the trail to themselves should look at the Private 5-Day Inca Trail or the private Luxury 4-Day Inca Trail.
The permit is issued to one person on one passport and is non-transferable, so the free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure refunds your money but cannot move your place to someone else. Permits are capped at 500 per day, of which only about 200 go to trekkers, and the trail closes every February. Book several months ahead for high season.
If a flexible booking matters more than price, note that most luxury listings here are non-refundable and compare the terms on the luxury Inca Trail tours.
What You Carry Yourself
A porter takes up to 7 kg in the supplied duffel. Your daypack, water, rain layers and camera stay on your back along the whole route. Travellers who want porters to carry more should check the porter allowance on each listing before booking.
Machu Picchu in morning cloud. Photo: Tomas Sobek tomas_nz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Before and After the Trek
The trek is four days long but the trip around it is longer. Here is what to arrange on either side, from acclimatisation to the add-on climbs and the luggage rules.
Cusco sits well above 3,000 metres, and the trail climbs to about 4,200 metres on day 2. Plan at least two nights in Cusco before the trek to let your body adjust, and use the pre-departure briefing the operator includes. Machu Picchu itself is nearly 1,000 metres lower than Cusco, so the last day is easier on the lungs.
Inca Trail permits are capped at 500 a day including about 200 trekkers, are sold only through authorised agencies and are tied to your passport. Permits for high season dates open months ahead and sell out, and the trail closes every February for maintenance, reopening on 1 March. The permits guide explains the calendar.
Book as early as you can pin a date.
The included Machu Picchu ticket is Circuit 1 with about 2 hours of guiding. Huayna Picchu is a $65 add-on through this listing, and the mountain route is a separate ticket with its own daily allocation. If two hours at the citadel feels short, some trekkers add a night in Aguas Calientes, the town at about 2,040 metres, and return the next morning on the first bus around 5:30 a.m.
Trains and Luggage
PeruRail allows one backpack up to 8 kg or one carry-on up to 12 kg on Machu Picchu trains, and charges $15 for excess carry-on and $25 for checked baggage. The operator stores your main luggage safely in Cusco while you walk. The Expedition train back takes about 1 hour 30 minutes from Ollantaytambo, and the $20 Vistadome upgrade adds ceiling windows on the way home.
The Hiram Bingham train guide covers the luxury option.
Day-by-Day Itinerary
The listing states the start, the trailhead, the guided visit and the return leg. Camp locations and daily walking hours are not stated, so those steps are given as phases.
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Start
Private pickup in Cusco
A private vehicle collects you at your Cusco hotel. The pickup time is not stated in the listing, and the drive to the trailhead at Km 82 runs about 3 hours via Ollantaytambo.
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After the drive
Km 82 and the first stage
The guide completes permit checks at the trail control and the group starts the classic Inca Trail. The porter carries your 7 kg duffel and the chef serves the first trail dinner at camp.
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Day 2
Over Dead Woman's Pass
The climb to Dead Woman's Pass takes 4 to 5 hours and tops out at roughly 4,200 to 4,215 metres depending on the source, the highest point of the trek. Camp again under the 3-season tents with the dining tent and toilet.
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Day 3
Ruins and cloud forest
The route passes Inca sites on the ridge line and descends toward the last camp before Machu Picchu. Hot meals, boiled drinking water and the portable toilet continue.
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Day 4, early
Sun Gate arrival
The final walk reaches the Sun Gate (Inti Punku) at about 2,720 to 2,745 metres depending on the source, roughly 2 km above the Machu Picchu entrance, with the first full view of the citadel.
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Last half day
Machu Picchu and the return
A guided tour of about 2 hours covers Circuit 1. The included bus drops to Aguas Calientes and the Expedition train departs in the afternoon for Ollantaytambo, about 1 hour 30 minutes, then private transport returns you to your Cusco hotel.
Pros and Cons
An honest read of this listing against the rest of the market.
What we genuinely like
- +At $998 the permit, the Machu Picchu Circuit 1 ticket, the bus and the Expedition train are all in the price
- +1,047 reviews at a 5.0 rating make it one of the most reviewed treks on this site
- +A porter carries up to 7 kg of your gear and a chef cooks hot meals at every camp
- +Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure, a term most luxury listings here do not offer
- +Small groups, with the description capping the group at 8 people
- +Satellite phone, first aid kit and emergency oxygen travel with the group
The honest downsides
- −The booking data allows up to 12 people while the description says 2 to 8, so ask the operator to confirm the real cap before booking
- −Camp nights are cold, with temperatures above 3,500 metres dropping below freezing at night in any month, so rent the $20 sleeping bag
- −Day 2 climbs to Dead Woman's Pass at roughly 4,200 to 4,215 metres, a 4 to 5 hour ascent and the hardest day of the trek
- −The free cancellation cannot transfer the permit to another person, since permits are tied to one passport
- −Extras sit outside the from-price: sleeping bag $20, walking sticks $20, Huayna Picchu $65, day 4 lunch and tips
Who it's NOT for: Travellers who want a guaranteed private group, a hotel bed, a luxury train or the very small camp experience should book the private or full-luxury listings instead.
Questions About This Trek
How much does this Inca Trail trek cost per person?
The price is $998 per person for 4 days and 3 nights, with the permit, the Machu Picchu Circuit 1 ticket, meals on the trail and the Expedition train included. Extras such as the sleeping bag and walking sticks cost $20 each, and the full breakdown is in the price section.
Is the Machu Picchu ticket and the permit included?
Yes. The listing includes the Inca Trail permit and the Machu Picchu entrance ticket for Circuit 1 with about 2 hours of guiding. Permits are capped at 500 people a day and sell out months ahead, which the permits guide explains in detail.
How big is the group?
The booking data allows up to 12 people while the description says 2 to 8 maximum, so the listing gives two figures. Confirm the cap with the operator when you book. Travellers who want a guaranteed private group should look at the Private 5-Day Inca Trail.
Can I cancel if my plans change?
Yes, the listing offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund. The catch is that the permit is issued to one passport and cannot move to another person, so a replacement traveller is not an option under the permit rules.
Do I need to be very fit for this trek?
The listing asks for a high level of physical fitness and does not recommend it for pregnant travellers, spinal injuries or poor cardiovascular health. Day 2 climbs 4 to 5 hours to Dead Woman's Pass at roughly 4,200 to 4,215 metres, and the Dead Woman's Pass guide describes that climb in full.
When does the Inca Trail close?
The trail closes every February for maintenance and reopens on 1 March, and February is also the wettest month. If your dates fall in the closure or the permits have sold out, compare the alternatives on the luxury Inca Trail tours, including treks that use other routes.
What train do I take back and can I upgrade?
The included return is the Expedition train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo in the afternoon, about 1 hour 30 minutes, then private transport to your Cusco hotel. A Vistadome upgrade costs $20, or you can look at the 4-Day Inca Trail with Vistadome Train, whose return train class depends on the departure date.
The $998 Inca Trail trek with permit, Machu Picchu ticket and porter service sells out through its permits well before departure.
Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure, and your permit stays tied to your passport as the listing states.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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