What the Inca Trail is, in numbers
- The classic trail: Four days, three nights, about 43 km from Km 82 on the railway to the Sun Gate, over Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 m on day two. You arrive at Intipunku at dawn on day four and walk down into the citadel.
- The short trail: Two days from Km 104: a day's walk past Wiñay Wayna to the Sun Gate, a night in Aguas Calientes, the citadel next morning. A separate, smaller daily quota.
- 500 a day: The daily limit on the classic trail counts everyone: trekkers, guides, cooks and porters. In practice that is about 200 visitors a day, which is why May to September sells out within weeks of release.
- Only through operators: The Ministry of Culture and SERNANP license the operators and sell the permits to them, in each trekker's name and passport number. There is no counter or website where an individual can buy one. Permits are not refundable and not transferable.
The calendar: release in autumn, closed in February
Permits for a year go on sale in the last months of the previous one. For 2026 the Ministry released them by month between 27 October and 4 November 2025, then opened its reservation platform on 17 November at 08:00 for the trail and at noon for the citadel. For 2027 the operators expect the same window, October to November 2026; as of mid-October no date has been published. If you want June, July or August 2027, have an operator holding your passport details before the release. The trail then closes for the whole of February for maintenance and the rains: in 2026 SERNANP shut routes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the network until 28 February and reopened them on 1 March. The citadel stays open; the Hidroeléctrica walk and the train do not stop.
What the permit gives you at the citadel since 2026
This is where the operator sites contradict each other, so here is the rule as published. Ministerial Resolution 000306-2025-MC of 11 November 2025 gave visitors arriving through the Inca trail network their own exclusive daily quotas at the citadel, and set that they enter by Circuit 3B, the lower, flatter route through the royal sector, booked and paid through the authorized agencies. In plain terms: your operator secures both the trail permit and the citadel entry for the morning you arrive, on 3B. You do not need to buy a separate ticket for that morning, and you cannot choose another circuit for it. Ask the operator, in writing, that both are included, and if you want the classic view from the upper platforms or Huayna Picchu, that is a second ticket on another entry hour, which you buy on your own.
No permit: how to get the same arrival without the trail
What the Inca Trail gives you at the end is three things: the Sun Gate with the city below at first light, the walk down into the citadel, and the feeling of having arrived on foot. All three are sold separately, by the Ministry, on tickets you buy yourself.
- Circuit 1C · the Sun Gate, in reverse: Circuit 1C ($62, up to 4 hours) takes you from the panoramic platforms up the last stretch of the Inca Trail to Intipunku at 2,745 m and back, about an hour each way, moderate. Take the first entry of the day, 06:00, and you stand at the gate while the trekkers are still arriving. The route does not enter the temples; pair it with 2A on another day if you want both. Our Sun Gate page has the walk in detail.
- Arrive on foot anyway: From Aguas Calientes a stone staircase climbs 500 m to the entrance in 1.5 to 2 hours, no permit, no fee beyond your ticket; the Hidroeléctrica route adds three hours along the tracks the day before. Neither is the Inca Trail, but both put you at the gate having walked. The practicalities are in the Aguas Calientes guide.
- Salkantay or Lares, no permit needed: The alternative treks end at the same place without the quota: Salkantay in four or five days over a 4,600 m pass, Lares through the weaving villages, both finishing with the train or the Hidroeléctrica walk into Aguas Calientes and a citadel ticket the next morning. Any licensed operator runs them; the Machu Picchu entry is the piece to secure first, on the calendar, because it is the one that sells out.
- If even the citadel is sold out: In high season the entry itself goes before the trail does. Our sold-out guide lists what still works that week, including the 2-Day Tour, which has its own allocation and a night in the Pueblo built in.
Frequent questions about the Inca Trail
Can I hike the Inca Trail without a tour operator?
No. Permits are sold by the Ministry of Culture only to licensed operators, in each hiker's name. There is no individual sale and no entry without a permit at the Km 82 checkpoint.
When do the 2027 Inca Trail permits go on sale?
The 2026 permits were released by month between 27 October and 4 November 2025, with the Ministry's platform opening on 17 November. Operators expect the 2027 release in the same window, October to November 2026; the Ministry announces the exact date. Give your operator your passport details before then.
Is the Inca Trail closed in February?
Yes, every year, for maintenance and the rains. In 2026 SERNANP closed routes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the network until 28 February and reopened them on 1 March. Machu Picchu itself stays open; the train and the Hidroeléctrica walk run as normal.
Does the Inca Trail permit include the Machu Picchu entrance?
Since 2026 trekkers arriving by the trail network have their own daily quota at the citadel and enter by Circuit 3B, booked and paid by the operator together with the permit. Confirm in writing that your package includes it. Any other circuit, such as the upper platforms or Huayna Picchu, is a separate ticket.
How much does the Inca Trail cost?
Licensed operators are quoting roughly $700 to $1,000 per person for the 4-day group trek in 2027 and $500 to $750 for the 2-day, including the permit, the citadel entry, porters and meals. Private groups and extra porters add to that.
Can I see the Sun Gate without doing the Inca Trail?
Yes. Circuit 1C is the official route from the citadel up to Intipunku and back, about an hour each way, $62, bought on your own. With the first entry at 06:00 you reach the gate while the trekkers are still arriving.
What is the best alternative when the Inca Trail is sold out?
For the walk, Salkantay or Lares with no permit quota, ending with a citadel ticket the next morning. For the arrival, the train with a night in Aguas Calientes and Circuit 1C at 06:00. For the week itself, if the citadel is also full, the 2-Day Tour with its own allocation.
Circuit 1C Sun Gate
Hike to Intipunku — the original Inca entrance
The Sun Gate without the permit
Circuit 1C walks the last stretch of the Inca Trail from the citadel to Intipunku. Pick the 06:00 entry on the live calendar and add the train and the night in Aguas Calientes in Mi Tour.