Booking Inca Trail in advance?

nickspurs

Hi there, me and my friend have just booked flights into Argentina and a couple of internal flights within South America as well (this may help with the problems of needing to show a ticked out of whichever country we visit).

Doing this, I have already gone back on what i wanted to do was arrive without a plan and just see how it goes. STA travel were also advising us to book our trip to Machu Pittchu now as well. Are they just trying to get money out of us because I'd rather just go with the flow and not have to be at certain places at certain times.

We are booking up accomodation in Salvador for the carnaval now as it is nearly booked up already and we don't want to be there without somewhere to stay (and we know we are going to go there for those dates anyway).

Does anyone know if the trip to do the Inca Trail really needs to be booked in advance? And is there anything else in South America we'd need to book up before we go?

Cheers

dzug1

The Inca trail does need to be booked in advance. The number of people allowed to set off each day is strictly limited so if you haven't booked you could find yourselves waiting for an indefinite period for a vacancy.

hectorthomas

What dzug1 has said is true, unfortunately often as many as 500 people a day start the Classic Trail and it has become very overcrowded, especially during the peak months. Rubbish, dirt, sanitation and over crowding are a real issue now. The hordes of people trekking this route is unsustainable and the Peruvian Government are being forced to limit numbers. This has now meant that at certain times of the year, not only is the trail overcrowded but also it is hard to even get permits to trek.

However there are alternative trails other than the classic inca trail that are just as worthwhile if not more so. They can be trekked and do not need to be booked so far in advance

I have trekked twice with a company called Andina travel in Cusco, (just google Andina travel) and thouroughly recommend them, but have a look around as there are many good companies.

Have an amazing time, I have travelled loads and South America is AMAZING and one of my favourite places:rotfl:

Bananabelly

Yes, book the Inca trail. My understanding is that the number of permits is strictly limited now, and you may not get one. A few years ago the trail was very overcrowded and getting degraded. The porters went on strike and the Peruvian govt brought in a whole lot of restrictions on how the tours could be done, and how many people were allowed in a year. They also close it each Feb (I think) for a month to clean and repair the trail.

I went with Gap and the local operators they had were absolutely fantastic. If you don't book ahead you may not get a permit at all, or you may have to wait a number of days to get a group together and the appropriate permits.