Frequently Asked Questions

So long as permits are accessible for your trek date, we can buy a new permit with the new passport number to permit you to participate in the trek. The price of the original permit is non-refundable. At the trek orientation you will have to pay for both the old permit and the new permit.

If no more permits are available, then park authorities may also refuse to provide you access to the Inca Trail if your passport number does not match that listed on the permit.

In this case, we need at least one copy of your lost passport to change it in the authorities office. Otherwise we will purchase once more the entrance with your new passport if there is availability. The fee of the original permit is non-refundable. At the trek orientation you will have to pay for both the old permit and the new permit.

Current regulations do no longer permit us to replace cancelled passengers with new passengers. Trek permits are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Not always immediately, but we usually purchase the permits within a few days of receiving your deposit. and if you choose us to act Asap (Send us Your deposit by Western Union wich is the fastest and most secure way in Cusco, Peru and we can get the money in Minutes and Confirm the Trip in Minutes as well.)

No. Night-time entry to the Machu Picchu ruins is currently prohibited by the INC (Peruvian National Institute of Culture).

Both your trail permit and your trek deposit are non-refundable and non-transferable. To be part of a new trek date, we have to begin the permit process all over again.

No. We can only accept reservation with a passport-number. When you’re applying for a new passport, at the moment of making a reservation for the Inca Trail, you can send us your old passport-number and take this passport with you to Peru.

If you’re old passport is not back to you or you forget to bring your old passport with you on the trek you will not be allowed to start the Inca Trail and you will no longer be entitled to a refund. A photocopy of your old passport is also valid to make it change with the new passport, however you need to breing the original new passport with you.

Our Choquequirao Expeditions Tours guides are amongst the very nice and most experienced guides anywhere. They are from the surrounding Cusco/ Sacred Valley area and speak fluent English, in addition to Spanish and the native language of Quechua. Most have 5-10 years of experience leading Inca trail hikes and all have training in the history, spirituality, culture, and ecology of the area.

We receive rave opinions on our guides. For greater information, check out our Testimonials at: Our Testimonials Most of them are notably recommended by Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor.

A Chef accompanies every group on the Trek. Almost invariably, travelers comment on the delicious menu. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and hearty snacks are supplied for your hike. Meals are a mix of local specialties and worldwide favorites. Check out our Inca Trail menu. Vegetarian foods are additionally accessible upon request. Other special dietary requests can usually be accommodated as well with enough notice. (You will never be hungry with us. there will be plenty of food).

Although there are places to buy bottled water occasionally along the trail, we suggest that travelers bring their personal refillable bottles to limit plastic waste. Water is boiled, treated with iodine, and then filtered with one of our portable filters (Katadyn and PUR commonly used). It is accessible in the morning to fill your bottles and at each meal.

We provide the sleeping tents (4 season Aluminum poles tents, 2 people in each 3-people-capacity ten), eating tents, tables, chairs, bathroom tents, cooking equipment, water purifiers, air Thermarest mattresses, and other camping equipment. Our outfitter purchases the very best satisfactory equipment in Peru and older gear is evaluated and changed on a regular basis.

Travelers only need to bring their own personal supplies and a sleeping bag. If you do not have a sleeping bag, these can be rented in Cusco for a reasonable rate. And in all alternative treks we will provide you a duffle bag will be supplied for your property on the trek so travelers do not need to bring a big backpack unless desired.

Proper sun gear, comfortable trekking clothes, mosquito repellant, trekking shoes, a flashlight, a camera, and 1-2 refillable water bottles are recommended. Rain equipment is also recommended during the wet season (December- March) and cold weather gear (warm jacket, thermals, hat and gloves) is recommended for the dry season (especially June- August). Please, we suggest to bring rain stuff Just in case. even if we are in dry season.

Guides carry a first aid kit for primary medical problems (traveler’s diarrhea, cuts/ scrapes, etc.). They receive Red Cross First Aid and other emergency training each year. Our guides lead over 300 vacationers along the Inca trail every year and we have rarely had a tourist unable to complete the hike.

In these uncommon cases when anyone has not felt properly enough to end the hike, he/ she has been escorted back to Cusco and usually felt well enough to re-join the group in Machu Picchu by train a few days later. Cusco has the nearest modern medical facilities so travelers with a serious medical emergency would need to be evacuated there. Guides and porters have pre-established evacuation techniques in place this need occur.

Altitude affects every traveler in a different way and until you have visited an area with excessive altitude, it is impossible to predict how your body will react. For this reason, all of our trekking tours include at least three days at high altitude with mild activities earlier than travelers start hiking. This time allows your body to begin acclimatizing (though full acclimatization would take several months) and provides travelers a correct indication of how they will feel on the Inca trail (as altitude signs are usually the worst on the first day or two at elevation).

Commonly, our travelers report slight altitude signs such as fatigue, headache, or light-headedness during their first day or two at elevation. Hotels and our porters on the Inca trail have oxygen available for travelers feeling the consequences of the elevation.
Severe altitude health problem is rare.

In this case, the best cure is to go down in elevation as soon as possible. We have never had a traveller that had to be evacuated to low altitude. Many severe cases of altitude ailment are the result of a pre-existing condition that is aggravated by the altitude. It is important to ask your doctor whether or not travel to excessive altitude is advised, particularly if you have a pre-existing heart or lung condition such as excessive blood pressure, asthma, angina, etc.

You may additionally want to ask your doctor about prescription Diamox, a diuretic that many vacationers swear by to help them adjust to the altitude more readily. On the Inca trail, you will be trekking in altitudes ranging from 9,000-14,500 ft. The highest camping spot is 12,000 ft.

We recommend you to leave your whole luggage, which you don’t need during the trekking, behind in your hotel. Almost each resort in Cusco has a safety deposit where you can save your bags and do not charge for this service when you’ll return to the same resort after your trek. But if they dont have a place we also have a place where you can leave with us. Let us know Please.

Yes any other person of the same sex or if you prefer you can pay a single supplement for a tent just for you. This is US$ 30 (For the whole trek).

Students with a valid International Student Identity Card (ISIC) obtain a US$20 discount on the price of the entrance fee but you must inform us at the time of making your reservation and bring the card with you on the trek.

No other forms of student identification are proper i.e. letters from college, international youth identity cards etc. We will purchase a student trek permit for you (clearly marked only for students). At the begin of the trek your permit will be checked and you will be requested to show your ISIC card and passport.

If the card is not valid or you forget to take your card then there is a very high possibility that you will not be allowed to begin the trek. This can cause major disappointment and also delay entry of the rest of the group to the trail. In the past you could just pay an extra rate for a standard trek permit.

Normally between April and October, with normally sunny days, warm evenings and frequently very cold nights. This is the dry season with little chance of rain. During the day you can expect blue skies pretty much of the time. Since we are close to the equator and very high up, the sun can be very strong so always bring sun protection cream, a hat and sunglasses. It is comfortable to trek in shorts and t-shirt.

However when the sun goes in it can get cold very quickly so always have a warm sweater, fleece and long pants close at hand you also need a proper 4-season sleeping bag at night and a warm jacket, woolly hat and scarf.
The surroundings can be pretty dry and brown during this period with not much activity in the fields apart from gathering in the harvest and drying it. This is a time for the people in the village to relax and enjoy some of the many festivals. The advice is to book resort rooms / flights, and so on well in advance.

September & November; some years the rains can begin as early as September. However commonly we just get a couple of heavy showers each week and the rest of the time it is sunny or overcast. The rain simply lasts for a couple of hours and dries up quite quick. A plastic rain poncho is recommended. The nights are milder and a 3-season sleeping bag is usually enough on the Trek.

The rainy season usually starts around mid-November and can last till the end of March. January and February are at the height of the wet season. During these months you can expect rain on 2 out of the four days of the trek.

Although downpours can be heavy during this length they rarely last for more than a few hours and then the sun comes out. Being in the Southern Hemisphere this is also the summer season in Peru. The sun can be very strong and quickly dries up the rain. The nights are fairly mild. Bring proper waterproof clothing, pack your sleeping bag inside several plastic bags, and bring sun protection cream and a good hat.

The high season in Cusco to the Inca Trail is between June and September with July and August being the busiest months. This is because this is the dry season in the Peruvian Andes and Amazon and also because this length coincides with summer time vacation trips in Europe and North America, Canada etc. However since Peru is in the Southern Hemisphere it is also our Winter so the nights can be cold in the Cusco region, frequently falling to freezing in July and August.