Cost: why two days of Inca Trail cost 540 or 830 dollars – and which items still come on top at the end

The list prices: 18 packages by price

All prices per person in US dollars as Viator lists them as the option's list price, refreshed daily; with tiered prices the price for two travellers. Salkantay Trekking has four options (no mountain, Huchuy Picchu, Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu Mountain), all others one. Alpaca applies through January 2027 at 585 and from March 2027 at USD 595. Valencia lists 550 for one person and 600 from two – a contradiction we display, not resolve. The cancellation column shows whether the platform's 24-hour rule applies or 'non-refundable'.

List prices per person, adults, from Viator availability data; reconciled daily. Converted at the exchange rate of 28 September 2026; Viator converts at the day's rate at checkout. Action Peru and Peruvian Guiding without hotel, dinner and day-2 bus; Ali Peru, Inkayni, Andean Path and Valencia without permit or ticket in the list; Kenko and Valencia with tiers.

What is missing from the lists – and what it costs

The hotel. Action Peru (600) and Peruvian Guiding (642) exclude the night in Aguas Calientes. None of the 18 operators quotes a price for a 3-star room; the only figures in the data come from Valencia – USD 52 single supplement, USD 100 for an extra night at the Andina Luxury, 150 at the Casa Andina – and mark the upper end. Reckoning on USD 45 to 100 for a double room in the houses the packages use (Tara, Golden Sunrise, Tierra Viva, The Presidente) is probably not far off; that is our estimate, not an operator figure.

The bus. Consettur runs between Aguas Calientes and the gate; Action Peru and Peruvian Guiding quote USD 24 for the round trip on day two, which is USD 12 per leg. Salkantay Trekking and Chullos exclude the ride down on day one and have it paid on site. On foot it is 1,700 steps.

The meals. Lunch on the trail all 18 have. Dinner and breakfast twelve have; Action Peru and Peruvian Guiding exclude dinner (USD 23 per Peruvian Guiding), Machu Picchu Tours and Happy Gringo do not mention it, Andean Path excludes 'one dinner', Quechuas contradicts itself. Lunch on day two in Aguas Calientes you pay yourself with 16 packages; AB Expeditions and Chullos include it. Breakfast on day one: with AB Expeditions in Ollantaytambo, with TreXperience as a picnic at Km 104, otherwise at your Cusco hotel before pickup – at four in the morning usually a box.

The mountain ticket. Huayna Picchu, Machu Picchu Mountain and Huchuy Picchu are separate timed tickets; officially the ticket with mountain costs 200 instead of 152 soles (Ministry of Culture, plus 11 soles SERNANP since May 2026). Salkantay Trekking sells it as an option for USD 80 to 100 more, Alpaca quotes 75, AB Expeditions and Valencia USD 65, to be arranged directly with the operator. It sells out before the permit does.

Permit and ticket. With Inkayni, Andean Path, Ali Peru and Valencia they are not in the inclusions list. Whether they are included anyway the data do not say – with Ali Peru the return train is missing too, and USD 540 is the lowest price on the route. MachuPicchu Journey charges the Inca Trail entrance at USD 100 extra; we do not show that product. Booking one of the four, ask in writing first.

Train and hotel: the two items that explain the surcharge

The train runs the same line with all: Ollantaytambo–Km 104 out, Aguas Calientes–Ollantaytambo back, an hour and a half each. PeruRail and Inca Rail publish their fares only in the booking system, so no figure from us; the difference between Expedition (tourist class) and Vistadome (panoramic windows, glass roof, snack) is 5 to 10 dollars in the packages – TreXperience 590 with Vistadome against Qoricancha 580 with Expedition, otherwise the same service. Alpaca throws in the Vistadome through January 2027 and takes it out again from March 2027, at the same price plus 10 dollars. Salkantay Trekking names a 'panoramic train', Kenko the Vistadome on its day trip. Inca Rail Voyager (Ali Peru) corresponds to Expedition class.

The hotel is the second item: Alpaca at USD 585 and four stars is the only package above three stars and still lies below most 3-star packages – the 4,058 reviews evidently allow a calculation on volume. Qoricancha (580) names the Tierra Viva with private room, AB Expeditions (670) the Tara, Inkayni (668) the Golden Sunrise, Valencia offers upgrades. Rooms are double or twin with all; travelling alone you share or pay a supplement (Valencia USD 52; the others do not say).

Five bills: from list price to trip price

Five packages that show five different cases: the cheapest complete one, the most-reviewed with four-star hotel, the cancellable one, a frame without hotel and the one-day version. In US dollars, rounded.

Guide values, a question mark means unresolved. Hotel estimate without operator evidence (Valencia: extra nights USD 100–150, single room USD 52). The tip is our estimate for one guide over two days. Mountain ticket officially 200 soles instead of 152 (Ministry of Culture); Salkantay Trekking as an option +80–100 USD. Base price plus known mandatory costs. Items marked “?” are not quantified but still real.

Cancellation and confirmation: what the price is worth in doubt

Eleven products refund nothing: Alpaca, TreXperience (both), Salkantay Trekking, Inkayni, Qoricancha (both), Quechuas, Happy Gringo, Valencia, Peruvian Guiding. The reason is the permit, issued at purchase to name and passport number and not transferable – Kenko describes this in its additional info, TreXperience on its four-day trek. Six products can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before start: AB Expeditions, Action Peru, Machu Picchu Tours, Andean Path, Ali Peru, Kenko (whose additional info nevertheless calls the deposit non-refundable). Machu Picchu Peru Tours tiers it: 100 per cent up to six days before, 50 up to two days. If you want the cancellation option, you pay 90 dollars more with AB Expeditions than with Qoricancha – for 24-hour cancellation, satellite phone, circuits 1 and 3, three bus rides and lunch on day two, not a bad trade.

Confirmation: instant with 15 products, on request with Salkantay Trekking and Valencia, both with a 48-hour booking cut-off. 'Instant' on the platform means confirmation of the booking; whether the permit for the date is still available the operator checks afterwards. Chullos (not in the comparison) spells out the consequence: full refund if no ticket is available.

Questions about cost

Sources and check status