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[becksg]

Hey all,
I'm headed to Cuzco in a week and was just wondering if any of you had a take on the Inca Trail....also, is it possible to get one when you're there or is it necessary to pre-book. Thanks!

[lucky]

Hey all,
I'm headed to Cuzco in a week and was just wondering if any of you had a take on the Inca Trail....also, is it possible to get one when you're there or is it necessary to pre-book. Thanks!

Hey there. First off, I´ll be in Cuzco in exactly 10 days so maybe we can get together for a drink and chat.

We booked our Inca trail 2 months ago and had a hard time finding space so it may be tough to find something now. You can always try to get someone´s cancelation if you are lucky.

Also, keep in mind that there was a land slide a month ago on the trail and I dont think its possible to finish the assent, which is unfortunate.

We are doing it anyways though. I hear that its a wonderful trek with lots to see.

You can always take the train up if you cant make the trail.

Good luck!

[irax]

Hey all,
I'm headed to Cuzco in a week and was just wondering if any of you had a take on the Inca Trail....also, is it possible to get one when you're there or is it necessary to pre-book. Thanks!

I was in Cusco a few weeks ago and the Inca Trail was booked up till July. You´ll be very very lucky to find a place on the trail at the moment.

You can take the ´rip off´ PeruRail service to Machu Picchu which costs an arm and a leg, or if you´re still wanting to do some walking, then I recomend the Santa Maria, Santa Teresa, Aguas Calientes route. You don´t need to spend lots of money at tour agencies (Unless you want to do the bike section to Santa Maria) to do this, it´s very easy to do independantly. Drop me a line if you want more info.

The landslide at Machu Picchu was between the sun gate and the main site. This meant that you couldn´t complete the Inca trail by arriving at the sun gate for sun rise and then walking into the main site without the tourists. The Inca trail tourists were instead having to finish the trail by walking along the rail tracks to Aguas Calientes and then camping at the bottom of the 400 meter climb to Machu Picchu, which they´d do in the morning along with everyone else that was too stingy to take the 6 Dollar bus up. I was there on the 26th of April, the last section may of re-opened by now.

Cheers,
Ron.

[lucky]

As of yesterday the last section of the trail is still closed. We hear it will take 6 weeks to fix.

[lucky]

As of yesterday the last section of the trail is still closed. We hear it will take 6 weeks to fix.

Peru Treks told us this morning that the trail should be cleaned up in a week.

Let`s hope

[travelerbill]

I did the trail in March and booked it a day after arriving in Cusco. Just walked down Gringo alley and stopped in at a few tour outfits to get prices and find out what was included. After checking about 10 outfits, I decided on the one that was 2nd cheapest. Sort of like choosing a cheap hotel, you don't want the bottom of the barrel, but close to it.

Something to note is that I had to wait 3 days after booking the hike because the government has to approve your being on the trail and the standard wait is 3 days if you book monday to wednesday. Longer for other days because of the weekend. I booked on a wednesday and started the trail the following saturday.

The 4 day tour cost me $160 USD and was pretty good overall, including everything but a bag to sleep in. You can come to my pod and read aboot it if you like.
The Inca Trail: prepare for rain

btw, I bargained for the sleeping bag rental and got one for $5 rather than the $10 they were asking for at the tour office. The time to bargain is when you're rubbing your chin and making up your mind, not after you've handed them the cash. My tentmate on the tour got an even better deal than me, demanding they rent him their best sleeping bag for free, which they did. It was a tiny thing and kept him warm on the coldest night while fitting into his backpack while hiking. He also only paid $150 for the hike. grrr...

I finished the trail about a week before the slide that blocked it. My friend was about to do that last day on the trail when word came that the slide had happened the night before during heavy rain. He also endured pouring rain for almost the entire hike. Oh well, I had a good time.