Classic Inca Trail Trek 4D/3N to Machu Picchu (Group Service)

Posted By : joeallenr
4D/3N Inca Trail was an amazing experience. We saw many Inca sites in addition to the beautiful countryside during the hike. Our tour guide, Fancy Nancy, was very knowledgeable and fun. She has a deep passion for her culture and the nature that surrounds you during the hike. She has a positive and motivating attitude and could keep up with the jokes and shennaigans of our group. Gregorio was our chef. We could not get over how fresh and delicious all the meals were. He even managed to bake us a cake during our final dinner to welcome us to Machu Picchu. Juan Mamani was our head porter. Him and his team of porters were incredible to witness. They worked so hard and always had a smile on their face. They welcomed us into camp every evening, clapping and handing out high fives. Alpaca Expeditions is a 100% Peruvian owned and operated company. It was important to us to give our support and business to this company.
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Posted On : 2024-07-01 11:35:49

Posted By : nataliebZ1862RJ
The absolute best trip. We felt so served and cared for by our tour guides (America and Henrri) and porters/chef. Everything was above and beyond and I just loved seeing the culture and beauty of Peru. Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it!
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Posted On : 2024-07-01 05:52:23

Posted By : B362TWagnesa
This was honestly the experience of a lifetime. We spent the trip in amazing company and were guided by Juan Carlos Zuloaga and Ethel. We didn’t have to worry about anything but the hike itself, everything else was organise/provided for by the company. Food was incredible (and lots of it!) and we got so much history and culture from our guides along the way. Would definitely recommend.
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Posted On : 2024-07-01 05:11:43

Posted By : Princess F
I recently finished the 5D/4N version of the trail with my family and it was an amazing experience. The porters worked so hard carrying all of our duffle bags with their stuff. I can’t imagine myself carrying 50 pounds on my back while going on a difficult trail. The chef made amazing food and all of our meals were delicious. I couldn’t believe they would make so many great dishes even with no proper cooking equipment. He also filled all of the dietary needs. I have to give a lot of thanks to Hono, our guide, for being so kind and helpful to our group. He also motivated us as well. He would say the rocky parts are “grumpy” and the flatter sections “friendly” which would take the negativity off different parts of the trail. He always says to do the hike at our own pace and to not follow the hiker’s pace in front of you. Our group survived and made it to Machu Picchu. We were able to do it due to all of support that we showed each other. We hugged and cheered for each other when we made it to the top of Dead Woman’s Pass and reached the Sun Gate. They were all so nice and friendly. I have never camped overnight with my family until this trip.

However, when someone says the third day is easy, it’s not. We felt that it was a bit harder than Dead Woman Pass due to all the steep, uneven and even wet downhill steps.

Also make sure you dress warmly at night. Half of the members in my group, including myself, caught a cold due to the cold temperatures.
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Posted On : 2024-07-01 00:16:48

Posted By : amandabZ9529NQ
Best trip ever!!! I don’t have words to describe how amazing this trip was. Our guides Americo and Henrry were the best. They made us feel safe and made the trip feel smooth and organized. I will be recommending Alpaca Expeditions to all my friends.
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 23:17:59

Posted By : 431micahm
This was truly a trip of a lifetime! Our guides and porters were fabulous and everything was very well run! I highly recommend!
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 23:16:36

Posted By : JeyM_12
We did the private tour. We were a group of 20 with 11 adults (50 - 57) and 9 teens and young adults (17-25). We did the classic 4D/3N Inca Trail hike. We chose Alpaca from their online reviews and we are glad that we did. From the initial email exchange to the final goodbye at our Cusco Hotel, Alpaca was professional and responsive. We had 4 guides–Our main guides were Elisaban and Haime and Asst. guides were Issac and Reynaldo. They were competent, knowledgeable, professional, intuitive, and responsive. They skillfully kept our group of wide skill levels together. They engaged with the young adults while encouraging those lagging behind. The chef Yuri was outstanding. About half in our group were vegetarians. Some ate eggs and few fish. He was able to cook delicious meals that delighted everyone in the middle of nowhere! He even managed to bake a cake on the third night! The hike was grueling but we were looking forward to the camp with clean tents, clean toilets (the private toilet tent is a game changer!) and delicious food that started with a bowl of hot soup!

The porters are amazing. After we get on our hike, they pack the tents, literally run past the struggling and crawling hikers and set up camp before us and a hot meal is cooked and ready for us. They do this day in and day out. Alpaca takes care of the staff and porters well but still it is amazing that they do this with smile and enthusiasm. On day 2, the most challenging day, some of were still an hour from the camp with daylight gone and going got slower with young adults who reached the camp ahead of us were getting hungry. Several porters came back from the camp (of course our guides radioed and called them) with headlamps and smiles and took our daypacks to get us back to the camp safely and quickly!

The hike itself is grueling and not to be taken lightly. I have read online that one does not need to be very fit (like a marathon runner) to do this and anyone with reasonable fitness can do this hike. Most people we saw on the trail were in their 20s and 30s. That statement may apply to them. If you are over 50, one needs to take this hike very seriously. We had someone who summited mount Kilimanjaro 6 months ago struggle through this hike. Another one who has hiked to the Everest Base camp felt that this is several fold harder. Day one is supposed to ease us in to the hike but we hiked 9 miles and gained around 3900 feet (gross) that day! Easily the hardest day of hiking I ever had! Then Day 2 happened!! Grueling, quad squeezing knee breaking day. It tests you physically, mentally and emotionally. On top of this we were hit with a surprise blizzard on dead woman’s pass!! In June! Supposed to be the dry season. We had to manage with summer/hiking clothes and Alpaca provided rain ponchos that saved our lives that day! Then after lunch, another 1500 feet climb followed by a steep descend. Similarly day 3 with 3000 feet descend on Inca steps is equally hard as climbing that height. In the end when you enter the sun gate and see Machu Picchu, the sense of relief, joy, pride and sense of accomplishment makes the whole thing worth it. We could not have done this without the help of our Alpaca guides and the team!

For the amount of work they put in, the logistics involved and what we get from them they provide and outstanding value.
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 22:46:37

Posted By : Resort_James
Alpaca delivered and made this trek a joyful experience. The porters, guides and chef made this feel like a home away from home. The awesomeness of this hard trek seemed easier than we could believe, though our knees let us know we really put on thousands of stairs. We would gladly do another trip with Alpaca Expedition Again!
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 15:24:18

Posted By : Matthew W
I cannot say enough good things about this company… first and foremost would be the professionalism and logistics- you can count on them to deliver and take great care of you; next would be the workers - HARDworking porters and amazing trail / cultural guides who think of EVERYTHING and teach you so much about everything you encounter (& they’re FUN & genuinely good people); and finally,, while it can be a really challenging trip, they ensure you have the trip of a lifetime! A very special thanks to Rony & Rodrigo - we will always remember our time with you fondly! You gave us the trip and adventure of a lifetime! Sulpay!
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 15:19:36

Posted By : M1404HIdanc
The service was 5 star all the way. Rony and Rodrigo and the team went above and behind to make sure we had the best experience ever!!!!!! Very impressive operation. Rony was very knowledge about the entire Inca history and made sure to mention the highlights along the way. He was very organized!!! Will recommend this trip for sure
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 15:17:07