4 Day Inca Jungle Trek Adventure: Full Review

Keep reading for my full Inca Jungle Trek review!

Hiking, mountain biking, water rafting, coffee making, taking shots at 9am, zip lining, plunging into natural hot springs, plenty of pisco sours PLUS exploring Machu Picchu AND 12 new friends… the Inca Jungle Trail was INCREDIBLE!!!

But, nothing is perfect! Keep reading for my completely honest review of the experience.

What is this you talk about?

The Inca Jungle trek is typically a 3 night/4 day tour taking you from Cusco to one of the seven wonders of the new world, Machu Picchu. It’s an alternative trek to the classic Inca trail. It features more adventurous activities and less walking, although you do trek parts of the Inca trail. This is the one I booked! 

How did you find this?

Initially I was planning on doing the classic Inca trail and had found a few reputable companies that looked great. However, classic Jess, I procrastinated booking the trek. So when I came around to booking it three months out, all the companies I’d found were sold out. Ahhh, back to the drawing board.

Then I took the punt of searching GetYourGuide. Just on the off chance they had other tours running. Imagine my surprise when I came across this one instead. After reading the awesome description I knew this was a much better option for me.

I had never heard of this option before so I was a little apprehensive booking it. Plus after not being able to find any reviews online, I was going in blind. Until a few weeks before the trip when I was at camp chatting to a guest and they’d done the exact trek a few years back and were raving about it. This made me so much more excited and it really was the best option for me.

What’s the difference between the classic Inca trail and the Inca jungle trail?

There are actually a lot of differences between the classic Inca trail and the Inca jungle trail. First and foremost, whilst both are 3 nights, on the classic trek you camp whereas on the jungle trail you stay in hotels. This was much more appealing to me!

Secondly, the route and amount of walking are vastly different. You only really hike on the classic one without much break. Whereas on the jungle trail, you get to mountain bike, water raft, zip line, visit hot springs and more as well as hiking parts of the trail. I thought the balance of hiking and exploring was great on the trek I took on.

Thirdly, your route into Machu Picchu itself differs massively. On the classic trek you come in from the sun gate on the northern side of the site. This means you get a birds-eye view of the mind blowing settlement for the last part of your trek. However on the jungle trek you spend the last night in Aguas Calientes (also known as the town of Machu Picchu) so in the morning you can walk up to the summit from the town. This involves a 1km road walk followed by 1716 stairs. You don’t see a single peek of the site until you enter. If you don’t fancy the steps, there is a bus directly up from Aguas Calientes that costs $12 each way.

The itinerary

Let’s break down the itinerary of the trip! What each day looks like and how much walking you actually have to do…

Day One 

On day one you get picked up bright and early from Cusco. The day before you will receive a pdf breakdown of the trip. They will ask you to send over your accommodation details too. They will then tell you whether you will be getting picked up directly from your accommodation. Or if you’ll need to meet at the main square. Pick up times range from 6.30am to 7am.

Once you have been collected you meet your group for the next four days and drive around an 1hr until you reach a small rest stop where you have breakfast. This is one of the meals not included in the tour. It cost around PEN25 for an omelet, coffee/tea and juice. Just look at the size of this omelet…

After breakfast you spend another 45 minutes in the van until you reach the highest point of the whole trip. Which is the starting point of the bike ride. You receive a great amount of padding and then test out the bikes so you know which one is perfect for you. Then the 50km downhill bike ride begins!

The brochure described this as 90% downhill and 10% flat and that was super accurate. You’ll spend more time braking for the harsh corners than actually peddling. The views on the ride are spectacular! I was constantly wanting to stop and get photos but the road moves so quickly you don’t dare stop.

Read next: Is Antigua Really The Cheapest Place To Learn Spanish?

The bike ride ends at a little stall on the side of the road that has toilets and sells drinks and snacks. I grabbed a much needed cold Coca Cola sin azucar from the stall for PEN5.

Once the whole group has finished riding and had a quick pit stop, it’s back in the van for a short ride to the first hotel of the trip. Here we were welcomed with lunch and then shown to our rooms with orders to change quickly for water rafting.

Next up on the agenda was water rafting which is an additional activity costing an extra PEN120/$30. You get picked up directly from the hotel and returned there afterwards. This experience was amazing and so worth the additional cost.

You’re on the raft for around an hour but with the briefing and transport the experience takes around 2hrs. By the time we were dropped back at the hotel it was already dark and almost dinner time. 

After our three course meal, most headed off for an early night as day two was set to be a long day with an early start. We got a briefing from our tour guide and then off to bed.

Day Two

On day two we were up bright and early for a 6.30am breakfast. The plan was to be out the door by 7am ready for a long 4hr hike. But as usual Peruvian time meant we didn’t end up leaving till way after 7am. We started the hike just before 8am. 

Our guide didn’t tell us how far exactly we’d be walking but said the hike takes on average 4hrs. This meant we’d be at our lunch spot by 11.30am. Well our group ranged by 21 to 70 with a complete mixed bag of abilities. So we didn’t make it to our lunch spot until 2.30pm. 

Whilst hard uphill march for the first hour or so, the hike soon flattened out for a little bit. Then the majority was downhill with steep steps on a cliff edge. Not ideal for the third of our group that suffers from a fear of heights. But we all made it in one piece and got some cracking photos throughout. 

The original plan was to stop around 45 minutes up at an eco lodge where we would learn how to prepare coffee from start to finish. However, due to time constraints we got a shortened version of this experience. We did still get to taste freshly brewed coffee and enjoyed shots of Inca tequila. The one thing you need mid-hike at 9am right?!

Read next: Three Years of Housesitting and These Are My Top 6!

After a nice lunch break, we were meant to be walking another 2hrs but as the group was so far behind we all collectively decided to pay for a private driver to take us to the next stop instead. This was definitely the best choice. 

Our next stop was the natural hot springs at Cocalmayo. Plus some of the group had booked zip lining across the gorge that afternoon. This looked fun but I’m not a fan so gave this one a miss and opted for more time in the hot springs instead. Like rafting, ziplining was an additional PEN120/$30. 

The cocalmayo hot springs were just what I needed after a long morning of hiking. You need cash to pay the PEN10 entrance fee but then you get as long as you want in the four different springs. The water was super clear and nice and warm. 

The group reunited later on in the evening and got back in the van to head to the town of Santa Theresa where we were staying. After a quick change, we headed down the street for dinner and drinks. 

Now I didn’t realise just how complicated it is to get entrance tickets for Machu Picchu until I embarked on this trip. Well thanks to past Jess for being organised and booking the trip over two months in advance, I was one of the few (3 out of 12) who they’d managed to get tickets for.

The other 9 folks on my tour who didn’t have tickets were told they needed to wake up at 2am, walk 13km into the town of Aguas Calientes and queue up to get their tickets. Whilst this provided the best odds of getting tickets, these weren’t guaranteed so speed was essential. 

Long story short, because the majority of the group needed to be out the door by 2am, dinner wasn’t a long affair and most went back to the hotel pretty early. 

Day Three

Thanks to my prearranged tickets, my wake up time was a much nicer 7am. We enjoyed a chilled breakfast with one of the nicest views of the trip. Then got picked up just after 8am by a chaperone who would take us to Aguas Calientes.

We were driven a short way to the start of the railway line and then walked 13km to Aguas Calientes or as its more commonly known, the town of Machu Picchu. This hike was actually super pleasant as it’s mostly flat. In total it took us 3 1/2 hours to complete and we did stop for a cocktail/cervesa break at just over the halfway mark. 

Once we got into Aguas Calientes we found the hotel and checked in. We had a few hours of chill time before meeting back up with the group for lunch. They had successfully managed the hike in time to get good tickets for the next day, although not on the same circuit as us. 

Our entire afternoon was free time, so as a group we went to explore the hot springs. Whilst staying in the town whose name directly translates to “hot waters” we couldn’t not visit. These were different to the ones the day before and if I was to choose a favourite it would be the ones in cocoalmayo. But the Aguas Calientes hot springs featured 6 different pools all ranging in temperature with one being a cold plunge at 14*. This was a great feature and jumping between 14* and 37* felt great.

Read next: I’ve Saved Over £11k On Flights Using Avios Points – Here’s How To Get Started

The entrance fee for the Aguas Calientes hot springs was PEN20 for foreigners – the price board literally broke it down into locals, nationals and foreigners! Look…

After a nice soak in the hot springs we all headed back to the hotel to get freshened up for dinner. We’d opted as a group to have a nice last meal (on our dime of course) so headed to a lovely place in downtown Aguas Calientes. I had a delicious squid ink pasta dish and my bill with a soft drink and tip came to PEN90. 

Dinner was a late affair especially considering we were all planning on leaving the hotel at 5.30am to start our final hike to the summit of Machu Picchu. I opted out of heading to another bar for more drinks but some of the crew stayed out much later on our final night together.

Day Four

The day we’d all been waiting for!! 

We started our final hike at 5.30am as our entrance tickets were for 7am. The walk from Aguas Calientes to the entrance to Machu Picchu is only a couple of miles but features 1716 stone steps you have to climb. 

An alternative route is to take the bus directly from Aguas Calientes up to the entrance for $12 per person each way. Some of our group chose this option but the majority of us wanted to end strong and hike up. 

Google has mixed opinions on how long this should take. For us it took 1hr 20 minutes from the hotel to the entrance which is pretty good going, especially because I was struggling and lagging behind the group. They were awesome, refusing to leave me, and kept me going the entire way, even taking my bag off me.

We arrived in good time for our tickets. Grabbed a much needed drink/snack break – the hotel had provided little snack bags to take with us which was great. And then joined the queue to enter one of the seven wonders of the new world.

When I say this was a jaw dropping experience I’m not over exaggerating! I was close to tears seeing the site. I just couldn’t believe it exists and that I was finally seeing it with my own eyes.

Read next: Therme Bucharest: 15 Things You Need To Know Before Visiting

We spent a few hours in Machu Picchu exploring the ruins with the excellent guide our coordinator had organised for us. Our guide had been doing tours of Machu Picchu for over 25 years and you could tell how passionate he was from the get go. Excellent experience all round! 

After the best few hours we met back up with the rest of our group and grabbed a snack from the little cafe outside the entrance. Then we committed to hiking back down the 1716 stairs to Aguas Calientes. 

Once back in Aguas Calientes, after a much quicker hike back, we went for our final lunch as a group. Then we had a few hours to kill before our prebooked train back to Cusco so we did a little bit of shopping and then grabbed drinks.

The tour included return transportation from Aguas Calientes to Cusco which looked like a train to Olltaytambo where we were met by a driver who took us to Cusco city centre. 

We arrived back in Cusco just before 10pm.

The Food

The food on the trip whilst included and big enough portions was very basic. The first two lunches were spaghetti with a tomato sauce. Ironically, the best meal on the trip was the last dinner which we paid for ourselves.

Drinks were rarely included when eating, occasionally we’d get tap water on the table but usually it was up to you to pay for your own drinks. This was slightly annoying as when I’d read meals included I’d assumed we’d at least get soft drinks. Breakfast was the only exception to this as typically we’d get both juice and a hot drink included. 

The guide arranges all the meals for you and often they are preordered so you don’t know what you’re going to get nor do you have a choice. He did ask at the start of the trip for any dietary requirements and these were catered for. The last two meals we had in Aguas Calientes featured a set menu where we got to pick a starter and main from a range of local dishes. This was a great way to try some local dishes.

The Accommodation 

I was kind of expecting the absolute worst when it came to the included accommodation on this trip. The descriptions were very vague stating night one would be at an eco lodge and the following two nights in hostels.

I’d assumed that meant a dorm room the entire group would share! Well imagine my surprise when these were the PRIVATE rooms I was faced with.

Now there was one other solo traveller in my group who ended with sharing a room for the first two nights with two other lads travelling together. So I’m absolutely sure the only reason I got private rooms was because I was the only solo female in the group. And I’m not complaining one bit!

My only issues with the accommodation was the lack of hot water (I only got two hot showers during the trip and both of those were at the hot springs we visited) and the wifi. One hotel had brilliant wifi whilst the situation at the other two was nowhere near as good.

You had to pay an additional PEN5 at the first place to get the password. I didn’t bother as others in the group had and said it didn’t reach the rooms anyway. The WiFi at the last place was free and they had 5 different networks to connect to so I had high hopes. Well it only worked in the lobby so that was very disappointing.

My Honest Thoughts

This tour was genuinely incredible! But I think the majority of that was down to the great group I got and the insane places we were trekking through.

My only annoyance with this tour was alllll the added extras. I ended up spending 1/3 more when on the tour as all the bits really do add up. I think I’d have much rather paid more upfront to have a more all-inclusive experience than to keep having to pay more and more everyday.

Read next: Inca Jungle Trek Costs: Full Breakdown from Start to Finish

I thought the itinerary was a great mix of adventure, culture and hiking. It worked perfectly and the accommodations were all beyond expectations. The food could’ve done with more options but overall was pretty good.

The hiking itself was less difficult than I’d imagined but wasn’t super easy. I think it was a good amount for a beginner hiker with a moderate fitness level. The worst hike for me was definitely the final hike up the stairs from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu.

Overall this was 100% a once in a lifetime experience that I will cherish the memories of forever! The perfect way to see Machu Picchu.

Have you ever heard of the Inca jungle trail before? Is this something you’d like to do one day? Maybe you’ve already been to Machu Picchu? I’d love to hear all about it…