How to Pack for the Inca Trail

When researching all kinds of information for the 11 months leading up to our Inca Trail trek it became clear that we wanted to make sure we had all the things in our packs that we would need for an enjoyable experience, yet at the same time packing as lightly as possible to minimize weight we were carrying. Needless to say this proved to be a very difficult task. In the end I think we did pretty well with what we had included and looking back on it here are my recommendations. Keep in mind we hiked the beginning of August so this could differ depending on the time of year you’re trekking.

• BACKPACK – If anything at all, I would highly, highly recommend having an extremely comfortable backpack and extremely comfortable shoes. We took Marmot packs with us, one with a 45L (me) and one with 35L. It was definitely tight for the two of us, but we were able to squeeze it in somehow.

Of course, if you plan to hire porters (MY BIGGEST RECOMMENDATION OF ALL FOR THIS TREK) then know that you don’t need to give them a backpack to carry your things in- just some bags are fine. If you plan on that ahead of time (unlike us) then you can get away with just bringing a daypack with you (I think mine is around 15L).

NOTE ON PORTERS: The porters will carry up to 12 kilos per person. Or, if you are packed light enough, you can “share” a porter between two people. We did this without a problem, giving the porter our big things such as sleeping bag, pad, extra snacks and extra clothes. This all came to about 12 kilos total between the two of us and we were left with carrying our water, some snacks, cameras and some clothes/toiletries for the day. This helped save us the money of hiring two!

• WATER – We drank probably around 1.5 liters on the trail while hiking each day; I would recommend drinking a bit more than that. Camel Back or other water bladders typically hold 2L of water so that is what I would recommend packing. Our group boiled water for us each morning and would fill our bladders for the hike for the day. So bringing just a small water bottle with you really isn’t the best idea as there is nowhere to fill up on the trail- plus it takes up more space.
• SNACKS – I packed way too much food. I ate probably 2 granola bars each day and we went through about 1 bag of trail mix between the two of us. It doesn’t hurt to slightly over pack as you definitely don’t want to go hungry, but they fed us very well at all our meals. I also grabbed some single serving dry mix packets, like lemonade, that were nice to have for some sugar at dinner time. We had one small bag of m+m’s with us as well that we ate during the four days.
• READING – I brought my Kindle with me thinking I would read at night since we typically reached our campsites by mid-afternoon each day. It was nice to have as a back up, but we were all so exhausted each day by the time we arrived that we typically went straight to bed. I spent zero time reading or bored.
• HEADLAMP – Do bring some sort of light with you. I have a Petzl headlamp which is nice as it packs down very compactly, however it’s not the brightest. You’ll need this for the mornings when you wake up and it’s still dark, especially on the last day. Headlamp is a must for sure.
• HIKING POLES – I went back and forth on this item for a very long time, but in the end we bought trekking poles to bring with us. ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS WE MADE. I’m honestly not sure how I would have made it without them. They were helpful to lean on for the many stairs we took going up but more than that they provided stability on the very steep steps going down. I felt like they helped way more saving my knees on the downhill than anything else. Bring hiking poles with you!!! Here are the ones we got.
• TOILET PAPER – There are small toilets along the trail that are literally just holes in the ground you squat over. But no toilet paper is provided. Be sure to pack some with you! The two of us shared a roll over the 4 day hike and that was fine. I would recommend bringing some extra or some tissues with you as well as it can be a little chilly some day and I needed some for my nose.
• SLEEPING PAD – Thermarest is the way to go. They pack down compactly and don’t weigh very much. Here is the one I have that packs down to about the size of a nalgene bottle and weighs next to nothing. You can also rent some from the trekking company typically. They’re a lot bigger, so be prepared to clip them on the outside of your backpack, but they were super light so not a bad deal at all.
• SLEEPING BAG – All we had heard about this trek was how cold it was at night. So needless to say we grabbed not only our winter sleeping bags (rated to about 15 or 20 degrees) but also our summer sleeping bag liners to put inside them. This was definitely overkill and we didn’t use the liners at all. While it did get chilly, it was only in the low 40’s I would say. We were totally fine with our layers and winter bag (mine is a Kelty that’s about 10 years old and does not pack down very small at all).
• TOILETRIES – Other than the standard items (deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc) I would recommend a pack of wipes. It’s nice to use just to clean up a little at the end of the day when going to bed without a shower. Also bring sunscreen as the sun can be strong hiking at such high altitudes and bug spray as there were surprisingly quite a few mosquitoes along the way as well. We got eaten alive the first day!

We also packed blister guard bandaids just in case, but never ended up needing them. Oh, and if you’re a light sleeper I would recommend a pair of ear plugs- you can hear snoring from neighboring tents sometimes and the first night since we were near a village there was lots of dogs barking.

Lastly, mostly since we knew were going to the jungle, we also bought Sawyer bug spray ahead of time to treat our clothes with it. This meant we sprayed our clothes down before we left home- I’m not sure if that helped in the end or not but it’s highly recommended. Due to the high altitude, it was actually a little hard to get the bug spray to “spray”. You will either need some patience with it or to find a cream and rub it on your skin instead.

• ACCESSORIES – Each of us have a Buff and I think they’re just the best hiking accessory ever. I would strongly recommend investing in one as they can keep your ears toasty when it’s chilly out while not causing you to overheat. Sunglasses were also great to have on the trail as the sun can get really bright.
• MEDS– We were never in enough pain to need ibuprofen, but headaches can be a common side effect of altitude sickness so it’s a good idea to bring some along just in case. I also REALLY REALLY recommend getting altitude sickness medicine. We got some diamox from our doctor before we went but realized we didn’t have enough when we arrived. We bought some ______ locally at a pharmacy in Cuzco and took the pills religiously each day. Be prepared for tingly feelings the whole time, especially in your feet, face, and fingers- this can be a side effect of the meds of just from the altitude in general. But it was totally worth it to avoid feeling nauseous, having a splitting headache or throwing up. We had no altitude sickness at all and I’m extremely thankful for that.
• CLOTHES – Here’s what I packed for actual clothing:

2 pairs of thin wool liner socks for hiking

4 pairs of regular wool socks for hiking

2 pairs of underwear- sounds gross I know

2 sports bras

1 pair of thin, spandex leggings, 1 pair of thick knit leggings. I used these for sleeping and didn’t really need the thick pair at all

1 pair of quickdry, convertible zip pants. Used these as pants and shorts during the trip

2 longsleeve shirts- I did use both of these

1 sweater- didn’t need this

1 fleece jacket- I used this at night and in the early mornings

1 rain jacket shell- Used this the entire last day when it rained the whole time

1 winter hat- used this at night and mornings

1 pair of winter gloves- never used these

2 short sleeve shirts

Nights are definitely cold and so are the mornings. I started off with my long spandex on under my quick dry pants for the mornings when we began our hikes. But always within about 15 minutes of hiking I would warm up enough that I didn’t want them anymore and usually just wanted to zip the pants into shorts instead. So I would recommend using the spandex for sleeping in at night and maybe wearing at night around the campsite but other than that it’s not actually needed for hiking. It’s really hard to change out of it in the filthy bathrooms along the way when you’re trying to avoid anything touching the floor at all costs.

• SHOES – Finally, hiking boots. It is so so important to have comfortable shoes for this hike- getting blisters is just not something you want to deal with. I completed this hike in 5 year old hiking boots from Walmart and my feet were in PAIN each day. I’ve since bought nice Merrell boots and it’s made a world of difference.

I read reviews that you should bring along a pair of shoes to change into in the evenings to wear around camp, but we decided not to do that. It meant just more weight and a whole other item to try to fit. The amount of time we actually spent up and about at the campsites was very little. We basically went to sleep right away so we never needed them. If you are planning to shower in Aguas Calientes you may want a pair to wear in the showers there.

• CAMERA – Lastly, we brought our phones with us (though do not expect to have any signal or WIFI during the trek) to take photos, our DSLR camera and GoPro. We had back up batteries for the GoPro since there’s no opportunities to charge it along the way and we had large sized memory cards to use for them since we wanted to have the chance for lots of photos!
• MONEY – Oh yeah, bring cash! You’ll be expected to tip the porters and your guide so you’ll need some cash for that. Bring extra if you’re not planning to hire a porter, just in case you change your mind along the way. Also, you will need a few soles for a locker to store your pack at Machu Picchu and some cash or credit card to buy a bus ticket down to Aguas Calientes ($12) if that is not included in your trek package.

That was all! It doesn’t sound like much but it all adds up very quickly and our packs were busting at the seams. It was nice to have our phones once we made it down to Aguas Calientes as the restaurant we were in had free Wifi for us to use. We were very smelly by the time the trek ended so if you have space and weight available, consider bringing a fresh outfit to wear for the four hour trip it takes to get back to Cuzco. Some of the restaurants also have hot showers available (even for free) so again if you have space you can toss in some travel size soap and shampoo and enjoy that at the end as well.

I learned from this hike that I do not do well trying to hike and carry weight in my pack at the same time. I would caution anyone who does not have a lot of experience with this to load up your pack with all the items you’ll actually be carrying and practice hiking for long periods of time with it on. I threw in some items that I thought would equal out to the weight I’d be carrying and we went on some walks with that. But when you factor in the high altitudes which provides a lot of shortness of breath, and hiking uphill it was a lot tougher than I had anticipated. The fact that things also took up so much space and made my pack huge was tricky as well. I’m so glad we hired a porter in the end, but if you’re looking to save a few bucks make sure to do some practice runs with your pack ahead of time to 1) make sure everything fits in it and 2) see if you’ll be happy carrying it for four days straight.