“24 pounds of weight on my back for 4 days during which 26 miles of distance should be covered! Sun, rain, snow, cold, heat and high altitude”
If you are planning on hiking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu, then congratulations!! You are about to dive into one of the most beautiful adventures in South America and in the whole world.
I hiked the Inca trail on November 21st, 2018 for my birthday and I chose the challenging route of backpacking my gear instead of hiring a porter. Either way, if you are curious about what you need to pack then you are in the right place. The common hike takes usually 3 nights/ 4 days but it might vary from a company to another. If you are still in the initial planning phase, I put together an article about how to plan for the Inca trail (Flight,Visa, accommodations, transportation…)
The following items account for a 4 days hike, you might need to adjust according to the number of days you are spending on the trail. Ready? Go!
Documents
- Passport
- Visa if needed
Gear
- Backpack: It is a good idea to invest in a good backpack. I got mine from https://www.rei.com/ you can schedule an appointment with them to get fitted and try couple of backpacks to decide which one is more comfortable for your back.
- Sleeping bag: My sleeping bag was a 20 degrees Fahrenheit bag and it worked perfectly fine temperature wise.
- Inflatable camping bed roll
- Backpack rain cover: The weather is unpredictable and it might rain at any point of time. The last thing you want is for your clothes to get wet.
- Hiking poles: You can most likely rent then from your travel agency but I ended up taking mine
- Water Bladder: I took a 3 liters drinking water bladder and it worked perfectly fine
Water bottle: I took a water bottle as plan B in case something happens to the water bladder - Inflatable pillow
- Rain poncho: It is not necessary if you have a rain jacket and a backpack rain cover but it is recommended
- Emergency blanket: You only know its value when you need it.
- Head light
Clothes
Hiking clothes
- 3 hiking pants: The recommendation is to pack two pants and rotate but I wanted a clean pair for the last day
- Underwear: You’ll want breathable, light weight and quick to dry pairs. Nylon or Lycra are good options and cotton is to avoid.
- Gloves
- 2 Sports bras
- 3 socks
- 4 socks underlines
- 3 Omni-heat tops
- 1 Omni-heat pants
- Sun hat
- head sock
- 1 pair of hiking shoes
- Camp shoes
- Shoe lace
Sleep in clothes
- Thick socks
- Leggings
- Tee shirt
- Wool hat
Toiletries
- Women wet wipes
- Toilet paper
- Tooth brush
- Tooth paste
- Mouth wash
- Floss
- Hand sanitizer
- Sun screen
- Chap stick
- Zip locks (For trash)
- Deodorant
Electronics
- Portable charger
- Camera
- Camera batteries
- Phone
Medication
- Ibuprofen or any other anti inflammatory pain killer
- High altitude natural pills: Purchased them at a drug store in downtown cusco. They are not natural pills made of coca leaves
- Anti-Diarrhea pills
- Band aids
- Coca leaves: Shewing on coca leaves on your way up will help you beat altitude sickness. You can pretty much find them in every market in cusco or even in the small towns on your way to the trailhead.
- Coca candies:
- Knee brace
This is everything I packed for my 3 nights/4 days Inca trail hike to Machu Picchu. My backpack weighed about 24 pounds = 11 kilos.
In an upcoming article and a video as well, I will share with you things that I think I should have left at home to reduce the weight of my backpack.
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