Congrats on booking your Inca Trail trek! If you’re traveling with a tour operator, they will provide most of the camping items for you. You can typically rent sleeping pads, sleeping bags, inflatable pillows and walking sticks through the operator for a very small fee. I think it’s definitely worth not having to bring everything down to Peru in a suitcase!

I hiked the trail in May and the weather was very nice. Warm during the day and cooled off at night with hardly any rain. We were able to give our porters ~7kg per person for them to carry. Here is a complete list of the things I needed and used throughout the trek.

4-Day Inca Trail Necessities:

• Daypack with hip belts: I use a 30L pack and it was perfect for stuffing my jacket in when it got warm
• Passport
• Cash:
  • It is 1 Sol to use the restrooms along the trail but if you can hold it, it’s free at the campsites
  • You’ll need some cash to tip the porters, chef and guides. Our operator provided us the suggested amount ahead of time so we could plan accordingly
• Water bottle/bladder: 2L is recommended
• Snacks: Our operator provided a few daily snacks but I also ate a Clif Bar each day
• Comfortable Pants
• Tanks/T-shirts
• Warmer layer: A fleece or long sleeve shirt
• A bag to keep your clothes in within the duffel that the porters carry
  • I wanted to keep my clean clothes separated from my nasty ones so I used a few lightweight packing cubes
• Walking/hiking boots
• Above the ankle socks to go with said boots
• Thick socks for sleeping
• Rain Jacket/Weatherproof Jacket
• Winter hat
• Gloves
• Sandals for the campsite
• Headlamp and extra batteries
• Camping towel: If you get desperate enough to take an ice cold shower
• Body wipes: If you don’t get desperate enough to take an ice cold shower
• Toilet Paper
• Sunblock
• Sunglasses
• Bug spray
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
•  Obviously, the undergarments and toiletries/medications you personally require
• Camera
• Portable charger: My camera battery lasted all 4 days but I brought a portable charger that holds one iPhone charge to keep my phone alive as a backup to my camera

If you’d like to read about what to expect each day while you’re hiking the Inca Trail, check out my last post.