An ethical guide to hiking the Inca Trail

The fabled route leading to Machu Picchu is one of the world's most jaw-droppingly beautiful treks – but it's also plagued by controversies that travellers can avoid.

At 2,840m above sea level, the trail leaves the rushing Urubamba River that carves Cusco's Sacred Valley and winds its way uphill. It ascends past Andean cloud forests to Warmiwañusca, the infamous "Dead Woman's Pass" at 4,215m, before descending to the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.

This is the legendary Inca Trail, South America's most popular hike and one of the world's most jaw-droppingly beautiful treks. In an effort to protect the path, which was designed and built more than 600 years ago by Inca engineers, the Peruvian government limits the number of passes available to visitors during the trail's March-to-January opening (the trail opens 15 March 2025). As a result, every year permits for the 43km hike sell out quickly as travellers try to secure one of the roughly 200 daily passes allocated daily for tourists.

Ironically, the Inca Trail's popularity contrasts with frequent protests that often leave hundreds of travellers stranded, as the porters tasked with hauling hikers' gear across the mountains petition for better working conditions. While these protests rarely reach English-language publications, the Porters' Voice Collective (an organisation aiming to elevate the rights of Inca Trail workers) released a documentary in 2024 detailing these struggles.

How can such an idyllic place hike generate so much conflict? According to the trail's Indigenous guides, the problem is a lack of law enforcement governing porters' working conditions.

Since mules are prohibited on the Inca Trail because their hooves would destroy the ancient stone paving and stairs, trekkers are required to hire porters to haul their camping equipment. Porters' days often begin at 05:00 and end after 22:00. While a 2022 law mandates that porters receive s/650 Peruvian Nuevo Soles (£140 or $176) for the four-day trek, very few trekking agencies abide by this and pay as little as s/350 (£75 or $95) per trek. Since the law was passed, trekking agency lawyers have been fighting it, and in the meantime refusing to pay the legal wage.

In addition to trekking agencies not compensating porters properly, many companies require their porters to carry more weight than the 20kg maximum that is also stipulated in the law.

"Most [male] porters carry about 30kg, and I've seen 40kg packs," says Natalia Amao Huillca, who has been guiding travellers along the Inca Trail since 2007. "About 80% of the injuries I see in porters are knee injuries. The others are mostly back injuries. They frequently ask me for pain pills in the evening."

According to Cenovia Quispe Flores, who has worked as a porter for Evolution Treks Peru since 2018, "The law for women is 15kg," but she says she has seen women working for other companies carrying 25 to 30kg. To get around weight limits, many companies either send gear around the first checkpoint where porters' backpacks are weighed or simply pay those off who enforce these limits.

"In theory, the checkpoint is strict, but in practice, it's not strict for everybody," explains Shandira Arque Lucana, who has guided hikers on the Inca Trail since 2016. She says that big companies cut deals with people working the checkpoints but that small companies don't have enough influence to evade enforcement.

Even companies that want to play by the rules can find themselves stymied by the strict limit of 500 total people (which includes 300 non-tourist porters and guides) allowed on the trail each day. Sometimes there is extra weight but no way to add an extra porter.

"I've seen many porters working with hernias, bad knees and ankle problems," says Pedro, a guide who asked not to be identified by his real name. "I know a porter who became an alcoholic because he couldn't get treatment for his injured knee. He still works on the Inca Trail, and he dulls the pain with cañazo (a liquor made from sugarcane)".

Porters also suffer from dehydration. They drink unclean water from streams and handwashing taps near bathrooms, though paying customers get filtered and boiled water.

With all this in mind, what should travellers know if they want to trek South America's most famous ruins in a responsible, ethical way? According to local guides, the first thing to remember is that there are other treks that lead to Machu Picchu.

"The Inca Trail is not the only option," says Liz Montesinos Pumayalle, who has worked as a guide on the Inca Trail for eight years and notes that mules are used instead of porters on all other trails. "People who want to connect with Indigenous communities should hike the Lares Trek. The Salkantay Trek (which has two options that connect to Machu Picchu directly and other routes that connect indirectly) is best for people who want to sleep in eco-domes or lodges, rather than tents."

Amao Huillca notes that companies who hire many female porters often treat their staff better than those who only have one or none. "I like working with porter teams that are half women and have a woman head porter," she says. "Most companies send one or two token women porters." She says that because female porters are more inclined to go to a doctor when they're injured than their male colleagues, tourists who request women porters are more likely to trek with healthier porters.

"One way to ensure that porters are treated and paid well is for there to be women porters," echoes Inca Trail guide Edson Lucana Mejía. He explains that it has historically been common for male porters to sleep in the dining tent, which doesn't have a floor and is often muddy. Women usually insist on individual tents, so in a team with more women, you can be sure that more porters have a decent place to sleep.  

Marco Antonio Carrión, who has been guiding treks on the Inca Trail for 20 years offers other recommendations. "Look for photos of porters with ergonomic backpacks and for reviews that mention something about how porters are treated," he says. "If a company is sustainable and treats the porters well, it will show in the online reviews."

In addition, Carrión says travellers should ask if porters are required to wear their employer's uniforms. While it may be a small detail in some cultures, for many Indigenous Peruvians, traditional Quechua clothing is an important part of their identity.

Despite allegations of mistreatment by certain Inca Trail operators, many guides and porters not only feel fulfilled, but also fortunate to work in such a stunning natural setting. "I love this work" says Quispe Flores. "I like the mountains and working with my friends, the other women porters. Working in agriculture is harder and doesn't pay."

While it isn't always easy to determine which companies follow the law and which don't, Lucana Mejía has one message he wishes the many thousands of travellers hoping to hike the fabled route will remember: "Without porters, there is no Inca Trail."

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