When you hear this news, you might want to sit down. I wouldn't blame you at all. I'm practically lying on the floor myself. And I'm not alone down here. My friends from Peru are with me. We're crying giant llama tears. I'm sorry to be delivering ominous news about changes to the permits for the short 2-day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu. Over the last year I've been sharing news and updates about the unbelievable changes I'm seeing around Machu Picchu. This one hurts. Someone in Peru thought that the permits for the short 1-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu should not actually include entry to the ancient Inca city. You know what I'm talking about. The place you're traveling around the world at great expense to actually see in person? That ancient Inca city. Machu Picchu.

What is the short 2-day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu?

The 1-day short Inca Trail hike is part of a 2-day package trip to Machu Picchu. Day 1 is the 8m/12km hike on "THE" famous Inca Trail into the upper terrace of Machu Picchu for the classic view. Then hikers spend the night in a hotel in the nearby village of Aguas Calientes. The next morning they take the bus back up to Machu Picchu to get up close to the real Inka structures, view the religious and astrological features and gaze in amazement at the mysterious carved rocks of one of the noblest civilizations to inhabit the earth. 

The 2-day trip to Machu Picchu includes everything beginning with pickup from your hotel in Cusco or Sacred Valley, and return to the same hotel or another one if you like at the end. Also provided, are roundtrip trains, 3-way bus tickets, private tour guide for 2 days, box lunch and 1 night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes. The hiking permit included entry to circuit 1 for the classic view and circuit 3 for the guided tour of the lower section of the Inca city. It used to be that people who were bold enough to hike into Machu Picchu gained a sort of "status" that allowed them to have some flexiblity in their access to Machu Picchu. They "earned" the right to choose any route they wanted to tour up close in Machu Picchu, and they could enter at any time on the second day. 

The new regulation intends to eliminate the entry ticket to circuit 3 which is the only option for hikers to get up close to the actual ancient city. 

What is the new regulation regarding entry to Machu Picchu from the short 1-day Inca Trail?

Without any advance notice, during the week of June 1,  2025,the Peruvian Ministry and the authorities who regulate the Inca Trail, announced the following: beginning December 1, 2025, permits for the short 1-day Inca Trail will no longer include entry to circuit 3 (or any access to the ancient Inca city). The permit includes access only to circuit 1 on the upper terraces which is known for its panoramic views. Tour operators, or the hikers themselves, will need to pay extra to buy additional tickets if they want to enter the city after they finish the hike beginning in December 2025. 

How will the new regulation affect hikers who already reserved permits for the short 2-Day Inca Trail hike in 2025?

To be honest, the answer is not clear. Yet. The reason for this is that the new regulation is being challenged by an organized group of tour operators who are fed up with the 1st graders in charge of the Inca Trail, who seem to be making things up as they go. There are many variables that affect the experience of hikers on this mini 2-day adventure to Machu Picchu. For instance, what if hiking permits are avaialble, but extra tickets to enter Circuits 2 or 3 to see the Inca city are sold out? That would literally mean that hikers would not be able to get up close to the thing they came to see!

Certainly the cost for the short 2-day Inca Trail hike will go up for those hikers who want to enter the ancient city of Machu Picchu after the hike, and are willing to fork out more dough to cover the extra cost. 

One of the major bones of contention is that the 1st graders are not even waiting until the beginning of the new season in 2026 to implement the new regulations. They want to apply the new rules to all hikers on the 2-day Inca Trail starting December 1, 2025. I believe the lack of awareness among the elementary students of how this change will affect those groups already booked in December or who are currently planning their travel for December, is key to the push back in the tour operator community. 

It's left to the operators to deliver the bad news to existing and potential travelers, and cope with the backlash. It's not fair. And it's not a great way to attract travelers to your destination, I don't care how "world-class" it is. There's a limit to the abuse that tour operators and potential paying customers are willing to tolerate. The gauntlet has been thrown down. 

Let the games begin! In court!

Does the new regulation affect hikers on the long 4-Day or 5-Day Inca Trail hikes in 2025?

So far, hikers on the long 4 or 5-day Inca Trail don't seem to be in the crosshairs. However, I wouldn't relax too much. In my opinion, once the first domino topples, it's just a matter of time before the next domino is kicked in the teeth.

What we don't know about the new regulation affecting hikers on the short 2-Day Inca Trail in 2025

  • will hikers who have already booked permits be expected to buy additional entry tickets if they want to enter Machu Picchu city in 2025?
  • is it possible the entire regulation will go away? Yes. If the operators take it to court and win. It could go away. And this will become one of those bad dreams you can tell your therapist about. 
  • for people who book the short 2-day trips to Machu Picchu and have extra cash burning a hole in their threadbare pockets, will entry tickets to the ancient Inca city be guaranteed if they're willing to part with moola?

 Just getting this off my chest, I feel slightly better. I dried my eyes and splashed some water on my face. You know what I always say, "Chin up Doris!" Actually that was the first time I said that. But I may starting using it. 

Stick around if you want to follow the saga of the new regulation on the Inca Trail! I'll be updating for sure.