Packing List for Hiking the Amazing Inca Trail

Hiking the Inca Trail in Peru had been on my bucket list for some time. So to actually hike the trail was a dream come true. But there was a lot of things to do before we did the trek, getting fit for one! But what was also important was what we should take with us on the trek.

Here is our detailed packing list for the Inca Trail.

You Have Two Packs

You get to take two packs with you on the Inca Trail hike. The first pack is carried the entire trek for you by a porter and you can pack up to 6kg in that pack. The second pack you carry yourself. In this pack you carry everything you needed each day. So what specifically did was our packing list for the Inca Trail?

Pack 1 – Carried By The Porters

Sleeping

Sleeping Bag. If you don’t want to take your own sleeping bag, you might be able to hire one from your trekking company. We took our own. Either way, the weight of the sleeping bags goes towards your 6kg limit. My sleeping bag was a Denali Capsule 500. It weighted 1.3kg (so 4.7kg left to pack) and had a Comfort Rating of -4 Degrees Celsius. If you are looking at purchasing your own sleeping bag two things that are important are weight (the lighter the better) and the comfort rating (it got down to -5 degrees Celsius at night when we did the hike in June).
Sleeping Mat. Our trekking company supplied each of us with a trekking mat which did not count towards our 6kg limit. However, we had our own mats and when sleeping on hard ground, we found one a bit thin to get a reasonable sleep. So we decided to take our own as well. That way we could double them up and we found that allowed us both to get a good night sleep each night. We took Denali Trek Standard Hike Mats. The mat weighted 855 grams (so 3.845kg left to pack).
Pillow. We took BlackWolf Self Inflating Pillows. They only weigh 200g (so 3.645kg left to pack) and were so much better than trying to stuff clothes into a t-shirt to make into a pillow.
Thermals. As we did the trek in winter, we slept in thermals. With thermals and our sleeping bags being rated -4 degrees Celsius we stayed pretty warm during the night.

One thing to remember is that the tents are pretty small. I’m 5’6″ and Darren is 6’2″ so there wasn’t a lot of room in the tent. While we slept, we sometimes touched the sides of the tent which were wet with dew. This meant our sleeping bags did get wet, and we had temperatures as low as -5C on our Inca Trail hike.

Clothes

The clothes you aren’t wearing will go into the pack carried by the porters and go towards your 6kg limit. So what did I take:

2 Icebreaker Tech Lite Short Sleeve T Shirts. I wore one and packed one. And yes only 2. The great thing about these t-shirts is that they are made from merino wool. I was originally sceptical about the claim that you can wear these t-shirts for a number of days without any odour – I tend to sweat a lot. But I love these shirts. Also, I took short sleeve shirts because it got quite hot a couple of times (it’s all about layering).
2 convertible pants – the ones that zip off part of the legs, so you have a pair of shorts. Because it did get hot a few times, it was good to be able to convert pants into shorts during the day. Again, I wore one pair and packed one pair. There are a number of different brands so find a brand that suits you.
Knickers. I took a pair for each day. I like a fresh pair of knickers every day and they don’t weight much!
Sports bras. I took two sports bras – I wore one and packed one.
Socks. I took 2 pairs of thick merino socks. Merino wool can be worn more than one day without any odour. And make sure they are thick socks.
Jacket. I had a Jack Wolfskin zip up jacket (see the photo below). Make sure the jacket you take is light weight and warm.
Gloves. A lightweight pair of gloves for the start of each day.
Hat for the day.
Beanie for when it’s cold.
Hiking boots. I wore a pair of Keen boots. The most important thing about your boots is make sure they are boots (they give support to your ankles) and you wear them in (along with your socks) before leaving for the trek. We did a number of hikes at home before heading to Peru, some as long as 18km in a day to make sure our boots were comfortable. You do not want blisters on your first day hiking.

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Personal Items

On day two of the trek there is an opportunity to have a shower, but there is only cold water – actually it was freezing (well really cold) when we were there in June. It was way to cold for a shower – I really don’t like cold showers!

Pack your personal items in a bag and that bag goes into your 6kg limit pack (unless you need to carry them with you during the day).

Personal items to take include in your packing list for the Inca Trail:

toothbrush and toothpaste
brush
deodorant
extra hair bands (2) – I have long hair and wear it up when I go hiking
wet wipes – we used these for a quick “bath” each night in our tent before getting into our thermals
blister pads / band aids for any blisters or scrapes you get along the way
altitude sickness tablets
headache tablets
any medication you need to take.

Pack 2 – Your Own Day Pack

Firstly you need a day pack that is comfortable and light weight. Make sure your pack has a comfortable hip strap so you are taking weight on your hips rather than all of it on your shoulders.

Items I carried in my own day pack / with me were:

Passport. You go through checkpoints on the hike where you need to show your passport, so make sure you take it with you. You can get stamps in your passport for each stage you go through on the trek however, remember that some countries don’t like having these types of stamps in passports. If you want the stamps, bring along an old passport or notepad for them.
Wallet. We carried small wallets and while we didn’t need them, we didn’t want to leave our cash and credit cards in our luggage at the hotel.
Sunscreen and lipbalm with SPF factor.
Bug Spray.
Sunglasses.
Hand sanitiser. You are scrambling up and down rocks at different times.
Camera, batteries and memory cards. I carried my DSLR body and three lenses (maybe a bit of overkill but I did use all of them).
Action camera, batteries and memory cards. An action camera such as a GoPro, DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro or Insta360 are perfect for capturing video and are lightweight
Mobile phone. There is no mobile phone coverage until a little bit on day 3 but you can take photos with your camera. I kept it turned off until I wanted to use it.
Battery Bank / Power Bank. There is nowhere to charge your phone or other batteries on the hike.
Water bottles. Make sure you take water bottles with you. We took two Camelbak bottles each. It is best not to take the cheap disposable plastic water bottles you buy at the supermarket. The porters boil your drinking water for you at each stop and most times when they fill your water bottles the water is still hot.
Hiking poles. Even if you don’t usually use hiking poles, they are a must for the trek. We took one pair thinking we would only need one each but ended up hiring another set. You can buy them in Cusco.
A Peak Design Capture Clip. This clip attaches to your backpack strap and allows you to mount your camera (DSLR or mirrorless) to it for easy access. That way it isn’t swinging around your neck or hard to get to in your bag.
A shower cap. It can get dusty on the track, so I had a shower cap to cover my camera while hiking.
A small travel towel for when you get a bit sweaty. I attached it my backpack strap.
Cash for tipping the porters.

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The porters provide you with snacks at breakfast and lunch each day so you have food while walking.

Another tip – take some Snickers bars with you.

I had the flu for most of the hike which meant I did most of the trek with an empty stomach. I just couldn’t eat the amazing meals our cooks made for us for each meal. Every meal was three courses (including breakfast). I struggled to each a part of one course for the first two days. By day three I was able to eat a little more for breakfast. By about 10am on day three, the hunger kicked in (I was obviously feeling better!). So that Snickers bar tasted AMAZING!

And then we survived the Inca Trail and made it to Machu Picchu!

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About: Lisa Bundesen

Hi, I’m Lisa, a 50+ retired chartered accountant. My husband, Darren, and I explore the world every opportunity we get. Staying fit is key to our adventures, from hiking the Inca Trail to scuba diving. We call Australia home but travel overseas often, always eager to discover new cultures, bustling cities, cuisines, nature and wildlife.

We would love you to join us on our journeys and hope that our adventures give you encouragement to explore this amazing world.

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