Are there any available spots left to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in May/June?

Question

I have been trying to find a tour operator for the classic Inca Trail (4 days/3 nights) to Machu Piccu, but have not had any success finding an open spot for one person with any of the tour operators I have contacted. I've read there are at least 160 tour operators and I was thinking it would be a lot easier if I could just obtain a list of all of them. Thus far I've only been able to find the ones I can Google. From there, I eliminated the ones that were over 700 US dollars; however, I certainly didn't find anywhere near 160 operators. Unfortunately, all the ones I contacted said they were sold out in May and June.

I read that the Inca Trail is protected by restricting the number of treks/permits allowed. Is there a way to find out if there are any availabilities left without having to contact each individual tour operator? Also, does there exist a list of all the tour operators?

Answer 1

Most likely the tour operators aren't actually sold out as such, but the the permits are. When there are no permits available, no tour operator is going to be able to help you!

Permits are indeed required for all hikers on the on the "Inca Trail", and for peak periods they often sell out months in advance as only ~200 hikers are allowed to set-out on the trail each day. According to this website, there are no permits available between April and early July.

There are other options for hiking around Cusco, the most popular being the Lares trek - although personally I'd try and reschedule your trip at a time when you can get a permit for the Inca Trail if at all possible - it is an amazing experience!