Inca Trail Regulation

This is the translation of a summary of the current regulation of the Inca Trail for information purposes

Note: The complete regulation is available in Spanish on the Website of the Ministry of Culture Cusco.

Resolution N° 02- 2003-UGM-CD

Regulation of the Inca Trail Network of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (HSM), recognized by the UNESCO as Cultural and Natural World Heritage. It includes the whole Inca Trail Network and its organized and authorized existing roads.

Use of the Inca Trail Network

The use of the Inca Trail Network for tourist purposes is organized through:

1. Travel agencies or
2. Tourist guides

Organized groups with Travel agencies

They are composed by:

1. Visitors: They are national or foreign tourists who have chosen a Travel agency to visit the Inca Trail Network.
2. Tourist Guides: Authorized professionals, hired by the Travel agencies to guide the visitors.
3. Assistance crew: It is the assistance personnel duly registered by the Direction of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu and composed by: cooks, porters and other personnel hired by the Travel agency to provide complementary services.

Authorized Travel agencies

Authorized legal organizations which fulfill the established requirements of the legislation in force.

Number of members of an organized group

40 people at most:

• 16 visitors
• 2 tourist guides
• Assistance crew

Maximum load

500 persons per day.

Assistance crew

We consider assistance crew:

1. Porters,
2. Cooks,
3. other personnel hired by the Travel agency to provide complementary services.

Payment of the entrance fee

The payment of the entrance fee to the Inca Trail Network shall be made only in the city of Cusco, at the Treasury office of the Ministry. For any reason the payment for the entrance fee will be accepted at registry and control points of the Inca Trail Network.

Modification by RESOLUTION Nº 0O2-2004-UGM-CD

Authorization requests to entry the Inca Trail Network of the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu must me made on the name of the person and with appropriate documents and paying first 100% of the corresponding fee, depending strictly on established capacity of load. These requests can be made up to 48 hours prior to the date of entry.

Restrictions of the tourist use of the Inca Trail Network

For ecological recovery reasons, the tourist use of the Inca Trail Network is forbidden in February every year, for the roads 1, 2 and 3, indicated on the annex E of the present regulation.

For preservation or restoration purposes, some restriction or closing periods of the Inca Trail Network will be established. In this case, the UGM will inform the visitors thirty (30) working days in advance.

Exceptionally, only in high risk situations, fortuitous or force majeur cases, the access to the site will be closed or restricted without prior notice. In this case, the Direction will inform visitors about the situation.

Duration of the stay for tourist use

1. Once inside the Inca Trail Network, the visitor shall not exceed the stay on the established road for more time than indicated on the entrance ticket, except in fortuitous or force majeur duly proved cases.
2. The stay on the site runs from the moment the visitor registers his entrance into the Inca Trail Network, at the control and surveillance point of the HSM.

Users identification

It mandatory that all users of the Inca Trail Network identify themselves with their original ID documents and that they register their entry at the registry and control point of the INRENA or the Ministry.

Banning of circulation and night use of the Inca Trail Network

It is forbidden to circulate inside the Inca Trail Network between 19:00 and 05:30, except in fortuitous or force majeur duly proved cases.

Mandatory minimum equipment

• Backpacks
• Sleeping bags
• Isolators or Matra
• Tents
• Water bottle
• First aid kit
• Oxygen bottle
• Propane gas portable stove
• Non elastic rescue cords (09 mm of diameter)
• Portable communication VHF radio equipment adjusted on the INRENA and the Ministry frequency, only in case of emergency
• Location maps of the Inca Trail Network
• Filters for water
• Plastic filters for raw water sediments
• Appropriate containers for solid waste disposal (green and red bags)
• Portable chemical toilets

Authorized guides should carry this equipment.

Equipment for the Assistance crew

• Group tents.
• Rain coats and thick plastic protection for tents.
• Plastic filter do avoid contamination of water sources with organic waste while washing dishes.

First aid kit (mandatory for Travel agencies and Tourist guides)

• Disinfectants (Methyl alcohol, oxygen water, iodine, soap, germicides)
• Cotton, gause, bandages and medical tapes.
• Broncodilatateurs
• Muscle and stomach analgesics
• Antipyretics
• Antiallergenics
• Ophthalmic liquid
• Creams for solar exposure relief and other medications for burns relief
• Extremities immobilizer
• Small oxygen bottle
• Pressure meter and thermometer

Forbidden elements inside the Inca Trail Network

1. Fire or pump weapons, bows and arrows, hunting and fishing gear, axes, mountains knifes, pickaxes, shovels or other tools.
2. Any kind of trap used to capture fauna specimens.
3. Fossil fuels, such as: kerosene, diesel oil, gasoline.
4. Stimulants, psychotropics, and other drugs not allowed by the current national legislation.
5. Sound equipments and other noise generators.
6. Domestic animals and exotic species.
7. Walking sticks with metallic point without a rubber protection or sticks made of local native wood.
8. Bottles, plastic containers and disposable glasses.

Solid waste

Travel agencies, Tourist guides and assistance crew must separate solid waste generated during their stay in the Inca Trail Network in organic and non organic waste and take it out the HSM.