Our customers' Peru holidays often include the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu but if you want to trek the Inca Trail this year, you had better hurry! The traditional Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu has a limit of 500 people per day and trekkers must have a valid permit. We have a lot of experience in getting these permits for our customers but for the peak months this summer things are very difficult. Permits for July are totally gone, most of August is now booked up and many days in September are being snapped-up quickly.
We'd like to stress that this isn't something just affecting RealPeru. Companies can no longer bulk-buy permits in advance as every application has to be accompanied by a copy of the trekker's passport. Having said that, we can sometimes get our hands on the coveted permits even after the official quotas have been filled by picking up on any cancellations but even these go very quickly so if you're wanting to guarantee a trek to Machu Picchu this year then get in touch with us and let us know as soon as possible - we'd hate to see you disappointed!
If we can't get hold of a permit for the exact date you want (and we can usually tell you within minutes if passes are available) then we can always suggest some alternative treks to Machu Picchu. There are other Inca Trails that also finish at Machu Picchu such as the less travelled but in many ways more exciting route via Mount Salkantay, or something in the north of Peru like our 'pre-Inca Trail' to the mysterious and little-visited Chachapoyas fortress of Kuelap...