What the tour gives you, what goes in your daypack and what to rent — built from what sixteen listings include and leave out.
You pack for the Inca Trail in three places: a daypack you carry, a duffle the porter carries up to the operator's allowance, and a bag you leave in Cusco. The recommended trek gives you a 7 kg duffle and stores the rest of your luggage for free; on treks without a personal porter everything for four days goes on your back.
Sleeping clothes, a change of socks for each day, a spare base layer, toiletries, a small towel and the sleeping bag if you bring or rent one. The allowance is 7 kg on the two most-reviewed treks and 5 or 6 kg on others; four treks include no personal porter and sell one as an extra. Whatever doesn't fit goes in your daypack.
Rent or bring. The sleeping bag is included on one trek, a rental on eight, a paid add-on on one, and five expect you to bring your own. Air mattresses are a rental on the recommended trek, and trekking poles are in the price on none of the sixteen — nine listings rent them or sell them as an add-on. If you own a warm bag and poles, bringing them saves the rental and the guesswork.
A 4-person tent shared by two, a sleeping pad and pillow, a rain poncho, a T-shirt, towels, four breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners with snacks and purified water, private portable toilets, a first-aid kit and oxygen. It leaves out the sleeping bag, air mattress and poles (rent), lunch on day four and travel insurance. Read our review of it or check its dates.
Layers, not bulk. Two base layers, trekking trousers, a fleece and a light down jacket cover the range from a warm day one to a near-freezing night at 3,600 m.
Hands and head. A warm hat and light gloves for the camps and the pre-dawn start; a sun hat for the climb.
Feet. Broken-in boots or trail shoes with grip, a pair of socks for each day, and light shoes or sandals for camp.
Rain. A real rain shell and a cover for your daypack. A poncho alone won't keep you dry on day three in the wet season.
For the 4-day Inca Trail, pack a daypack with water, a rain shell, a warm layer, a head torch, sun protection, snacks and the passport on your booking.
The porter carries 7 kg of your gear on the two most-reviewed treks and 5 or 6 kg on others that state an allowance.
You need a sleeping bag on almost every trek: only one of the sixteen includes it, together with an air mattress.
It gets close to freezing at night on the Inca Trail: one listing gives 3–20 °C for day two, the highest day, and the camp at 3,600 m is the coldest night of the trek.
You need boots or trail shoes with good grip and support, already broken in before you arrive.
You can leave luggage in Cusco on the recommended trek, which includes free luggage storage.
Yes, you need cash on the trail, mainly for tips: they aren't included on any of the sixteen treks.
Yes, you need a rain jacket even in the dry season: cloud and drizzle on the passes are normal from June to August too.