Our Inca Trail Porters

The Heroes of the Trail

Who Are the Inca Trail Porters?

The men who carry tents, food, kitchen equipment and group gear up and down the Inca Trail are mostly Quechua-speaking farmers from the high villages of the Cusco region — Mollepata, Lares, Ollantaytambo, Soraypampa, Wayllabamba and other small communities. Many are descendants of the very Incas who built the trail more than 500 years ago.

Working as a porter is hard. Really hard. They wake before dawn, cook breakfast, break down camp, run ahead of the trekkers — yes, run, in sandals, often at 4,000 m — set up the next camp, prepare lunch, do it all again for dinner, and sleep on thin mats in the kitchen tent. They do this trip after trip, year after year. The trail simply would not exist as a tourist experience without them.

The Porter Law (Ley del Porteador)

In response to historic abuses, in 2001 the Peruvian government passed the Ley del Porteador (Law 27607) regulating porter conditions on the Inca Trail. It establishes:

• A maximum weight of 20 kg per porter (15 kg of group gear + 5 kg of personal belongings).
• Mandatory weighing at trail control points.
• A minimum wage set by the Ministry of Labor (currently around S/100 per day, plus food and lodging at camp).
• Mandatory health insurance (SCTR) covering accidents on the trail.
• Adequate clothing, footwear, and rain gear.
• Proper meals, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

What InfoCusco Does Beyond the Law

The Porter Law is the floor, not the ceiling. Here's what we do beyond it:

• Fair wages above the legal minimum. Our porters earn more than the legal minimum, plus tips passed on directly.
• We weigh every porter's pack ourselves at Km 82 — before the official control — to make sure no one is overloaded. If a pack is over 20 kg, we redistribute the load on the spot.
• Quality boots and rain gear are provided at the start of every season. No porter walks the trail in worn-out sandals on our trips.
• The same nutritious meals our trekkers eat. Our cooks prepare food for the entire team — porters do not get scraps.
• Sleeping bags and proper tents for porters at camp — not just a tarp.
• Medical insurance and yearly health check-ups.
• Respectful interaction. Our guides introduce every porter by name on day 1 and explain their role to the group. They are professionals on our team, not invisible labor.

How You Can Show Appreciation

Tipping is customary at the end of the trek and is one of the most direct ways to recognize the work of your porters and cook. Suggested tip pool, per trekker:

• Porters: $30–50 per trekker (pooled and divided among the porter team).
• Cook: $15–25 per trekker.
• Assistant guide (if any): $15–20 per trekker.
• Lead guide: $25–40 per trekker.

Tips are not obligatory — and we never include them automatically — but they are meaningful and customary in Peru's trekking industry. The end-of-trek tipping ceremony on day 4 is one of the most genuine moments of the trip.

A Few Words You Can Learn

Most of our porters speak Quechua first, Spanish second. Even a few words in Quechua go a long way:

• Allillanchu? — How are you? / Hello.
• Allillanmi. — I'm fine.
• Sulpayki. — Thank you.
• Yusulpayki. — Thank you very much.
• Pachamama — Mother Earth.
• Apu — Mountain spirit.

Beyond the Inca Trail

For our Salkantay Trek, we work mainly with arrieros (horse handlers) rather than porters, since mules and horses can carry larger loads on those routes. The same fair-treatment principles apply: fair wages, adequate gear for the arrieros, and proper feeding and care for the animals.

Want to Know More About How We Run Our Trips?

If you have questions about porter welfare, environmental practices, or anything else about how we operate, we love these conversations. Reach out by WhatsApp or email — we'll answer everything honestly.

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