There are many reasons to hike the Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu. The incredible scenery, the sense of accomplishment, the friendships you make along the way. But one of the indisputable bonuses is the fact you need to keep your strength up, which means eating as many high calorie, high-energy foods as you can muster. Keep scrolling to get a little sample of food on the Inca Trail!
Food on the Inca Trail
These are all examples, to give you an idea of what you can expect – after all, the menu changes every day according to what the cooks have sourced. But rest assured, whenever you see their beaming faces emerging from the cooking tent, your taste buds will be pumped and ready for an amazing meal!
First Thing: Hot mug of cocoa leaf tea
Preferably laden with sugar to kick start your day and help you acclimatise to the altitude!
Breakfast
- Coffee, tea or hot chocolate, with bread and margarine/jam
- Hot porridge (sometimes with bananas or chocolate thrown in) OR
- Pancakes with fried plantain, OR
- Fresh omelette OR
- Peruvian tostada (roasted corn with cheese)
- Plenty of fresh fruit (bananas, papaya, melon, mango, kiwi and pineapple, all Peruvian)
Lunch
- Soup
- Fried fish with mashed potatoes and leeks OR
- Cauliflower slices with cheese OR
- Roast chicken with olives
- Platters of salads of all descriptions, packed with fresh, local ingredients
Dinner
- Chicken, tomato and carrot sauce with salsa picante
- Metasca beef stew with jungle potato in batter, yellow rice and noodles
- Rocoto Relleno (stuffed hot peppers) with pasta and tomato sauce.
- Quinoa with noodles
- Fat corn kernels with yellow sauce
- Carapulcra, a mildly spiced pork stew
On one day, there’s a celebration lunch, called a Pachamanca – this dish is covered in banana leaves, buried with hot stones that have been heated on a fire and covered in soil to cook. It’s usually made of roasted pork and chicken, roasted jungle and sweet potatoes, and sides of mushroom ceviche, guacamole with crackers and beetroot salad.
Dessert is usually like mango pancakes, fruit salads, chocolate cake and apple pie
Dietary Requirements on the Inca Trail
If you have any dietary requirements, don’t worry – vegetarians, vegans and those with allergies are easily catered for, so long as we have prior notice.
So whether you’re trekking the final stretch towards Machu Picchu, or celebrating your achievements in Cusco, one thing’s for sure – you won’t go hungry.
Thinking about trekking to Machu Picchu?
Our 16-day itinerary includes 9 days of trekking through the Peruvian Andes. We want to give you the ultimate Inca experience, trekking to Machu Picchu and taking in its lesser known sister city Choquequirao.
To find out more about this expedition click here.
