You can check out the availability of Inca Trail trek permits in real-time by clicking on: Availability Inca Trail Permit

Step 1: Click on "Ingresar Como Invitado" (Enter as a Guest), for further steps entering the website see below the paragraph "how to use the database of the Cusco government".
(links: http://www.inc-cusco.gob.pe/portal/index.php >> http://www.nahui.gob.pe/Kratos/site/)

When you wish to book for the Inca Trail:
We design a tailor made travel for you, integrating the Inca trail in your travel plan and according to your travel wishes & flight data. The Inca Trail is booked by us and taken care of by our local operator in Cusco. (nb: every Cusco operator needs to have a special Inca Trail license in order to be able to operate the Inca Trail trekking.)

Further details about the Inca trail, like what to bring with you, if it is recommended to hire an extra porter for your personal belongings etc, we give in the process of the travel design and booking.

Inca Trail trek permits:
The information shown is from the government trek permit database and shows the realtime availability of Inca Trail trek permits. Trek permits are required for the classic 4-day Inca Trail, the shorter 2-day Inca Trail program (Camino Real) and the 7-day Salkantay / Inca Trail trek. Alternative treks such as Lares Valley, Ausangate, Choquequirao, and the alternative 5-day Salkantay Trail via Santa Teresa to Machu Picchu do not require trek permits.

The government issues a maximum of 500 trek permits for each day. Since trekking staff are also included within this limit of 500 persons this means that, on average about 200 trek permits are allocated to tourists and about 300 allocated to guides, cooks and porters.

How to use the database of the Cusco Government:
First you see that the information given on the site is in Spanish. The data base is mainly used by the trekking agencies in Cusco to decide when they need to close their groups and buy the trek permits and not generally intended for public use. However you don't need to know much Spanish in order to check how many trek permits are still available on the date that you want to do the trek.
Step 1: Click on "Ingresar Como Invitado" (Enter as a Guest)
Step 2: Click on "Consultas" which can be found at the top left-hand side of the page. This will bring you to a new page entitled Bienvenido Al Modulo de Consultas
Step 3: Click on "Disponibilidad Camino Inca" which can be found on the left-hand sidebar of the page. This will bring you to a new page entitled "Disponibilidad de Espacios Camino Inca 2008" Literally translated this means "Availability of spaces on the Inca Trail". You will also see the words "Elija el mes para ver la disponibilidad" which means "Select the month to see the availability". This is followed by a drop-down menu listing the months of the year.
Step 4: Using the drop-down menu select the month that you are planning on starting the trek, then hit the "Ver Disponibilidad" button (= see availability")
Step 5: The number of remaining spaces for each day of the month will now be shown. (Fecha = date, Disponibles = Available). The maximum number of spaces is 500.

Doublecheck your Inca trail booking, that of your partner, family or friend:
Click in the same site on " Busqueda de Visitantes" (Visitor Search), select the right month, then click on "buscar por" (search for) and fill in your name or passport number. When you are booked you see your name appearing in the database and the local operator that is responsible for the Inca trail.

Interpretation of the database results:
If the number of spaces available is zero then it means that all the trek permits have been sold out for that date and no company will be able to offer you space on the Inca Trail. The only options that you have are to look at an alternative departure date or an alternative trek to the Inca Trail. The number of remaining spaces does not fall steadily, rather it falls exponentially coming closer to the date of departure. That is to say that the number of spaces remains between 300 and 500 stable for quite a long time but as it starts to fall below 250 or more, local operators have to decide to buy permits for their groups and the rate that the spaces drop starts to increase rapidly. Often the last 100 spaces can be sold out in one day ! To give an example: just because there may be 150 spaces available on the day that you want to start the trek, by the time you have decided to book your travel, it doesn't mean that there will still be 150 spaces left.

So it is highly recommended to book your Inca Trail as far in advance as possible, for high season this should be 4 - 5 months ahead.