I'd choose enigma as group size is max. 12 although we only had 7 in our group. Other tour companies had much bigger sizes and I'm not sure if have liked that as much. The pros mean it feels like a a big family in the evening when you sit down to eat, and you really do feel part of a team. Chance to get to know others and spread the cost of porters/guides etc compared to a private service. The cons - you might end up with someone you don't like, but I think most people who embark on these kinds of trips are all likeminded individuals so I think that's fairly unlikely. In terms of going at the pace of the slowest person in the group, remember altitude sickness can effect even the fittest individuals, and even with a private service, you'll still stop at all the same campsites etc, you just might get done a bit earlier in the day. Enigma are great at heading off super early in the day to avoid any crowds on the route, we never saw a soul until late afternoon! Hope this helps!

Dear Kaffi, Huge apologies - I take care of TA messages and was out on an inspection trip. However, in our website there is a contact email address which is actually the most effective way of getting in touch with us -- the Trip Advisor reply system does not allow me to put it here (it says not HTML and books the message sending). You will be assisted by either Geraldine or Lizbeth. I will forward your message to them right away but I cannot see your email address and we work through our email server and website, not through the Trip Advisor platform. In Peru is now 3am but as soon as they get to the office or laptops at ca. 9am they will be happy to reply. Once again, our most sincere apologies. Please let me know your email address as soon as possible and we hope to be in touch in just some hours please. Have a lovely day, Silvia

Hi ericploeb, My daughter and I hiked the Inca Trail with Enigma from August 15-18, 2015. Here is my input on your questions: (1) Enigma can't confirm departure date until early January because the Peruvian gov't. does not release the Inca Trail passes for each year until the beginning of that calendar year. (It was the same for us this year). Accordingly, Enigma can't provide final confirmation until the passes are issued, usually the first week of January. So, I waited to purchase my airfare/make hotel reservations until we had that confirmation. Lizbeth from Enigma was an EXCELLENT communicator. I e-mailed her and asked her to confirm when the Inca Trail passes were in hand. She was happy to do it and communicated with me in a very timely manner. Once Enigma had our Trail passes, then I booked airfare/hotel. (2) Per above, we did the hike it mid-August and it was FANTASTIC! We had great weather most of the hike, but we did have substantial rain and even, hail, during one afternoon of the hike. We had perfect weather heading into Machu Picchu on the final day and got to witness Machu Picchu literally lighting up as the sun came across it at sunrise, as we hiked through the Sun Gate. It was absolutely beautiful! (3) Hotel recommendation in Cusco: We stayed at the Cusco Aranwa Boutique Hotel, which I found here on TA. I cannot say enough great things about his hotel. Perfectly located...about a 3-5 minute walk to the main square. Beautiful architecture within and 5 star service. Check it out! (4) There are a lot of great historical/cultural sights in/around Cusco. My recommendation is to find a good tour company and book day tours to make the most of your time. We used Kuoda Travel and could not have been happier! I found them here on TA and they exceeded expectations in every regard. We booked 2 day tours with them and they put together a fantastic itinerary that hit all the highlights outlined here on TA and in my Peru guidebook. Only other advice I would offer is to make sure that you either buy or rent hiking poles for the trek. When we did the trek, hiking poles were listed as optional equipment on the Enigma packing list. I would not characterize them as optional. You TRULY NEED those on the Trail. On our Trek, only one person did not have hiking poles and he was seriously hurting out there without them. He was hiking with a friend, who ended up giving him one of his, so they each hiked with a single pole. (Super nice of his friend!) I hike regularly and have never used/needed hiking poles. You need them on the Inca Trail. You have chosen a fantastic company to trek with in Enigma. We had an AMAZING experience on our Enigma Inca Trail hike. Our guides were Edgar and Jose...hope you get them...they were the absolute best! You are in for one of the most unbelievable experiences of your life. I have traveled to 5 continents and hiking the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu ranks in the top 2 travel experiences I have ever had. Have a great time!!!

Hello! Backpack or duffle bag are both fine - only hard suitcases are not recommended please as they are less easy/comfortable to carry. Hope it helps! Very best

We did the four day Inca trail trip with Enigma. In Cusco, we stayed at the Hotel Suenos del Inka and liked it very much. Its a little noisy due to the traffic outside, but the hotel has nice personality.