The Salkantay Route to Machu Picchu is rated by National Geographic as one of the 25 best treks in the world, and is one of the best alternatives to reach the Inca City of Machu Picchu.
The route combines beautiful mountain landscapes with incredible panoramic views, views of the Nevado Salkantay and exuberant forests, a subtropical jungle with a splendid natural environment.
Upon arrival at Machu Picchu let yourself be captivated by the magic and charm of this wonderful place and admire the sumptuous temples, agricultural terraces, canals and water sources that have made this place one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
The pick-up is directly at your accommodation located in the City of Cusco. Write us and tell us the name of your hotel.
Our adventure begins in the City of Cusco - Peru. We will pick you up from your hotel at 5.00 am. in our private transport, you will be picked up by our Tour Guide and Cook. Before leaving the hotel, check that you are carrying your original passport. It will be required by the national authorities at the Control Points along the route.
After leaving Cusco by transport, we have a 2 hour trip in our private transport, during the trip we can see the spectacular snowy peaks and valleys with colorful landscapes until we reach our first stop in the town of Mollepata, where we will be for 1 hour. and we will have our first breakfast at a local restaurant.
After breakfast we will board our transport to continue the trip for about 30 minutes to the area known as Challacancha located at 3600 m.a.s.l. - Starting point of our walk-. In Challacancha we will meet our muleteer who is waiting with the horses. There we will prepare and pack all our equipment on the horses. Then at 9:30 a.m. we will start our walk. We will walk this first part of the route on a path with stone ballast, next to the path runs clean and cold water in an old channel that supplies water to the inhabitants of the area. This first morning we will have a walk of about 10 km, about 3 hours until we reach the Soraypampa area, where we will have our first lunch and where we will spend our first night. Upon reaching the Campamanto de Soraypamapa area (3900 m.a.s.l.), we will have time to enjoy and take photos of the impressive Nevado Sankantay and also the Nevado Humantay.
In the afternoon, and after a well-deserved rest, we will leave the camp and have a short hike up to visit the beautiful Humantay Lagoon located at 4200 meters above sea level, the walk is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, where you will enjoy the beauty and the charm of the place Upon arrival you will have enough time to enjoy and the best opportunity to take fantastic photos of the lagoon.
After visiting Laguna Humantay, we will walk back to the base camp of Soraypampa, where we will arrive around 5:30 pm. Upon arrival in Sorayapampa we will have tea time (enjoy a good coffee or hot tea accompanied by popcorn and cookies). Here you will also enjoy a beautiful sunset over the snowy peaks of the area. At night, we will taste our delicious dinner. Afterwards, you have the possibility to take advantage of the night to appreciate the stars and constellations in the sky.
This second day our cook will wake us up with a coca tea at 05:00 am, and after our delicious breakfast, we will start our walk in order to reach the highest point of the route that is 7 km away. away. We will do this part of pure ascent in about 3 hours. This second day will be the hardest of the entire trek. We start our walk uphill with a gradual slope for 1 hour along the Salkantay Valley until we reach the area known as Pampa Salkantay located at 4200 meters where we will take a short break accompanied by beautiful panoramic views. After this break we will continue for 2 more hours of climbing through a rocky valley until we reach the highest point of the route, known as the Salkantay Pass.
Upon reaching the highest point of the trek, the Salkantay Pass located at 4,630 m - 15,190 feet. you will have enough time for a well-deserved rest. From here you can enjoy spectacular views of the mountains and imposing snowy peaks such as the magnificent Salkantay Mountain (6,271 m.a.s.l. – 20,574 feet). and the Humantay Mountain (5,400 m.a.s.l. – 17,716 feet) and other snowy peaks. Salkantay Mountain is the second highest mountain in the Cusco region. From the Salcantay pass, you will enjoy the back of the mountain, which always has snow on its summit and a cloud forest in the lower part of the valley. We hope that the weather allows you to see the sunset over this magical place and have the opportunity to see condors flying over the peaks. From the heights we will continue our excursion about 9 km downhill along a zig zag rocky gravel road until we reach the area known as Wayraqmachai.
We will arrive in Huayracmachay around 1:30 pm. In the place we will have our lunch. In the afternoon, continuing with the path of descent, we will enter an area known as the High Forest, also called the Cloud Forest where you can see a lot of vegetation and some native plants, the weather conditions in this area during the year are warm and temperate, thus arriving at the town of Colpapampa around 4:30 pm.
Colpapampa town (2900 m.a.s.l.) around 4 pm. place where our vehicle will be waiting for us to move us for 1 hour until we reach our private Geodesic Domes lodge located in the Sahuayaco area, arriving at approximately 5:00 pm.
We will arrive at the area known as Sahuayaco around 5:30 pm, where our exclusive Eco Domes Majectic Lodge is located, where we will spend this second night. After settling in the private domes, you will enjoy our tea time, where we will taste hot chocolate, coffee, cookies and popcorn, and finally at night our cook will serve an incredible dinner.
This third day, at 7:00 am. we will wake up; and then we will have breakfast at 8:00 am. Then we will have a walk around the area and visit the local plantations of bananas, avocados, oranges and medicinal plants. These plantations are the livelihood of the local population; and especially coffee plantations for export production, so coffee is the main agricultural industry in the area. Here we will have the possibility to visit a local coffee farm, where you can savor freshly prepared coffee with that exquisite aroma of freshly roasted and ground coffee. You will really enjoy this experience. After and around 11:00 am. We will return to our lodge where you can relax. Then, at noon we will have our delicious lunch served in the dining room of our lodge. After enjoying the facilities of our lodge, we will board our vehicle around 1:00 pm. to take us for 1 hour and 30 min. to the Hydroelectric Power Plant.
We will arrive at the Hydroelectric Power Plant, around 2:30 pm. to start with our walk towards the town of Aguas Calientes. Here the route starts with a slight climb of about 15 minutes, then the route here goes flat and follows the train tracks and close to the banks of the Urubamba River. On the way we will visit the archaeological site known as Intihuatana, which has an ancient sundial from the Inca era, which was carved into a large natural rock. From there, the Sacred Mountains such as Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu can be seen. The walk continues and goes through the Cloud Forest and has a very lush landscape and presents a great variety of plants and a large number of orchids. After 3 hours of walking we will arrive at the town of Aguas Calientes.
We will arrive at the town of Aguas Calientes (2000 masl) around 5:30 pm, where we will spend the night in a comfortable hotel, dinner will be served in a tourist restaurant in the town that is included. During dinner our guide will give you very important information about the next day (the most important day of the route – visit to the Wonder), so you will be fully prepared for your visit to Machu Picchu. Afterwards, it is advisable to go to sleep at a reasonable hour in order to leave in the early hours of the morning to arrive early and visit Machu Picchu.
After breakfast we will leave our hotel at 5:30 am. and we will walk to the bus station, from here we will ascend by tourist bus for 30 minutes along a zig zag path to reach the Inca Sanctuary of Machu Picchu.
We will arrive around 6:30 am. to the Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu located at 2400 m.a.s.l. Thus, we will finally be in front of the "Wonder of the World", and we will visit this incredible place. The guided tour will last approximately 2 hours accompanied by our Professional Guide, who will explain about history, visiting magical and interesting places that have made Machu Picchu one of the Wonders of the World. After the tour you have enough free time to take photos, walk or explore the site by yourself and there is the possibility of climbing the Huayna Picchu Mountain according to availability. In the afternoon, after enjoying Machu Picchu, we will take the tourist bus down for about 25 minutes until we reach the town of Aguas Calientes. Here you will have time to have lunch in one of the good restaurants. Around 6:00 p.m. we will board the return train that will take us to the town of Ollantaytambo arriving at 7:50 pm,
We will arrive on the train at the town of Ollantaytambo around 7:40 pm. When you get off the train, our staff will be waiting for you with a Tourist Bus, who will bring you back to Cusco.
We will arrive at the City of Cusco at approximately 10:00 pm, and finally we will leave you at your hotel located in the City or if you wish we can also leave you at any hotel located in the Sacred Valley.
If you cancel at least 3 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.
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