Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu 5D/4N

We start the day with picking you up at your hotel at 05:00 am. We’ll drive for around 4 hours, crossing Anta, Mollepata and end up at Challacancha. Through the windows of the bus you can clearly see the white snowcapped mountains of Salkantay and Humantay: the holy Gods of the Incas. But also the spectacular scenery of the higher situated areas and the lower valleys with colorful landscapes. After two hours driving there will be a quick stop in Mollepata town. At Mollepata there are toilet facilities, souvenirs shops and an optional short breakfast. When this short break is over we will continue to Challacancha, which is the start of our trail. We meet with our support staff. The staff will organize all the equipment, horses and mules. Around 9:30 am we will start our trek to Soraypampa (3850 MASL – 12631ft). The first section of the path is a hike over a few deep valleys. At some parts of the trail the old water channel can still be seen. The channel still supplies water to the farmers in the lower valleys. The beginning of the trek is 7km (4.35 miles) hiking for 3 hours to Soraypampa, where we will have our lunch at the basecamp. After the lunch and some relaxing time which is very well deserved, we hike up to the Humantay Lake (4200 MASL – 13779ft). This is a 5km (3.1miles) round trip which we will walk in a total of 2 hours. At the Humantay Lake the bottom of the glacier can be seen, and also the most spectacular views of the background with the valley at sunset. Soraypampa is located in the middle of the glacier valleys and at night the sky is so immensely clear that we can really appreciate the stars, constellations and even shooting stars.

• Walking Distance – 12km / 7.45 miles
• Starting Elevation – 3350 meters / 12477 feet
• Highest Elevation – 4600 meters / 15090 feet
• Campsite Elevation – 3850 meters / 12477 feet
• Difficulty: Moderate

• Meals: Lunch, Dinner (Snack and afternoon tea)
• Accommodation: Camping
• Adventure: Absolutely, completely satisfactory

We wake up with the first daylight at 05:30 am. And after a quick breakfast we start hiking up to the highest point of the trail; the Salkantay Pass (4650 MASL – 15,255ft). The distance is a 7km (4.34 miles) tough ascent for 3 hours, between the rocky valley bottom and the magnificent Salkantay Mountain (6200 MASL– 20,341ft). When we finally reach the top we definitely will appreciate the spectacular views of the mountains and the imposing snowy peaks of the Salkantay, Humantay, Tucarhuay and Pumasillo. The Salkantay Mountain is the second highest mountain in the Cusco region and one of the Incan Gods called “Apu”. After reaching the top of the pass there is a 5km (3.1 miles) and 2 hours downhill hike towards the camp for our lunch. The walk downwards is on a serpent shape trail and a rocky gravel path to get to the Huayracmachay lunch spot. In the afternoon we will enter the upper part of the amazon jungle, which is also called “the cloud forest”. This is a 10 km (6.2miles) hike in 3 hours on a wide trail in the thick forests. This hike is truly beautiful, there are decorated hills with colorful sceneries and a lot of wildlife and native plants. The forests are most times of the year warm or have a temperate temperature. When finishing this magnificent hike we finally arrive at Chaullay Village (2900 MASL – 9,514ft), our base camp in the jungle.

• Walking Distance – 22 km / 13.7 miles
• Starting Elevation – 3800 meters / 12467 feet
• Campsite Elevation – 2750 meters / 9022 feet
• Maximum Altitude: 4650 meters / 15255 feet
• Difficulty: Challenging - Moderate.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Snack and afternoon tea)
• Accommodation: Camping
• Adventure: Absolutely

At 6:00 am. We will start our trek to La Playa through the Santa Teresa valley. We will be hiking for approximately 6 hours. During the hike we will see waterfalls, wild orchids. In addition we will also see coffee, banana and avocado plantations. Here you can taste the famous passion fruit and granadilla fruit. Walking through the Collpapampa village, also called the “forest cloudy brow” where waterfalls, thermal hot springs, fruit-bearing trees, varied flora and birds can be observed. If we are lucky, we will be able to see the famous bird called “the Cock of the Rocks” this bird is the national bird of Peru. After lunch at La playa, we will hike for approximately 1 hour to our base camp called Lucmabamba (2400 MASL – 7874ft). We will explore the tropical forest for a little while and have a lovely visit at an organic coffee farm. Here you can taste the coffee prepared by the local people. Coffee is the main farming industry of the local people here in the jungle and they farm many hectares of coffee to export to the USA, Asia and Europe. Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia, but it wasn’t until the Spanish invaded Cusco that it was brought to this region. We will also explore an orange and an avocado plantation.

• Walking Distance – 18km / 11.2 miles
• Starting Elevation – 2750 meters / 9022 feet
• Campsite Elevation – 2400 meters / 7874 feet
• Difficulty: Easy

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Camping
• Adventure: Absolutely

The chef of the trek will wake you up early with a hot cup of coca tea served in your bed. You will get ready for today’s activity while enjoying your last prepared breakfast by the trek chef. We will begin the hike early and you will get the opportunity to enjoy a small part of the famous Inca trail! After a climb of 2 hours with amazing views of the Santa Teresa valley we will arrive at the Llactapata Inca site right in front of Machu Picchu. This will be the first archaeological site we will see of the Lost City of the Incas and a very special place to enjoy and spend time. We will be able to see not only the Machu Picchu ruins from this spot, but also the Huaynapicchu and the Machu Picchu Mountain. We will explore this Inca site with the guide and he will continue the history lessons about the Incas of this beautiful country and of course you will have plenty of time to take as many photos as you would like. After the Llactapata ruins, we will continue our trek with a 2 hours downhill hike. At this hike you’re always able to have views of Machu Picchu until we arrive at the Hidroelectrica train station which is our lunch place. The most impressive part of this area is the natural waterfall of 300 meters high which generates the electricity for the region of Cusco. We will then arrive at the famous Intiwatana, an ancient rock used as a sundial in the ancient Inca times. According to history, this old Inca stone used to work with the famous sundial stone in Machu Picchu. These could measure and read the winter solstice which was the beginning of the new farming season for the Incas. After we pass this small Inca site we will reach the train rails. Next to the rails there is a nice path to walk on; this path will take us approximately 3 hours. After the 3 hours we will arrive at Aguas Calientes, which is located at the foot of Machu Picchu. This section is very interesting because it is the trail that was used by the American Professor Hiram Bingham who rediscovered Machu Picchu after centuries of it being lost. *Note that, you can take the train from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes town (which costs extra) but you will miss the beautiful scenery of these 3 hours hike.

• Walking Distance – 18 km / 11.2 miles
• Starting Elevation – 2450 meters / 8038 feet
• Campsite Elevation – 2000 meters / 6561 feet (Aguas Calientes hostel)
• Difficulty: Easy

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Accommodation: Hostel
• Adventure: Absolutely

Note: During the rainy season the hike up the Llactapata Trail is not 100% guaranteed due to safety reasons. When heavy rains are frequent, this trail becomes very dangerous.

The highlight of the trek, Machu Picchu! We will wake up early at the hotel. This is better for visiting Machupicchu, before the mass of people arrive. The Machu Picchu entrance check point is open from 6:00 am to 17:00 pm .We will take the bus to Machupicchu (Buses leave starting at 5.30am) and enter the city really early with fewer tourists than during the midday. Here we will have a 2 hours guided tour through this incredible ancient city. We will visit temples, palaces, priest houses, a sundial, the industrial sector and the farming fields. After this guided tour you are free to climb up to Huaynapicchu or Machupicchu Mountain (book in advance to get your tickets!). Machupicchu Mountain takes approximately 3 hours to hike up and down; Huaynapicchu Mountain is about 50 minutes climbing up and 40 minutes walking down.

Note: According to the new regulations at Machupicchu, tourist are just able to enter this beautiful place just once per ticket (booking the extra mountains, you can enter twice)