Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu – Salkantay Trail
Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu is a high altitude trek from Cusco to Machu Picchu. Often this is considered as the best alternative trek to the classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. This is among popular treks in South America.
This high altitude trek takes you from the Andes through the Salkantay Mountain down to cloud forests. Mount Salkantay is regarded as a sacred peak by locals. On this five day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, you will have the opportunity to see the Andean flora and fauna and a few Inca sites.
On the first day of the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, you will be hiking along the iconic Humantay Lake. The second day of the trek begins with a challenging hike up the hill to the highest point of the trek, Salkantay Pass at 4,600 metres above sea level (15088 feet).
It is highly recommended to spend at least 4 days in Cusco before the trek to avoid altitude sickness.
The best time to do the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu is during the dry season, between May and October. During the rainy season, often the trail is wet and slippery.
Why Peruvian Highland Trek for Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu?
Peruvian Highland Trek is a fully locally owned tour operating company based in Cusco. We are licensed Salkantay Trek tour operators. All our tour guides are locals. They have extensive knowledge about trekking and local culture.
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Early morning transfer from your hotel in Cusco to the trail head. We will be picking you up at 0430 in the morning. Then we will embark on a 3 hours to drive to Mollepata. It is an Andean village, where you could have a local breakfast. Also, there you can buy anything you may have forgotten back in town (water, bug spray, rain poncho, etc). Once all last-minute supplies have been purchased and the horsemen have taken the last bags, we will start our trek. Approx. After 3 and a half hours of hiking, we will reach Sayllapata, where a nice and hot lunch is waiting for us. After the lunch, we will continue our trek tower to lake Humantay were we will appeciated a beautifull landskapes with another 3-4 hours, we will get our final stop today at Soraypampa, which is at 3500 meters (20.671 feet). We will set up our first campsite at 4000m (12750ft), the highest and coldest campsite of the trip, where we can take in the beautiful landscape of 2 immense snow-capped peaks. Meals Included: Lunch and Dinner. At 0530 in the morning we will be meeting for breakfast. This is the most challenging day of the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. We will be hiking to the highest pass at 4650 metres (15200 ft.). This pass is snuggled between the Salkantay Mountain at 6271m/20575ft and Humantay at 4120m/13500ft) After lunch, we will go on the way, having many occasions to get pleasure from the rich biodiversity that is all around. Like esoteric brushes, the wild orchids and the various medicinal plants that your guide will teach you about. We will cross some aged, and charming, typical villages like Arrayanpata. At the end of the day, we will reach our second campsite Challway (2920 meters above sea level), where we are going to have dinner and spend Salkantay Trek at night. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. We will be waking you up at 0600 AM. After breakfast, we will start with a 50 minutes hike to Sahuayacos. This will be mostly through the upper part of the jungle crossing the Lluskamayo River and a diversity of small brooks. The path is more solid here and you will be able to get pleasure from the warm climate. After hiking for about 6 hours we will reach a place known as Playa Sahuayaco. Here you can take a dip under the waterfalls. The place is home to some exotic birds, coffee plantations and even wild fruits. We may even see the Peruvian national bird, “Cock of the Rocks”. Our third night’s campsite is in Playa Sahuayaco. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. We will begin with an early morning trek to Llactapata ruins. The path up is actually on a segment of an old Inca trail. It leads first through some old villages of coffee and coca plantations, and citrus tree orchards before reaching some beautiful high altitude grasslands. We will then enter an old forest near the top. The hike to Llactapata is about 3 hours. Then just across the valley, you will get the first sight of Machu Picchu. In about 3-4 hours ,always with views of Machu Picchu, we will reach Hydroelectric. It gets its name after the large “Hydroelectric” dam nearby. Here we will be stopping for lunch. We will then continue to hike along the railway tracks. This is the same path the renowned American professor Hiram Bingham took when he rediscovered Machu Picchu. It normally takes about two and a half hours. We will be accommodating you in an ensuite hotel room with hot showers for the night. At around 0730, we will be meeting for the group dinner. Optional evening visit to the Hot Springs with entrance fees of USD 3. Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. The hotel crew will be serving breakfast early in the morning. We will then take a bus up to Machu Picchu citadel. It will be a 30 minutes ride. The local expert will be giving you a detailed two hours guided tour of the citadel. During the tour, you will be visiting some of the important places like the main plaza, the temple of the Condor, Intihuatana (Solar clock) and the temple of three windows. After the tour, you will have some free time to explore the citadel on your own. If you want to climb Huayna Picchu mountain or Machu Picchu mountain, our guide will be directing you to the respective entrance. Please Note that local authorities restrict the number of people who can hike Huayna Picchu in a day. Often permits are sold out months in advance. So make sure to book one in advance. After the tour, you will be taking the bus back down to Aguas Calientes. Here you will be boarding the train to Ollantaytambo. Our representative will be meeting you and will be driving you back to your hotel in Cusco.
or One Way: US $ 14.00 or Round Trip: US $ 24.00
Itinerary
Day 1 – Cusco – Mollepata – Soraypampa – Humantay Lake
Day 2 – Soraypampa – Challuay
Day 3 : Challuay – La Playa Sahuayaco.
Day 4: Sahuayaco- Patallaqta Hydroelectric to Aguas Calientes.
Day 5: Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu – Cusco
Includes
SALKANTAY TREK TO MACHU PICCHU INCLUDES:
Not Include
SALKANTAY TREK TO MACHU PICCHU DOES NOT INCLUDE:
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