Go off the grid with the ultimate Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. Over 5 days, you will explore the most breathtaking Andean wonders: the Salkantay Mountain, the Humantay Lake, and the challenging hike to the Cloud Forest. Along the way, you’ll be amazed by snow-capped peaks, picturesque valleys, waterfalls, and quaint rural villages.
Unlike most tours, this trip goes wild with an authentic camping experience, including fantastic food on the route and a night on a hill in front of Machu Picchu! The Salkantay Trek is much more than a hike; it’s an opportunity to push yourself and reconnect with Mother Nature. So, lace up those boots and hit the trail!
Start your Salkantay Trekking with an early pick-up from your hotel’s door at 4:30 am and drive for 3 hours to the trailhead – arriving approximately at 7:30 am. You will enjoy the first breakfast prepared by your chef, then meet the team of porters and horsemen to start the Salkantay TreXperience later!
The first part starts with a 3-hour gentle hike to Soraypampa (3,800 m / 12,467 ft) following an ancient aqueduct used since the Incas. Lunch is served at Soraypampa, where our chef will prepare delicious meals using fresh local products.
After lunch, you will continue with a 2-hour hike up until you reach the stunning glacial lake of Humantay (4,200 m / 13,779 ft). Once at the lake, you can explore and relax, enjoying this spectacular turquoise lake’s beautiful views. Then continue for 2 more hours to the first campsite at the base of Salkantay Mountain. Along the way, you will see various flora and fauna, such as the Andean goose (the love bird), deer, and vizcachas (which look much like rabbits).
The campsite is at Salkantay Pampa (4,150 m / 13,615 ft). This basecamp offers an unobstructed view of Salkantay Mountain and the sky at night. Get ready for dinner, stargaze, and sleep under a million stars.
Your Alpaca Expeditions trekking team will wake you up early (about 5:30 am) with a hot drink to help you start the day. Hopefully as you open your tent, you’ll be welcomed by the sunrise over majestic glacier peaks and clouds lifting from the green cloud forest. You’ll have time to pack up and enjoy a nice breakfast prepared by your local Salkantay trekking chef. This is the 2nd longest day of the trek, similar to the first day with long downhill and uphill hiking.
At around 7 a.m. you’ll hike for approximately 4 hours downhill until reaching the lunch spot at Ccollpapampa (2,700 meters above sea level). During this part of the Salkantay hike you’ll begin to notice the micro-climate as well as fauna and flora changes. You’ll go from cold glacier views to warm green jungle surroundings. There’ll be many different species of orchids to see as well as ferns, begonia flowers, and even hummingbirds.After lunch and a well-deserved rest, you’ll continue your trek to our wonderful, unique Hobbit Houses, set up on the hillside from the Salkantay River. (2400 meters above sea level). This hike will be approximately 4 hours on gradually downhill terrain.Along the way, you’ll be able to explore beautiful waterfalls, rivers, and more new flora and fauna. You’ll be able to experience another tropical forest micro-climate where local people farm coffee, passion fruit, papayas, oranges, and avocados. When you arrive at the evening’s glamping accommodations, your Salkantay trekking staff will be there to welcome you.At the Hobbit Houses, you’ll have time to enjoy a nice hot shower, and soak in a wonderful, outdoor, hot jacuzzi. The Hobbit Houses manager also often has cold beer and soda available for purchase. Be sure to bring extra soles with you! There’ll also be plenty of time to walk around our ecological garden to see some of the local coffee, avocado, chilies, tomatoes, and pineapples. Dinner tonight will be at our building with views of the Salkantay River. Then when you retire for sleep, you could hear the Salkantay River in the distance.
Walking Distance:22 km
Wake up bright and early with a hot cup of coffee or coca tea in your tent, admiring the spectacular views of the snowcapped mountains. After breakfast, you will start the ascent for 2 hours to the Salkantay Trek’s highest point at 4,630 m (15,190 ft). Once on top, you will take some time to explore and enjoy the area and even visit a beautiful lake at the base of Salkantay Mountain. Next, it’s another 3-hour downhill hike to the lunch place at Wayracmachay (3,800 m / 12,467 ft). You might also see Vizcachas (Lagidium Peruanum), a Chinchilla only found in Peru.
After a well-earned lunch, you will get ready for the day’s final stretch, three more hours downhill from the highland, where the air is dry and cold, into the lush cloud forest, where the weather is warm and humid. For sure, this is one of the fastest changes in temperature and landscape that you will experience. The campsite is next to the village of Collpapampa.
Enjoy a leisurely time in the village while admiring the view of the mountains you left behind. After breakfast, you will prepare for the most beautiful day of the TreXperience to the legendary citadel of Machu Picchu, hiking along narrow paths, following the river, passing wooden bridges, waterfalls, granadilla, and banana plantations, until you arrive at Lucmabamba (2,000 m / 6,561 ft) for lunch.
Today’s lunch is unique and a highlight of the Salkantay Trek. After hiking for about 3 hours and taking a van for the last part, you will prepare to participate in a Pachamanca Barbecue, an old traditional underground stone barbecue. After burying the food, you visit the organic coffee farms and prepare your cup. The cooking takes about 45 minutes; then, you sit down to enjoy the different delicacies like the cuy (Guinea pig) and different types of potatoes, fruits, and vegetables prepared like a local.
Once fed and re-energized, get ready for a 3-hour climb along the ancient Inca Trail to Llaqtapata, a small Inca citadel located on a mountaintop at 2,750m (9,022 ft), where you will catch the first glimpse of Machu Picchu from a distance. This place was discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911 and lost again until recently. You will be camping right in front of Machu Picchu; when you open your tent, you can see the sunrise and sunset over Machu Picchu if the weather allows.
Open your tent, and the first thing you see is Machu Picchu on another mountain in front of you while your trekking team offers you a cup of coffee or coca tea. After breakfast, it’s an easy 2-hour downhill to the hydroelectric station. You will have the last brunch with the trekking chef, say goodbye to them, and hike the final stretch of the Salkantay TreXperience to Aguas Calientes.
The last part is a 3-hour hike along the railway, following the Urubamba River upstream. This trek section is steeped in history. You will stop at Mandor Botanical Gardens, which was visited by Hiram Bingham, who found a farmer named Arteaga living in the area. He was the first to take the Americans to Machu Picchu in 1911. You will visit Arteaga’s farm, home to various endemic birds such as the Rupicola Peruviana (locally known as the cock-of-the-rock), parrots, toucans, hummingbirds, and orchids. Once in Aguas Calientes, your guide will take you to your hotel, where you can shower and visit the city or the hot springs. You will have dinner in a local restaurant as you plan the next and most important day of the Salkantay Trek in the evening.
Today is the most important day of the Salkantay Trek. It is visiting one of the world’s new seven wonders, a city abandoned for unknown reasons during the 16th century by the great Inca Empire. Wake up early, have breakfast in the hotel, and take the first buses to catch the sunrise in Machu Picchu. Your tour guide will take you to the most famous temples, palaces, and plazas and explain the mysteries of this spectacular Inca city perched on this impossible mountain peak. The guided tour takes about 3 hours, and you will have time to explore the magical citadel or climb Huayna Picchu or Montaña (Machu Picchu Mountain).
After finishing the citadel tour or your hike, you must take the bus back down to Aguas Calientes, have lunch, collect your belongings from the hotel, and take the exclusive Panoramic train to return to Ollantaytambo and our private van to Cusco. The TreXperience Team will drive back to your hotel around 7:30 pm.
You can climb Huayna Picchu Mountain for amazing views from the top. It takes 2 hours round trip, and you need to book far in advance.
This is the highest mountain in Machu Picchu, and the hike will take you 3 hours on a round trip.
Check out our blog: Inca Trail vs Salkantay Trek
