Confused in choosing Salkantay Trek or Inca Trail? How about experiencing the best of both at once? According to National Geography Magazine, both, Inca Trail and Salkantay Trek are among the best 25 treks in South Ameerica.
Salkantay Inca Trail Trek of seven days to Machu Picchu from Cusco is one our exclusive treks. We, at Treks in Cusco have designed this exclusive experience. This offers the best of both to our guests in one tour.
The trek, rewards you with diverse views of Andean landscapes, villages and archeological sites. It also takes you along the base of the Salkantay Mountain that stands at 6,271 meters. The best part, on this trek you will also be visiting the picturesque turquoise lagoon, Laguna Humantay.
Salkantay is one of the most impressive and highest snow capped peaks in the southern Peruvian Andes. To the Andean people, Salkantay is one of the sacred “Apus” (Peaks in Quechua).
Along its way to Machu Picchu, the route will takes you through a series of lesser known Inca archeological sites and remote Quechua communities; before you join the traditional 4 days Inca trail to Machu Picchu. This offers a cultural experience while enjoying the beauty.
On this route, you will be experiencing the highest points of both treks, Inca Chiriasca at 5,100 meters and Warmi Wañusca Pass or The Dead Woman pass at 4,200 meters.
The route will lead you through mountains above the Urubamba River which follows the course of an old Inca roadway that leads to Machu Picchu. The trail itself brings us a combination of landscapes of high altitude mountain ranges (The Andes) and dense subtropical cloud forest.
This 90 kilometres trek is one of the best experiences of lifetime. It is also an interesting ways to reach Machu Picchu from Cusco. We recommend you to book this at-least six months in advance as you will require Inca Trail permit.
This is a high altitude experience. It is highly recommended that you to spend atleast three days in Cusco before the trek to avoid altitude sickness.
It is best to experience the trek during the dry season – May to October.
As for trekkers, even operators need permits and license to operate this tour. Treks in Cusco is one of the licensed tour operators for Inca Trail and a reputed operator for Salkantay Trekking. As this is one of our signature treks, we have dedicated team of guides, chefs and porters for this.
Our guides are tourism professionals from Cusco. They have a wealth of knowledge about the history, inca sites, flora and fauna and are fluent in English.
Cusco Hotel Transfer
0500 AM
We will be picking you up from your hotel early in the morning. Then, we will travel to Mollepata. Along the way, we will pass through the picturesque towns of Pampa de Anta (Izcuchaca, Zurite, and Ancahuasi). Our journey will take us to the Limatambo Valley. Here we will visit the ruins of Tarawasi. We will then continue to Mollepata. At Mollepata, we will complete the arrangements for our trek and then hike to our first camp at Markokasa.
We will begin the day by trekking to Choquekiclla. The route offers a rewarding experience. It offers stunning view of Salkantay Humantay Mountain. Our camp site will be near Humantay Lake. (4,000 meters/13,123 feet above sea level).
This is one of the beat days of the trek. We will be hiking through the Salkantay Pass, pretty close to the snowcapped peak of the mountain. From here we will be descending to an Incan canal. During our trek, we will be able to witness the imposing Andean topography.
We will be beginning the day by hiking through the Inca Canal. The route will leads us to Paucarcancha ruins also known as Inkaracay. From Paucarcancha, we will enter the Cusichaca Valley and hike onward to Llulluchapampa (Incaracay).
We will trek up to the highest point of the Inca Trail, Warmi wañusca Pass or The Dead Woman pass at 4,200 meters/13,780 feet above sea level. Here we will stop for lunch. After lunch we will be descending and will stop at Runkurakay which is another archaeological site.
From here, we will descend further to Yanacocha lake and enter the cloud forest region. From here we will continue toward the Pacaymayo Valley and onward to Sayacmarca near Santa Teresa district. We will be camping there for the night.
This is quite an easy day. After breakfast we will start the trek. You will be noticing the change in climate. It will gradually start getting warmer as we will be getting closer to the cloud forest. Along the way we will be visiting plenty of archaeological sites.
After breakfast, we will be entering the iconic citadel of Incas Machu Picchu, through the Sun Gate (Intipunku). This is an exclusive view point that offers breathtaking views of Machu Picchu.
You will have a two hours guided tour of Machu Picchu. On this tour you will be visiting sites like the main plaza, ceremonial centres, temples among other important ones.
After the tour, we will take a bus to Aguas Calientes. From here, you will be boarding the train to Ollantaytambo. At the train station, our representative will meet you and drive you back to Cusco
Fascinating a great adventure, excellent tour in my opinion is a memorable memory, super recommended attention was impeccable we are happy for everything.
