Itinerary
If you did not manage to reserve permits for the Inca Trail, we highly recommend the Salkantay as an alternative. Apart from the classic Inca Trail, the Salkantay Trek is without a doubt one of the most beautiful treks in the Andes. National Geographic Adventure Travel Magazine listed it as one of the 25 best treks in the world. The trek is currently open to everyone and there are no limitations on spaces and permits.
The Salkantay Trek will take you through unique and varying landscapes with the scenery nothing short of breathtaking! Photographers will experience sheer ecstasy as we walk along ancient and solitary footpaths: from picturesque grassy highlands to flourishing cloud forests, where luxuriant tropical rainforests meet colossal snow-capped mountains. The Salkantay Trek is off-the-beaten path and authentic. You will be spirited away into a world of phenomenal beauty and abundance of nature, with sacred solitude and hours of deliciously quiet contemplation.
Since the ancient Incan times, the spectacular glacier-capped peak of Mount Salkantay has been considered as sacred and the protector of the local people and their crops. The name Salkantay or Salcantay is a Quechua word meaning invincible, wild or savage. Thus, Salkantay is often called "Savage Mountain". Salkantay (Nevado Salkantay), or Sallqantay in Quechua, is the highest peak of the Cordillera Vilcabamba, which forms part of the Andes Mountain Range, rising to 6271 meters above sea level (20,574 ft). Salkantay is located less than 50 miles from the city of Cusco.
We are looking forward to taking you on a great hike.
day 1Short Trek from Soraypampa to Soyroqucha
We will pick you from your hotel at 6:00 am and transport you to Mollepata, a town en route to the starting point of the Salkantay Trek. Here you have some time to relax, stretch your legs, get last-minute supplies and sit down for a nice cup of coffee in one of the local restaurants. We will also meet our support staff here, who will pack everything for the trek and load the equipment onto horses. At about 9:00 am we will continue on to Soraypampa, the starting point of the trek.
From Soraypampa (3,800 m/12,467 ft) we trek to Soyroqocha (4,200 m/13,779 ft). The trek takes about four hours along a gentle incline. During the hike you will have breathtaking views of the "invincible" and majestic Salkantay and other snow-capped mountain peaks. Lunch will be at noon and afterwards we will hike three hours to our camp at Soyroqocha, a beautiful small lake in the mountains. Your tents will be ready and waiting as well as a delicious dinner that will round off an amazing first day on the Salkantay trek.
Distance covered: 5 km (3.1 miles)
Time: 3 to 4 hours
Lowest elevation: 3,800 m (12,467 feet)
Highest elevation: 4,400 m (14,435 feet)
Level of difficulty: Moderate
Sights: Mount Salkantay, Apurimac River Valley, Humantay Lake
day 2Views of Mount Salkaytay
day 3Jungle Hike
day 4Llaqtapata Inca Ruins - Machu Picchu
day 5Machu Picchu Tour
What's Included
What's Excluded
Monthly Price Comparison
Good to Know
Do you need help from our trip consultants?
If you have any question about this tour or need help with planning a trip, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
Our travel experts are ready to help.
Why Book with Bookmundi
No credit card or booking fees.
Best price guaranteed.
Carbon neutral tours.Algorithms and machine learning enables Bookmundi to calculate the carbon footprint for each tour. We then subsequently offset carbon emissions for all tour bookings on Bookmundi via investments in carbon reduction projects to help combat climate change.
25,000+ trip reviews, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5.
What are customers saying about Bookmundi
