Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu (5 Days)

Itinerary

Day 1: CUSCO | MOLLEPATA – CHALLACANCHA – SORAYPAMPA (HUMANTAY LAKE)

Stop At: Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, Av. El Sol 948, Cusco 08000, Peru
We pick you up from your hotel and then we go the bus station and travel by bus for about 3 hours to Mollepata where we will have breakfast this firs breakfast need to be order in a local restaurant in Mollepata after that we take again the private transport until Challacancha where is going to start our trek. A 3 hour walk will take us to Soraypampa where we will have lunch with panoramic views of beautiful snow-capped mountains (Humantay; 4120m/13500ft and Salkantay; 6271m/20575ft) – just the start! We will begin our trek towards Soraypamapa, our first campsite (3800 m/11750ft; the highest and coldest campsite of the trip) taking in the beautiful landscape along the way as optional visit we will go to Humantay lake which is 1 hour walking from Soraypampa our first Campsite.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Overnight Camping

Day 2: SORAYPAMPA | SALKANTAY PASS - HUAYRACMACHAY - CHAULLAY

Stop At: Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, Av. El Sol 948, Cusco 08000, Peru
After an early wake-up with the first daylight at 05:30 AM and a quick but energizing breakfast, we will start trekking up to the highest point of the trail: the Salkantay Pass (4650 MASL – 15255 FASL). The distance is a 7 km (4.34 miles) of difficult ascent in 3 hours between the rocky valley base and the magnificent Salkantay Mountain (6271 MASL– 20574 FASL). When we reach the top of the pass, we will appreciate the spectacular views of the surrounding valleys and the imposing snowy peaks of Salkantay, Humantay, Tucarhuay and Pumasillo mountains. Salkantay Mountain is the second highest mountain in the Cusco region and one of the Inca gods called “Apu”. Continuing from this climax of today’s trek, there is a 5 km (3.1 mile) downhill walk to the site for lunch. The walk downwards is on a serpent-shaped, rocky, gravel path which leads to the Huayracmachay lunch campsite. To rest on the way down, there is a perfect valley outlook that is absolutely stunning! In the afternoon after our meal, we will enter the upper part of the Amazon jungle, which is also called “the cloud forest”. This is a 10 km (6.2 mile) hike completed in 3 hours on a wide trail in the thick and magical tropical forest. During this part of the trek, you will notice a dramatic change in landscape and the earth’s energy as we move from Andes to Amazon! This hike is truly beautiful; the hills are decorated with colorful scenery, wildlife, and native plants. The forests are warm and tropical most of the year with temperate climates. At the end of this outstanding hike, we arrive at Chaullay Village (2900 MASL – 9514 FASL) for a much-deserved reward of rest from our long day of trekking! This is our base camp in the jungle as we continue to make our way to Machu Picchu.
Duration: 8 minutes

Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Overnight Camping

Day 3: CHAULLAY | COLLPAPAMPA - LA PLAYA - LUCMABAMBA

Stop At: Salkantay Trek, Cam. Inca Salkantay, 08640, Peru
After breakfast, at 6.30am, we start trekking for the day through the upper jungle crossing the Lluskamayo River and a variety of little brooks to reach La Playa walking about 6 hours where we will Camp at a coffee plantation where we will learn about the process of the coffee so we will harvest, toast and ground the coffee as part of this trek . Today we will pass through valleys and have wonderful views of waterfalls, tropical fruits ,plants and as soon as we are at la playa place where we are going to camp at a coffee plantation, on the other hand the horses will go back to Mollepata. from here there are an optional thing to do so we can take a local bus to drive one hour to get to Santa Teresa where we can enjoy the natural hot spring ( bus fares and entrance fees to the the natural hot spring is not included in this tour).
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Overnight Camping

Day 4: LUCMABAMBA | LLACTAPATA – HIDROELECTRICA – AGUAS CALIENTES

Stop At: Aguas Calientes, Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Cusco Region
Highlights of today: The best day of the trek! We will try to get as early as possible to Llactapata. We hike up through a part of the original Inca trail and get some experience of the native people who live here in the area. Have a chance to harvest several fruits and have one of the best views of the Urubamba valley. See The Salkantay Mountain in the background and have your first glance on Machu Picchu! We will have breakfast at 8am and leave our campsite at la Playa we will walk for about 20 minutes to get to Lucmabamba so will do the original Inca Trail trail of Lacctapata from this place we can see Machupicchu and Huaynapicchu from far, after we arrive to Hydrolectric where we are going to have our lunch then we continue walking, passing a variety of crop plantations, coca, banana we will be walking about two and half hours along the train road till reaching Aguas Calientes town where we will spend the night in a hostel. In Aguas Calientes, you can take advantage of the thermal springs in the town (entrance 10 soles) a real treat after finishing the trek.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Overnight in a hotel in Aguas Calientes

Day 5: Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Cusco

Stop At: Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley, Cusco Region
We wake up early morning about 4 am to then to 4:30 to have the breakfast and leave to walk up to Machu Picchu which takes one and half hours up to Machu Picchu but there is another option to catch the first bus which leaves 5:30 to Machu Picchu (25-minutes long ) in order to appreciate the magnificent city as the sun is rising. A walking tour (approximately 2 hours) is given by your Guide and after this you can explore the mysterious city by yourselves. If you still have energy you can also climb Huayna Picchu (2720m/8890ft)!!! It takes 45 minutes to reach the top. Then you will take the train around 2:00pm, 4:00pm or 6:20pm according to the train Availability so you will arrive to Ollantaytamabo after 2 hours travelling so A private transport will wait for you and will take you back to Cusco to your Hotel.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
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No accommodation included on this day.