Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu (5 days)

Price

• From January 1^st to December 31^st, 2018:
• Price per person, based in double occupancy, for the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu (5 days): US$ 340.
• From January 1^st to December 31^st, 2019:
  • Price per person, based in double occupancy, for the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu (5 days): US$ 360.

Discounts

• Discount for children between 11 and 17 US$ 20 off.
• Discount for children between 3 and 10: US$ 50 off.

*To take advantage of the indicated discounts, send us an e-mail at reservas@denomades.com before making the online booking.

Includes

• Pickup at the hotel in Cusco.
• Drop-off in downtown Cusco.
• Transport:
  • Shared transport from Cusco to Challacancha.
  • Shared transport via Expedition train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo.
  • Shared transport from Ollantaytambo to Cusco.
• Accommodations:
  • 1^st night in the Soraypampa camp (shared double tent).
  • 2^nd night in the Chaullay camp (shared double tent).
  • 3^rd night in the Santa Teresa camp (shared double tent).
  • 4^th night in Aguas Calientes in the Hotel Presidente or Hotel Vista Machu Picchu, depending on availability (private room, with private bathroom).
• Meals:
  • Breakfast (every day except for the first and last).
  • Lunch (every day except the last).
  • Dinner (every day except the last).
• Camping gear (carried by a herder and mules):
  • Tent.
  • Sleeping pad.
• Bilingual guide (Spanish and English).
• Luggage carrying service the 3 first days (up to 5 kg (11 lbs.) per person).
• Entrance ticket to the Salkantay Route.
• Entrance ticket to the Machu Picchu citadel (archaeological site).

Not included

• Showers at Soraypampa camp (no access).
• Showers at Chaullay camp (S/. 10 per person).
• Showers at Santa Teresa camp (S/. 5 per person).
• Bathroom access along the route.
• Sleeping bag.
• Trekking poles.
• Extra luggage weight (S/. 50 for up to 12 kg (26.5 lbs.)).
• Breakfast on the first day (S/. 7 per person), lunch and dinner the last day.
• Drinks at dinner on the fourth day.
• Water.
• Entrance ticket to the Cocalmayo Hot Springs (optional activity, S/. 25 per person).
• Zipline ticket (optional activity, S/. 100 per person).
• Health insurance.

Optional services

• Train upgrade to Vistadome category: US$ 35 per person.
• Entramce ticket to Machu Picchu Mountain: US$ 20 per person.
• Entrance ticket to Huayna Picchu Mountain: US$ 20 per person.
• Roun-trip bus between Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu: US$ 24 per person.

*It is not possible to climb up both mountains, Machu Picchu Mountain and Huayna Picchu, during the same tour.

How to book

1. Select the departure date from the calendar.
2. Select the number of people.
3. Select the mountain you would like to climb up as an optional service (Machu Picchu Mountain or Huayna Picchu). If you don't want to climb up any mountain, just continue on to the next step.
4. Click on "Add to cart".
5. Pay an advance deposit online of the full price of the tour.

• Once the payment has been made, the booking will be subject to confirmation depending on availability. If you would like to find out about the availability before making the payment, send us and e-mail at reservas@denomades.com.

What to bring

• 30-liter backpack to carry the items you will use during the trek.
• Backpack rain cover.
• Sleeping bag.
• Trekking poles (recommended).
• Base layer (synthetic long underwear).
• Long and short-sleeved t-shirts.
• Warm jacket.
• Waterproof clothes (jacket and pants, or rain poncho).
• Synthetic underwear.
• Bathing suite.
• Towel.
• Trekking shoes.
• Flip-flops.
• Hat and gloves to protect yourself from the cold.
• Cap to protect yourself from the sun.
• Sunglasses.
• Personal toiletries.
• Toilet paper.
• Sunscreen.
• Insect repellent.
• Headlamp.
• Extra battery (most of the places of accommodation do not have electricity).
• Water (1 liter per person for the first day; you will be able to buy more during the trek).
• Snacks.
• At least S/. 200 for expenses not included in the trek (the amount considers activities and optional rentals).

Restrictions

• Minimum age of 14 required for this activity.
• Not allowed for pregnant women.

Itinerary

Start: Day 1 at 4:30 am at your hotel in Cusco.
End: Day 5 around midnight in downtown Cusco.

Day 1: Cusco – Challacancha – Soraypampa (16-km hike (10 miles), 6 hours). We will pick you up at your hotel to start the trip towards our starting point, and will head off towards Mollepata, which is a 3-hour trip. Once we arrive there, we will have to pay our entrance fee to the community and then we will have breakfast (not included). There will be enough time to buy some last items before meeting with the group with whom we will make the trek. After receiving the guide’s instructions, we will board the bus again that will take us to Challacancha, where we will start the trek. We will hike the trail while observing the initial landscapes with mountains and valleys. After 3 hours, we will reach the Soraypampa camp at an altitude of 3,900 meters (12,795 ft.). Here we will have lunch and then have some time to rest and recover. In the afternoon we will go up to the Humantay Lagoon, a natural sight one and a half hours from the camp and at an altitude of 4,100 meters (13,451 ft.), where it is possible to see the glacier with the same name in the background if weather permits. Once back at the camp, we will rest for a moment before having dinner, where we will spend time together and listen to the guide’s instructions for the next day before going to sleep in our tents.

Day 2: Soraypampa – Abra Salkantay – Chaullay (22-km hike (13.67 miles), 10 hours). We will begin the day with a coca tea in our tents to wake up with energy. After packing up and getting our things ready to go, we will meet for breakfast and then get ready to begin the trek. We will begin to go up the mountains while observing the different landscape from the previous day and making stops to rest as we gain altitude. Our destination is the Abra Salkantay at an altitude of 4,650 meters (15,256 ft.), where we will have views of the Humantay Glacier and the snowcapped Salkantay Mountain. At this highest point of the trek, we will perform a small ceremony of thanks to the Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the surrounding Apus (mountains), and then we will continue on to the shelter for lunch at an altitude of 4,100 meters (13,451 ft.). After recovering some energy, we will continue our descent while going from a cold, mountain landscape to a warmer jungle landscape until reaching the Chaullay camp (2,900 meters, 9,514 ft.), where we will have dinner and then go to sleep in our tents.

Day 3: Chaullay – Santa Teresa (14-km hike (8.7 miles), 5 hours). We will begin the morning with a coca tea in our tents to wake up and then get our things together. After breakfast, we will say goodbye to the porter, who will go on ahead with our luggage, and then we will begin our hike. We will see different types of plantations along the route such as quinoa and pomegranate, and the guide will tell us about different flowers and their importance in the Andean culture. After hiking for 5 hours, we will reach Playa Sahuayacu to have lunch. After resting for a little while, we will then continue our journey by bus to Santa Teresa, where we will spend our third night. Here we can go to the Cocalmayo Hot Springs (optional, not included) during the afternoon to help our muscles recover from the days of hiking, which has 3 pools with different temperatures. At night we will eat dinner, receive instructions for the next day, and have time to hang out with the group and rest.

Day 4: Santa Teresa – Aguas Calientes (16-km hike (10 miles), 6 hours). The day begins with breakfast so we have energy to make the hike to Hidroeléctrica. We will continue observing the diverse landscapes, now at altitudes ranging from 1,700 to 2,000 meters (5,577 to 6,562 ft.), where we can see the jungle landscape all the way to our destination. There is also the option to take a zipline during the morning which covers several kilometers of cable among the hills, as well as a hanging bridge, and it includes transportation to Hidroeléctrica for lunch. After lunch once the group has already reunited, we will walk alongside the railroad track for 3 hours to get to Aguas Calientes. Here, we will get settled into our hostel and then at dinnertime we will go to a restaurant in the town. After dinner, we will receive the guide’s instructions for the following day, as well as a snack for the trek between Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu, and then we will leave to go to the hostel to sleep.

Day 5: Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu – Cusco. We will get up very early to hike from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu. A climb up the stairs to the citadel will be awaiting us, where we will meet with our guide to take an hour-and-a-half tour with explanations about how the site was discovered, the time period in which it was built and the techniques used to build it, as well as other interesting information. Then, we will have some free time to explore on our own and take pictures or climb up one of the mountains (Machu Picchu or Huayna Picchu) if you included this optional service. After touring the site, we have to go back to Aguas Calientes to pick up our things and go to the train station a half an hour before the departure time of the train to Ollantaytambo. From there we will take a vehicle that will drop us off in downtown Cusco.

Map

Cancellation policy

• If you cancel this tour, you will not receive a full refund.
• If you cancel more than six days in advance, you will only receive a refund of US$ 40 per person from the advance deposit made at the time of booking.
• If you cancel less than six days in advance, you will not receive any refund.