The Imperial Salkantay Trek

Welcome to the imperial, Inca capital city of Cusco, also known as the cultural capital of Peru! Upon arrival, we’ll take you to your hotel to check in, drop off your luggage, and freshen up. You’ll have some time to rest before you find somewhere for lunch.

After lunch, and once you’re ready, we’ll take you on a laid-back half-day tour of this stunning city to help you acclimate at the high altitude (3,400 masl/11,155 fasl).

You’re in for a treat as you learn all about this historical place, which is the oldest continuously inhabited city in all the Americas. People have lived in Cusco since around 1,000 BC, and they regarded it as the center of the surrounding culture, which was known as Qosqo back then. It’s been a place of great importance and played a big role in every civilization that lived in the area throughout history, beginning with the native people of Peru, long before the Incas who we often associate the region with nowadays.

Once the Inca empire arrived in Peru and beyond, Cusco became the hub of the powerful and far-reaching reign. After the Incas, the Spaniards also used the city as a colonial and regal capital.

On your half-day city tour, you’ll learn a lot more about the history of Cusco and see some of the most important landmarks and archaeological sites in the city. The attractions you’ll visit on the tour include:

The Cusco Cathedral: One of the most iconic landmarks in Cusco is the cathedral that sits in the main square and boasts incredible artistic value. It’s a colonial monument and was built on top of the Wiracocha Inca Palace. Inside the cathedral, you’ll find many detailed and refined carved wooden works, such as the choir, pulpit, and altars. There are also many beautiful paintings from the Cusquenian School of Art (including a Last Supper painting in which Christ and His disciples eat cuy – guinea pig!) and stunning pieces of embossed silver.

Qoricancha Temple and Santo Domingo Convent: This religious center was of great importance to the Incas and was built to worship the sun, which was the ultimate deity to the ancient civilization. Inside the temple, you’ll spot smaller temples dedicated to various celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and stars. As you step outside, you’ll see beautiful regal gardens and fountains. What really catches your eye is the combination of outstanding Inca architecture and Spanish colonial architecture. There are also more pieces from the Cusquenian School of Art on display.

Sacsayhuaman: 2km from the city center is this fortress that was built with enormous carved rocks that join together harmoniously. You’ll notice there are three overlapping platforms that have an average length of 360 meters. Some stones tower over you at 9 meters tall! Take some time to walk around and appreciate the fantastic architecture while enjoying the most spectacular view of Cusco city below and the surrounding mountainous landscape.

Q’enqo: Another 1.4km from Sacsayhuaman is Q’enqo, which was an Inca ceremonial center. The most prominent feature of this complex is an open space known as the amphitheater. Hundreds of years ago, you’d have found Inca mummies in the various niches around the site. The amphitheater is only half its original height today.

Puka Pukara: The name of this site means ‘red fortress,’ mainly due to the reddish tint, which is a result of a large amount of iron in the rocks. Many believe that the fortress was perhaps an old storage area (Tambo) that served both as a resting and guarding spot to protect Tambomachay. In this complex, you can appreciate impressive architecture, fountains, aqueducts, and several Inca enclosures.

Tambomachay: The last stop on the afternoon tour is this fascinating complex where you can observe finely carved stones, waterfalls, and aqueducts to carry water coming from nearby springs and hot springs. For this reason, Tambomachay is associated with the water cult. In front of this construction, there’s a tower that’s believed to have served as a guarding post and communication tower.

Today, you will have the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful and historically rich towns of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. We begin the day by picking you up from your hotel in Cusco at 8:30 a.m. and heading toward the town of Pisac. Before reaching Pisac, we will stop at both the Qorao and Taray lookouts, so you can admire the Sacred Valley’s beauty from afar and take pictures.

Once in Pisac, we will visit both Pisac archaeological site and its famous traditional market. Then, we will drive to the town of Urubamba for lunch, where you will enjoy a delicious buffet lunch of traditional Peruvian dishes.

Continuing, we will drive to the classic Inca town of Ollantaytambo and visit its unique archaeological site with its royal sources of water, high terraces, temples, etc., surrounded by towering mountain peaks and colorful valleys plus the view of the faraway Veronica glacier.

Ollantaytambo is the most well-preserved layout of a typical, Inca-built city with its narrow, cobbled streets and stone walls. Its conservation allows for the enduring legacy of the Incan people to live on for us today.

To finish our day, we will visit Chinchero and meet some of the town’s talented women in a textile-making presentation. The Cusco region is known for its superb, colorful textiles, and here you will learn how each color of wool is naturally dyed, how the intricate cloths are woven, and the symbolism held by the traditional designs you find in their beautiful creations. Here, you will also visit an archeological site and a colonial church.

After your tour, you will be brought back to Cusco and dropped off at your hotel at 6:45 pm to rest up for tomorrow’s exciting activities!

We start the day by picking you up at your hotel at approx 04:00 a.m. We will drive for around 3:15 hours, crossing Anta and Mollepata and ending up at Challancha. Through the windows of the bus, you can clearly see the white, snow-capped mountains of Salkantay and Humantay: two colossal gods of the Incas (Apus). You will also see the spectacular scenery of high peaks and low valleys in a colorful and contrasting panorama filling every direction you turn your eyes on!

After the first 2:15 hours of driving from Cusco, we will stop in Mollepata to take advantage of the toilet facilities, souvenir shops, and optional breakfast. We will then continue to Challacancha, the starting point for our trek. There, we will meet our support staff, and they will organize all of the equipment and cargo mules.

At around 09:30 a.m, we will begin trekking to Soraypampa (3,900 m / 12,795 ft), the first campsite on our journey. This section of the path takes us over a few deep valleys along the side of a mountain. Along the trail, we’ll follow an ancient Inca canal that still supplies water to farmers in the following valleys. We will hike 7 km (4.35 mi) for 3 hours to Soraypampa, where we will have our lunch at the base camp of Salkantay.

After lunch and a short rest, we will climb up to the unforgettable Humantay Lake (4,200 m / 13,780 ft). This is a 3 km (1.86 mi) round-trip hike, which will take a total of 2:30 hours. Humantay Lake is one of the most beautiful locations in all the Andes with unbelievably blue-green water, reflecting the mountain glacier of Apu Humantay. It’s truly like something out of a fairy tale! Later that day, we’ll enjoy the tea time and then the dinner at our campsite. The valley’s background at sunset creates the most peaceful scene with an energy that can only be felt and not described.

Because Soraypampa is located far from the hustle and bustle of any city lights, the pitch-black sky lights up with thousands of stars, constellations, and comets at night. Be overcome by feelings of peace and tranquility while you lay gazing at the expanse unfolding before you.

After an early wake-up with the first daylight at 5:30 a.m and an energizing breakfast, we will start trekking up to the highest point of the trail, the Salkantay Pass (4,630 m / 15,190 ft). A 7 km (4.34 mi) difficult ascent awaits us for 4 hours between the rocky valley base and the magnificent Salkantay Mountain (6,271 m / 20,574 ft).

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 is the second-highest mountain in the Cusco region and one of the Inca gods called “Apu.”

After the climax of today’s trek, there is a 7 km (4.35 mi) downhill walk on a serpent-shaped, rocky, gravel path that leads to our lunch spot in Huayracmachay (3,850 m / 12,631 ft). There is a perfect valley outlook to rest on the way down that is 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 an 8 km / 4.97 mi 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 the Andes to Amazon. This hike is truly beautiful; the hills are decorated with colorful sceneries, unique 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 a small village called Chaullay (2,900 m / 9,514 ft) for a well-deserved rest from our long day of trekking in our Andean Huts. This is our camp for the night, surrounded by valleys, rushing rivers, and lots of vegetation.

At 06:00 a.m., we will start our trek to the small town of La Playa through the Santa Teresa valley. You will be able to soak up this new, lush landscape during our 5 hours of hiking today. We will see rivers, wild orchids, and coffee, banana, and avocado plantations during the hike. You’ll also be able to taste the famous passion fruit and granadilla fruit along the way.

We will pass through a village called Collpampa, and then we’ll head to the bottom of the mountains to pass to the left side of the valley. Waterfalls, birds, fruit-bearing trees, flora, and fauna will be our mates in this tropical journey.

Arriving at La Playa, we’ll have a long time to rest. Then, thirty more minutes of walking await us to get to Lucmabamba (2,000 m /6,562 ft), our lunch place, and campsite.

We will explore the tropical forest for a little while and visit an organic coffee farm. If you are a coffee lover, this will be especially heavenly for you – you can taste coffee freshly prepared by the local people! If not, you can still enjoy the decadent aroma of freshly roasted and ground coffee wafting through the air.

Coffee is the main farming industry of the local people here in the jungle, and they farm many acres of coffee to export to the USA, Asia, and Europe. Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia, and it wasn’t until the Spanish invaded Cusco that it was brought to this region. You’ll also get the opportunity to explore orange and avocado plantations this afternoon before enjoying dinner and an excellent night’s rest with the sounds of nature to send you off to sleep.

Like previous mornings, the trek’s guide will wake you up early with a hot cup of coca tea served in your dome. You will get ready for today’s activities while enjoying your last breakfast prepared by the talented trek chef. We will begin the hike early, and you will have the opportunity to enjoy a small part of the famous and highly-acclaimed Inca trail.

After a climb of 3 hours with amazing views of the Santa Teresa valley, we will arrive at the Llactapata Inca site (2,700 m / 8,858 ft) right in front of Machu Picchu. Llactapata is an exceptional place to enjoy together and spend time learning a bit more about this land’s roots and history. We will explore this Inca site with our guide, who will tell the Incas history who used and worshiped this land. From this spot, we will be able to see not only the Inca City of Machu Picchu but also Huayna Picchu and Machu Picchu Mountain. Of course, you will have plenty of time to take as many photos as you want to capture these memories and share them with your family and friends back home.

After visiting Llactapata, we will continue our trek for 1:30 hours downhill until our lunch place in Aobamba. Then, we will continue our way to our next featured spot in the hike, the Hidroelectrica train station (1,800 m / 5,906 ft). One of the most impressive sites in this area is the 250-meter-tall artificial waterfall, which generates electricity for the entire city of Cusco.

Once in Hidroelectrica, if you feel exhausted, you have the option (not included) to take a train to Aguas Calientes (US$ 34.00); otherwise, we’ll continue our walk from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes for about 3 hours along the train track.

A few minutes ahead of Hidroelectrica, we will arrive at Intihuatana, a famous ancient rock used as a ceremonial table in the Inca era. According to history, this ceremonial place worked together with the famous Intihuatana in Machu Picchu. The people used these two stones to measure and read the winter solstice, which was the beginning of the new farming season for the Incas.

Next to the railroad, there is a nice path through the warm paradise of the cloud forest. This is the same trail used by the American professor Hiram Bingham who rediscovered Machu Picchu after centuries of it being lost to the outside world!

After 3 hours of walking, we’ll arrive at Aguas Calientes town. Here, we’ll head first to our hostel. In your room, you will have a private bathroom, hot shower, wifi, breakfast in the morning, and luggage storage while you visit Machu Picchu. You can rest a bit before dinner or walk around this enchanting place that has the feel of a California Gold Rush town. There are no cars in Aguas Calientes, so it is an especially peaceful place to be.

At 7:00 p.m., we´ll have dinner at a local restaurant and organize to be ready for the icing on our last adventure day: MACCHU PICCHU!

Note: During the rainy season, the hike up the Llactapata Trail is not 100% guaranteed due to safety concerns. When heavy rains are frequent, this trail becomes very dangerous.

Today we arrive at our trek’s long-awaited finale, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site - Machu Picchu! We will wake up early after a refreshing night at our hostel to beat the crowds to the top of Machu Picchu and enjoy its serenity in the soft morning light. The Machu Picchu entrance checkpoint is open from 6:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

In the morning, we´ll board the bus to Machu Picchu and be one of the first to enter the royal city of the Incas. Here, we´ll have a guided tour of about an hour and a half through this incredible ancient site, and we´ll see: temples, terraces, palaces, priests' houses, cultivated fields, among others. Be amazed by the engineering talent of the Incas, so advanced for their time and that today is part of the mystery.

The Incas who built the citadel were geniuses in organizing this community in a sustainable and beautiful way on the slope of a mountain. Furthermore, they worked without modern tools such as steel and iron, even carrying water through canals and aqueducts along their streets for people to use. When a Peruvian guide showed Hiram Bingham this site, it was almost unrecognizable, covered in dense vegetation and in a state of disrepair. Since then, it has been cleaned and restored; now, it is protected and considered a treasure for the whole world.

After this excursion, you can climb Huayna Picchu Mountain (2,720 m / 8,924 ft) or Machu Picchu Mountain (3,000 m / 9,843 ft); these tours will take you an hour and a half and three hours between ascent and descent, respectively. Be sure to reserve your tickets in advance.

After enjoying this magical citadel, we´ll return to the town of Aguas Calientes to take the train to Ollantaytambo. Once here, our private transportation will take you back to your hotel in Cusco.

Rest your feet and your body now; we can assure you your heart will still be soaring for weeks and years to come!

Today, you’ll wake up, have breakfast, and pack your bags, as it’s time to say goodbye to the imperial city of Cusco for now. We’ll organize a time to collect you and take you to the airport or bus station to continue your vacation or head back home.

This isn’t a forever farewell, and we’re sure you’ll be longing to come back to relive all the special moments, learn more about the ancient city and cultures, and try out more of the excellent restaurants and their delicious cuisine. So, it’s not goodbye, but rather see you soon!