Salkantay Trek
(5 Days)

Good morning! Are you ready to do this?

• Today starts the adventure of a lifetime!  You’ll have 4 hours in the car to mentally prep for a serious day of hiking.
• We’ll provide a hearty breakfast before your first out and back climb to Lake Humantay – a pure, turquoise glacial lake that will be the first of many things to take your breath away this week.
• From the lake, we’ll have another 3 hours to gain some serious elevation before we get to our campsite at the base of the Salkantay (Savage) Mountain.
• Tonight will be pretty cold, but if you can handle it for a few minutes, pop your head out of your tent and check out one of the most incredible starry skies you’ll ever see.

Good morning! Coca tea?

• We’ll fuel up with a hearty breakfast before starting our challenging hike to the Salkantay pass (15oooft/4600m).  It’s only 2.5 hours, but it’s high elevation with some rocky terrain so you may want to bring your walking sticks.
• After celebrating our achievement at the pass, we’ll give our lungs some relief and head to lower elevation for 2.5 more hours to the lunch spot.
• You’ll start to feel some heat as we get into the cloudy forest and subtropical conditions as we hike lower into the Andes.  We have 3 hours after lunch until we can kick our feet up at campsite #2.

Hope you got some good sleep, chicos!

• We keep the downhill pace rolling after breakfast while we make our way to the Santa Teresa River.
• This is a shorter and easier day with only 6 hours on the trail until we get to the campsite at Lucmabamba.
• In the afternoon, you can visit a local coffee plantation for a tour and tasting or you can head out to the healing pools at the natural hot springs in the area (hot springs are subject to additional cost).
• Today we’ll say “HASTA PRONTO AMIGOS” to our horsemen and wish them well.  If you feel they’ve done a great job helping you on this journey, you are welcome to offer some tips at this time.

Don’t relax yet!  We still have one more day, amigos.

• Our last day will test your strength with a tough 3 hour climb to the Llactapata Pass.  The view from the top will be worth it though with a visit to our first Inca site and a chance to see Machu Picchu from the back – a sight rarely seen by any tourists.
• After resting a little bit and enjoying some snacks, we’ll start heading downhill on the switch-back trail all the way to the Urubamba River Valley for 2.5 hours.
• If you want to dip your toes in the river, you’ll have a little time before we finish the trail at the Hydroelectric Train station for lunch.
• We’ll say goodbye to our amazing chef and porters after lunch and decide if we want to take the train or walk for 3 hours to the finish line in Aguas Calientes.
• No matter how you decide to get there, Aguas Calientes will be waiting to greet you with a hot shower and comfy hotel bed for the night.

Today is the day, People! Machu Picchu is here!

• It’s the day you’ve been waiting for – your visit to Machu Picchu!
• You’ll have a guided tour of the whole city while feeling the magic and energy that make this place one of the most incredible places on Earth.
• After the tour, we’ll head back to Aguas Calientes, or if you’ve purchased a permit to climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain (Must be purchased separately in advance), you will go there at the designated time.
• You will get lunch or a snack in Aguas Calientes on your own before we catch the train back to Cusco.  At your hotel, we will say “hasta luego” to you, our new friends.

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