Salkantay Trek & Inca Trail (from Lima)

Airport pickup and transfer from/to hotel in Lima and Cusco. The morning will be free to rest and acclimatize. At 1:30 pm, we will pick you up from the hotel for a 4-hour tour. Guided visit to the Santo Domingo Convent and Qoricancha, followed by a visit to the Inca archaeological sites located on the outskirts of Cusco: Sacsayhuaman, Q’enqo, Pukapukara, and Tambomachay before our return to Cusco.

After breakfast, we will pick you up from your hotel at 7:30 am to begin the tour. We start at Pisaq with a visit to its traditional craft market and archaeological remains. Next, we continue to Urubamba for an exquisite buffet lunch, followed by a brief rest before proceeding to the tourist center of Ollantaytambo, where we explore important archaeological sites.

We then pass through Chinchero, another tourist center and colonial town, where we will visit the church and the main square before we eventually return to Cusco.

Early pickup from your hotel, enjoy breakfast in Mollepata, and then begin your hike in Soraypampa (3,900 m / 12,795 ft), where we will meet our horsemen and horses who will carry all the camping equipment. We’ll start our trek towards Humantay Lake (4,200 m / 13,780 ft).

After visiting Humantay Lake, we’ll head to our basecamp in Salkantaypampa where our chef will be waiting with lunch. Here we can enjoy beautiful views of the Salkantay Mountain before an afternoon tea and a delicious dinner at camp.

Wake up to a cup of coca tea and enjoy breakfast with fantastic mountain views. Then, trek to the highest point of the Salkantay Pass at 4,600 m (15,092 ft) in 3 hours. From there, we hike towards Wayrac Machaq to have lunch. Afterward, we continue into the high jungle, where you can observe large trees with their branches extending over streams, all adorned with bromeliads and orchids. Finally, we will descend to our second camping site.

Wake up early and have breakfast. We begin a 3-hour hike through the cloud forest, where you can observe the fantastic landscape of rivers and waterfalls. We’ll continue downhill to Hydroelectric for lunch, and then hike another 3 hours to Aguas Calientes. This night, you’ll stay in a hotel.

Upon reaching kilometer 104, we begin our hike towards the archaeological remains of Chachabamba. From there, we continue to the archaeological site of Wiñay Wayna where we enjoy a delicious lunch. Afterward, we hike to Inti Punku (Sun Gate), where we will have our first view of Machu Picchu.

We then proceed to the entrance and control gate of the Machu Picchu citadel, where a bus takes us downhill to Aguas Calientes. Here, we will spend the night, have dinner, and prepare for our visit to Machu Picchu the following day.

After breakfast, we board the bus to the Machu Picchu citadel for a guided tour of the different sectors lasting approximately 2 hours. Afterward, there will be some free time to enjoy the citadel before descending by bus to Aguas Calientes to catch the return train to Ollantaytambo and the van taking us from there to Cusco.

• To climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain, book 3 months in advance (US $70)

Pickup from your hotel around 4:30 am – 5 am. We will head south to the town of Urcos and then to the district of Checacupe (2 hours by bus). From there, we continue to Pitumarca where we have a buffet breakfast. Next, we pass through small villages until we reach the community of Hanchipata – Quesiuno (1 hour and 20 minutes by bus), the starting point for our hike to Vinicunca (Rainbow Mountain), which takes approximately 1 hour. After experiencing the wonder of Rainbow Mountain, we will have a buffet lunch in Pitumarca on our way back to the city of Cusco.

Finally, transfer to the Cusco airport. From Cusco, take your flight back to Lima and then proceed to your next destination or return home!