Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu 5 Days / 4 Nights

Day 1: CUSCO–CHALLACANCHA-SORAYPAMPA- LAGUNA HUMANTAY – SORAYPAMAPA.
We start the day by picking you up from your hotel at 04:00 am, then we will travel in our minivan for 2 hours to Mollepata village (2900 meters high) where we will be at 6:30 am, here we have our first breakfast, then we will continue the trip for 1 more hour to Challacancha (3380 meters high), from that point we begin our 45-minute ascent walk to reach a canal of irrigation used by the current population along a quiet stretch to begin acclimatization to altitude. In a 3 hours hike we will arrive at Soraypampa, where we will rest and have a beautiful view of the mountains with their glaciers, here we will enjoy our first lunch and then we will go to the beautiful Humantay lagoon in an ascent of 1:30 minutes where we will reach a height of (4220 meters) , then we will be able to appreciate the turquoise color of the lake and the snow-capped Humantay and then begin to descend for 1 hour to our Soraypampa camp for tea time which is approximately 18:00 pm. and then we will have our delicious dinner prepared by our chef. Finally we will go to our huts and enjoy the impressive views that this beautiful place offers at night with the sky completely covered with stars.
Travel time by bus: 4 hours, Cusco – Mollepata – Soraypampa.
Time: 6 hours (approximately walking)
Climate: Temperate – cold.
Meals: Lunch – Dinner.
Minimum altitude: 2,103 meters high, Limatambo.
Maximum altitude: 4,200 meters high, Humantay Lagoon.
Difficulty: Regular.
Day 2: SORAYPAMPA –SALKANTAY- CHAULLAY
Today will be a long and demanding day, so we will get up early at 5:00 am , and prepare to enjoy a nutritious and energetic breakfast. Then we will begin our walk from Soraypampa to the highest point, Abra Salkantay at 4600 meters. This walk take 4 hours on average and the distance is 7 kilometers, where we can appreciate the sunrise in the imposing snow-capped mountains of Salkantay and Humantay, passing through Salkantaypampa and Soyrococha where we will appreciate a small blue lagoon . At the top we will have time to rest and appreciate this beautiful place. , then we will begin the descent to Huayracmachay (3 hours), where we will have lunch and then continue the descent walk , then you will notice a drastic change in the landscape, the transition between the mountain and the high jungle or the cloud forests where you will appreciate different types of bromeliads, orchids, and begonias. This hike is really impressive and we arrive at Chaullay, where our second camp will be.
Distance: 22 km (Soraypampa – Chaullay)
Time: 10 hours (approximately walking)
Climate: Cold.
Meals: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner.
Accommodation: Huts
Minimum altitude: 2,900 meters high, Chaullay.
Maximum altitude: 4,600 meters high, Abra Salkantay.
Difficulty: Demanding
Day 3: CHAULLAY – SAHUAYACO BEACH – LUCMABAMBA
Today our alarm clock will be the birds with their songs at 5:30 am, to have breakfast at 6:00 am, then we will walk for approximately 4 hours following the Salkantay River through our jungle fringe with ascents and descents, in this way we will appreciate the coffee plantations, bananas, avocados and many plants, arriving at Playa Sahuayaco we will have an extra activity which is the preparation of local coffee in which we will visit a house of a farming family to learn about the production processes, then we will board a minivan to Lucmabamba where it will be the lunch point. In the afternoon you will have the option of visiting the Colcamayo hot springs located in Santa Teresa, which are not included in our package as it is an extra activity. We return to our camp at 6:00 pm, to have tea and dinner.
Distance: 14 km.
Climate: Temperate-Warm.
Walking time: approximately 4 hours
Meals: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner.
Accommodation: Huts
Minimum altitude: 1,500 meters high, Santa Teresa
Maximum altitude: 2,900 meters high Chaullay.
Difficulty: Regular.
Day 4: LUCMABAMBA – LLACTAPATA – AGUAS CALIENTES.
The sunrise in Lucmabamba will be an unforgettable experience since we will wake up surrounded by nature to enjoy our breakfast and then begin the 3-hour walk to an area with a lot of vegetation and reach the archaeological site of Llactapata, from this point we will have a view of Machu Picchu by the surrounding mountains, then we will descend until we reach the hydroelectric plant for lunch.
Then we will continue our walk along the train line in the middle of the mountains and the Vilcanota River that crosses in the direction of the Amazon jungle in an average of 3 hours to finally reach the town of Aguas Calientes and arrive at the hotel to enjoy an exquisite dinner and rest in the evening.
Distance: 20 km.
Climate: Warm – temperate.
Walking time: 8 hours.
Meals: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner.
Accommodation: Lodging.
Maximum altitude: 2429 meters high, Llactapata.
Minimum altitude: 1890 meters high, Hydroelectric
Difficulty: Medium.
AGUAS CALIENTES – MACHUPICCHU – OLLANTAYTAMBO – CUSCO.
This is the most important day, to visit MachuPicchu we have the ticket for 6 in the morning, depending on the date of advance payment of the tour we can book the entrance as soon as possible for this, after having breakfast at the hotel the group will board the bus up to the entrance of Machupicchu and then enter and start the guided tour through all the most important archaeological sites, such as; the temple of the sun, the guard house, the temple of the three windows, the house of the Inca, the sundial, among many places.
Other options may be to climb Wayna Picchu Mountain or Machu Picchu Mountain (if you have pre-booked tickets, “not included”).
After the tour in Machu Picchu we will return to Aguas Calientes to have lunch and have a brief rest, then board the train to Ollantaytambo and finally board the minivan to the Cusco city.
Distance: 6 km.
Climate: Temperate – cold.
Walking time: 4 hours.
Meals: Breakfast.
Maximum height: 2850 meters high, Machu Picchu.
Minimum height: 2,040 meters high, Aguas Calientes.
Difficulty: Medium.