5 days as part of a tailor-made holiday in PeruThis trek is as beautiful as the Classic Inca Trail, with even more variety; from icy glaciers to steaming tropical forest. in addition to the vestiges of Inca culture you'll see life as it is lived in the mountains on farmsteads and in tiny hamlets.
The Salkantay Trail skirts the majestic, snow-draped mountain of the same name as it twists and turns down towards the Urubamba Valley and in by the the back-door to the ruins of Machu Picchu.
Salkantay Trek with Mountain Lodges of Peru. If you don't want to camp, and prefer a bit of luxury with a warm bed and gourmet meal with wine, not to mention Jacuzzi and hot showers, hike the trail with overnights at Mountain Lodges of Peru's fabulous properties.
Suggested Holiday ItineraryDay 1: By bus from Cusco to Mollepata. Meet muleteers and begin trek at Soraypampa, camp at Soyrococha.
Day 2: Climb to the highest pass of the trek (4,600m), views of Salkantay. Descend to Colpabamba (2,600m), camp.
Day 3: Walk downhill to jungle terrain with coffee fruits plantations. Taking a local bus to the hot spring pools of Cocalmayo. Camp.
Day 4: At leisure at the pools. 1 hour bus journey to Hidroeléctrica railway station for the afternoon train to Machu Picchu village. View detailed itinerary >> Our Comment
I absolutely loved the Salkantay trek. What makes this so unique is the variety of scenery along the way. For the first couple of days you trek up valleys towards really impressive glacial, snow covered mountains, and then after climbing a high pass you drop to the sub tropical region near Machu Picchu.
Sarah Beard, Manager, Group Tours
Harriet Whiting chose to hike the Salkantay trek to avoid the crowds on the classic Inca Trail - and didn't regret it. Read about here experiences in this article for our online magazine Papagaio.
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Treks around Cusco
| Read more about: Inca trails around Cusco  Views from Salkantay Trek
 Day 1, Mollepata region
 Day 2, mule train
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