Salkantay Trek Short 4D / 3N

Salkantay, Machu Picchu, Peru

Overview

The Salkantay Trek Short 4D / 3N to Machu Picchu is one of the most famous treks in Cusco and it is undoubtedly the best alternative route to experience the original Inca paths. This trek takes you through many different types of landscapes. You will have the best opportunity to see the typical Andean landscape up to the snowcapped mountains, down to the tropical forests and finally even venture into the dense jungle. If you are thinking to do a hiking trip to Machu Picchu and you want to be off the beaten path, close to the Andean communities and appreciate the beautiful and diverse nature of Peru, the Salkantay Trek is highly recommended. Salkantay to Machupicchu trek 4 Days, Many Inca roads link the Cordillera Vilcabamba, the steep, green mountains that surround Machu Picchu. Our special route follows a traditional but little traveled Inca Trail passing through remote ruins above the Urubamba river, then even higher in breathtaking alpine reaches where we have some of the most glorious landscapes and camps in the Andes all for ourselves.

Tour Salkantay Trek Short 4D / 3N

Our highest point is the passage of Incachiriasca, a spectacular mountain pass with incredible landscapes of the ice fields of the Sacred Salcantay (20,574 feet), the highest peak near Machu Picchu. From sublime alpine lands we descend into the cloud forest and head to the lost city nestled in a cliff, Machu Picchu. Overnight at the only hotel in the city offers an opportunity to visit one of the most mysterious sites in the world without competition.

Activities: Trekking Adventure
Difficulty Levels: 4 of 5
Maximum Altitude: 4650 masl / 15255 ft.
Accommodation: 3 nights camp + 1-night hostel
Departures Day: Daily Departures.
Starts: Pick up at your accommodation in Cusco around 4:30 AM
Ends: Drop-off at your accommodation in Cusco around 9:45 PM

Price Includes

Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu
Pre-departure Salkantay trek briefing, presented by the tour guides at 7:00 pm at the office a day before
Duffle bag to get ready 5 kilos of your belonging carried by horses.
English/Spanish speaker professional guide.
Guided visit to Machu Picchu.
Transportation to head of Salkantay trail.
3-night camping
1-night hostel in Aguas Caliente
4 breakfast
3 lunches
3 dinners
Cooks and cooking equipment.
Vegetarian food available on request with no extra charge.
First Aid equipment and Oxygen bottle for emergencies.
Horses for carrying - 5 Kilos of each hiker.

Price Excludes

The 25 soles entrance fee of the local municipality of Mollepata, every single person pay the 10 soles directly to the local government which is about 3 dollars.
Sleeping Bags, If you do not have one, You can rent from us.
Hot springs expenses which are to cover de transportation and the entrance (20 to 25 soles)
Travel insurance.
Extra expenses, Tips, and gratitude.

Itinerary

Day 1Cusco – Mollepata – Soraypampa.

We start the day by picking you up from your hotel at approx 04:00 AM. We will drive for around 4 hours, crossing Anta and Mollepata and ending up at Challancha. Through the windows of the bus you can clearly see the white, snowcapped mountains of Apus Salkantay and Humantay: two colossal gods of the Incas. You will also see spectacular scenery of high peaks and low valleys in a colorful and contrasting panorama filling every direction you turn your eyes! After the first two hours of driving, we will stop quickly in Mollepata to take advantage of the toilet facilities, souvenir shops, and an optional, short breakfast. We will then continue to Challacancha, the starting point for our trek. We will meet our support staff, and they will organize all of the equipment and cargo mules. Around 09:30 AM, we will begin trekking to Soraypampa (3850 MASL – 12631 FASL), the first campsite on our journey.
The first section of the path takes us over a few deep valleys along the side of a mountain. At some parts of the trail, an old aqueduct can still be seen which still supplies water to farmers in the lower valleys. We will travel 7 km (4.35 miles) in 3 hours to Soraypampa where we will have our lunch at the base camp of Salkantay. After lunch and a short rest, we hike up to the unforgettable Humantay Lake (4200 MASL – 13779 ft). This is a 5 km (3.1miles) round-trip which we will walk in a total of 3 hours. This place one of the most beautiful sights in all the Andes with unbelievable blue-green water reflecting the mountain glaciers of Apu Humantay. It seems like something out of a dream or fairy tale! Back at our camp, the background of the valley at sunset creates the most peaceful scene with an energy that can only be felt and not described! Because Soraypampa (our camp) is located in the middle of the glacier valleys, the sky is so immensely clear at night that you can truly appreciate the stars, constellations, and even comets shooting across the pitch blackness, uninterrupted by the hustle, bustle, or lights of the city. Take a moment this night to re-center your spirit and consider all the deep things of life in the profound silence and tranquility of Soraypampa!

Hiking distance: 13 km / 8.1 miles
Hiking time: 6½ to 7 hour approximately.
Climate: hot in the day and warm in the night.
Acomodation: Camping.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Plus snacks and afternoon tea time)
Maximum Altitude: 4200 Masl / 13779 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 2954 masl / 9694 ft.

Day 2Soraypampa – Salkantay Pass – Huayrac Machay – Challway.

After an early wake-up with the first daylight at 05:30 AM and a quick but energizing breakfast, we will start trekking up to the highest point of the trail: the Salkantay Pass (4650 MASL – 15255 FASL). The distance is a 7 km (4.34 miles) of difficult ascent in 3 hours between the rocky valley base and the magnificent Salkantay Mountain (6271 MASL– 20574 FASL). 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 Mountain is the second highest mountain in the Cusco region and one of the Inca gods called “Apu”. Continuing from this climax of today’s trek, there is a 5 km (3.1 mile) downhill walk to the site for lunch. The walk downwards is on a serpent-shaped, rocky, gravel path which leads to the Huayracmachay lunch campsite. To rest on the way down, there is a perfect valley outlook that is absolutely 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 a 10 km (6.2 mile) 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 Andes to Amazon! This hike is truly beautiful; the hills are decorated with colorful scenery, 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 Chaullay Village (2900 MASL – 9514 FASL) for a much-deserved reward of rest from our long day of trekking!

Hiking distance: 22 km / 13.7 miles
Hiking time: 6½ to 7 hour approximately.
Climate: hot in the day and warm in the night.
Acomodation: Camping.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Plus snacks and afternoon tea time)
Maximum Altitude: 4650 masl / 15255 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 2750 masl / 9022 ft.

Day 3Chaullay – La Playa – Santa Teresa – Hydroelectric – Aguas Calientes

At 06:00 AM, 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 6 hours of hiking today! During the hike we will see rivers, waterfalls, wild orchids, and plantations of coffee, banana, and avocado. You can taste the famous passion fruit and granadilla fruit along the way! We will see a village called Colpapampa, also called the “brow of the cloud forest,” where waterfalls, birds, hot springs, fruit-bearing trees, and flora and fauna can be observed. If we are lucky, we will even be able to see the beautiful bird called “The Cock of the Rocks,” the national bird of Peru!

After a hearty lunch at La Playa, we will take local transportation to the Hidroelectrica train station.

Here you will have two options:
1) If you are exhausted, you may take the train to Aguas Calientes ($31.00 extra).
2) If you are still eager to hike, you may walk from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes for about 3 hours along the train track. There is a nice path next to the tracks 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!

Once in Aguas Calientes, you can rest a bit before dinner or walk around this alluring 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 PM, we will have dinner at a local restaurant. All the expenses in Aguas Calientes are covered by the company, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the overnight stay at our hostel. In your luxury room, you will have a private bathroom, hot shower, wifi, breakfast in the morning, and luggage storage while you visit Machu Picchu.

Hiking distance: 18 km / 11.2 miles
Hiking time: 7 hour approximately.
Climate: hot in the day and warm in the night.
Acomodation: Camping.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Plus snacks and afternoon tea time)
Maximum Altitude: 2650 masl / 8700 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 2400 masl ASL / 7874 ft.

Day 4Aguas Calientes – Hiking to Machu Picchu – Cusco.

Today we arrive at the long-awaited finale of our trek, 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 check point is open from 06:00 AM until 17:00 PM. We will hike up to Machupicchu (a bus ride is optional for $12.00) and enter the hidden Royal Citadel of the Incas. Here we will have a 2-hour guided tour through this incredible ancient city to visit temples, terraces, palaces, priest’s houses, the sundial, the industrial sector, and the farming fields. Be amazed at the engineering ingenuity of the Incas which was so far ahead of their time and still partially a mystery today! Without having modern tools or even steel and iron to work with, the people who built this city were genius in organizing this community in a sustainable and beautiful way on the side of a mountain, even bringing water in canals through its streets for the people to use. When a Peruvian guide showed this site to Hiram Bingham, it was almost unrecognizable, covered in thick vegetation and in a state of disrepair. It has since been cleaned and restored and is now protected and treasured by the world at large!

After this tour, you are free to climb up to Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain (Be sure to book in advance to get tickets for these!). Each mountain takes approximately 3 hours to hike up and down. Another lower-impact option for which you do not need an extra ticket is to trek to the Sun Gate, the main entrance from the Inca Trail (this takes about 2 or 2.5 hours round-trip). Another option is walking to see the Incan Bridge. You will be able to stay and enjoy this magical city for more than 7 hours before hiking back down to Aguas Calientes for the train ride at 18:20 hrs (subject to availability) to Ollantaytambo. A private bus will pick up our group and drop you off at your hotel in Cusco at about 21:30 hrs. Rest your feet and your body now, but we can assure you your heart will still be soaring for weeks and years to come!

Distance Travelled: 6 Km. / 3.7 mile
Hiking time: 3 to 4 hours approximately.
Machu Picchu guided tour: 2½ hour.
Climate: tropical warm.
Shuttle to Cusco:3 hours by train and bus from Aguas Calientes to Cusco.
Meals: Breakfast.
Maximum Altitude: 2429 masl / 7972 ft.
Minimum Altitude: 2040 masl / 6692 ft.

Photos

Tour Map Salkantay Trek Short 4D / 3N

Salkantay, Machu Picchu, Peru

FAQs

What Should I Bring for the Tour?

Original passport
For students: ISIC card
Insurance card/certificate
Walking stick ( Highly Recomemded )
Hiking boots
Waterproof jacket or rain poncho
Warm jacket
Hat and gloves
2-4 t-shirts
2 pairs of pants (1 for hiking, 1 for camp)
Long underwear for sleeping
Hand sanitizer
Comfortable trousers
Sun hat or cap
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
Water
Toiletries/ Toilet paper
Personal medication
Camera
Flashlight or headlamp
Extra money for tips/snacks/beer.

How is the weather in the inca jungle tour?

Weather in the Inca jungle trail change a lot special the first day. however the weather is very warm in Santa Maria, Santa Tereza and Aguas Calientes. all this towns are located lower then Cusco and they are not higher then 2400 meter about the see level.
Temperature during all year is between 10°C and 25 °C.
Only in the biking portion you will need warm jacket and rain jacket.