Adventure travel and wonder await as the 5 day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu will fill you a rush of adrenaline as you experience the local people’s cultural beauty amongst the natural landscape of South America.
There is something adventurous about going on a long trek to visit an ancient civilization. If this is something that you would love to experience and have the time to do it, then the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu is the journey of a lifetime you’ve been waiting for.
Adventure travel and wonder await as the 5 day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu will fill you a rush of adrenaline as you experience the local people’s cultural beauty amongst the natural landscape of South America.
If you also want to disconnect from your everyday busy life and visit the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, then the 5 day Salkantay trekking to Machu Picchu is a truly unique experience. This is one of the best trails to Machu Picchu.
While many opt for the esteemed 4 Day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu, the Salkantay Trekking isn’t just the best trip around but has also been ranked as a top 25 trek by National geographic travel Magazine.
Your 5 day Salkantay trekking is a mysterious journey into the known and unknown that will heal your mind, body, and soul. You’ll a rejuvenated sense of joy as you and many others make this trek to ease their minds and rejuvenate their bodies.
While on this trek, our Tour Leader will guide you to explore the many opportunities along the way and help you create memories that will last a lifetime. This 5 day Salkantay trekking to Machu Picchu is truly the best option for you.
Check out our detailed post on How to train for Salkantay Trek.
Why Machu Picchu Tours?
We at Machu Picchu Tours, are a fully locally owned tour operator and a licensed Salkantay Trail operator based in Cusco. Our guides are passionate about the history, Inca sites and culture of Peru. They have years of experience on hiking to Machu Picchu.
We offer Salkantay Trail both in private and as a small group tour.
Salkantay is a part of the Andean mountain range. It is subject to two season dry season and rainy season. During monsoon, the trek gets slippery. The best time to do the Salkantay Trek is during the dry season – April to December.
Do take a moment to check our reviews on Trip Advisor.
Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu is a high altitude experience. We highly recommend you to spend 3-4 days in Cusco before the trail to avoid altitude sickness.
The trip starts with a pick up at 5 am. We will then drive to Molletapa (2hrs approx) where we will have breakfast. From there, we make the one hour trip to Challacancha, this is where the adventure begins! We climb up for 30 mins and then hike a flat path with unique views for 3 hours.
Once we arrive at Soraypampa (12631 ft/3850m), there will be lunch available and we will camp for the night. The afternoon will be left to acclimatize, rest and relax. If you feel a bit adventurous, Machu Picchu Tours do recommend the option to walk the famous Humantay Lagoon.
Please note, Bring warm clothing as the temperature could reach to 0 degrees or even snow (which is not that common).
Today may be the longest day but with exceptional views! We will climb for approx. 3 hours and be very close to the snow of Salkantay Mountain and reach the top of the Salkantay Pass (15255 ft/4650m).
When we reach towards the top, we will have time to take photos and take in all the glorious views. Then me make our way down and stop at our lunch spot which is about an hour and a half.
After lunch we will continue to descent (approx. 4 hours) down the hills and make our way to our campsite in Ccollpapampa (9,842 ft/3,000 m)
Today will be an early morning hike (5 hours approx.) along a quiet pathway of the cloud forest. You will be surrounding yourself with the flora and fauna of the valleys.
Once we arrive at our campsite at La Playa (6716 ft/2000m), we will have lunch and the rest of the afternoon to sightsee or perhaps organize to go to the hot springs of Cocalmayo.
An early start to the day with 4 hours of hiking uphill to Llactapata (8694 ft/2650m). We descend another 2 hours downhill until we reach the hydroelectric power station for lunch.
There we will bid farewell to our team of Machu Picchu Tours, and venture on with our Tour Leader by train from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes where we will stay the night at a hotel and the following day we will visit the mystical site of Machu Picchu.
Today we hop on a bus and make the journey (30 minutes drive approx.) to visit Machu Picchu, The lost city of the Incas.
Our tour guide will welcome you with a 2 hour guided tour and take you to the most important temples and enclosures Machu Picchu has to offer. After the tour, you will have free time for exploring Machu Picchu on your own.
If you have booked to hike Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountain, our guide will direct you to the trail head. Please note you need to book your hike to either of the mountains months in advance.
Alternatively you can hike to Inti Punku or Sun Gate. This is the point of entrance to the citadel to those on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
After the full day tour of Machu Picchu, we will depart Aguas Calientes to board the train at 2:30pm (depending on availability) to Ollantaytambo train station. Here our representative will be meeting you and will be driving you back to Cusco. We will arrive at Cusco City at roughly 7:00 p.m.
Departure & Return Location
Cusco Hotel Transfer
Departure Time
4:30 a.m.
Price Includes
Price Excludes
Packing list
Useful Info
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Do you have any questions? Contact us at +51 974 378 488
Find out what those who have trusted us to explore unique destinations and live extraordinary adventures have to say.
John CJanuary 10, 2025Verified Excellent, perfectly planned trip. The trip was perfectly planned from start to finish, the transport, the hike, the hotel, the food and the entrance to Machu Picchu. The lovely guide Edwin was incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the site, the hike, and it's history. It truly is an incredible and captivating place that is a must see if you have the opportunity. Gabriel CNovember 12, 2024Verified Rainbow Mountain Tour guide We had a great tour of Rainbow Mountain. Jose was extremely knowledgeable and was a lot of help. The tour included good breakfast and lunch. I highly recommended this tour Joshua SNovember 10, 2024Verified "Unforgettable Machu Picchu Journey with an Exceptional Guide!" John was the perfect guide for our journey from Cusco to Machu Picchu! From the start, he made everything smooth and enjoyable, picking us up from our hotel and ensuring we were comfortable and ready for the adventure ahead. Thanks to his planning, we arrived at Machu Picchu early, avoiding the crowds and enjoying the stunning morning views. The weather was fantastic, and John's deep knowledge of the history and culture made every moment even more memorable. His explanations brought the ancient Incan sites to life, and he guided us thoughtfully through the walk at Machu Picchu, pointing out details we would have missed on our own. Throughout the entire day, John was attentive, patient, and incredibly helpful. He truly went above and beyond to make our experience unforgettable. Highly recommend! Gabriel CNovember 10, 2024Verified Great tour Me and my brother went on a tour with John. He was very helpful. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. Not only did he give a great tour but he was able to give us good recommendations and was very accommodating Kim AOctober 24, 2024Verified An amazing experience! We are an American family from Evansville, Indiana. After doing much research we chose Machu Picchu Tours to make our dream come true of seeing Machu Picchu via the 4-day Inca Trail Trek.Planning this kind of trip is no small feat, but John Taqquere Villaneuva was there for us every step of the way! He always responded quickly to my MANY texts and provided excellent information to prepare us for the trek. Our amazing guide, Edwin, the Porters and Chef went way above and beyond to make sure we felt safe and that we were getting the best experience that was promised. I cannot emphasize how important hygiene and safe food is on a trip like this. We feel our Porters did an excellent job keeping the dining area clean and providing excellent, healthy and safe food. While it is common for foreigners to get sick when traveling to a new country, the crew kept us healthy, hydrated, and safe the entire trip. Our porters took care of every single detail from setting up our camp, refilling our water bottles, and feeding us delicious hot meals 3 times a day. The porters were always there to take care of us. Our bags were transported and waiting for us in our tents upon arrival. Hot drinks were ready for us upon arrival at each campsite, and hot soapy water and towels were provided to clean up after a long day’s hike. Their work ethic and attention to detail was impressive. The 4 day trek is strenuous. Our guide, Edwin, coached us along the way, helping us to set a pace that worked for us so that we would not burn out. He also handled all of our paperwork and entry tickets. There are checkpoints and everything must be in order and spelled correctly. Without these documents, there is no trek and there is no entry into Machu Picchu. Our guide always kept us informed of the daily itinerary and was always supportive and eager to help. His knowledge of the history of the Inca and the ruins was exceptional. We walked away feeling an immense appreciation and understanding of the Inca because of Edwin. If your dream of seeing Machu Picchu is through the Inca Trail, or want to arrange guided tours, then don’t let fear stand in your way. And if you are looking for an agency, we highly recommend John Taqquere Villaneuva with Machu Picchu Tours. These are good, honest, trustworthy and hard-working people that will help make your dream come true. We are so thankful to Machu Picchu Tours, our Guide, Edwin, and the amazing Porters and Chef for their hard work and efforts to help make our dream come true. HikeJunkieCarlosOctober 21, 2024Verified Very organized crew knowledgeable friendly and just plain awesome to have around every step of the way. Couldn’t have asked for a better crew chef porters tents and food for this 4 day Inca trail tripWas the best experience for all 8 of us in our friends group to enjoy every moment and have amazing time all the way through the trip in town and on the Inca trailVery organized crew knowledgeable friendly and just plain awesome to have around every step of the way. Highly recommend this company to solo and groups that plan to visit Peru SkyMiles KOctober 19, 2024Verified 1 of 2 top Bucket List items, Hike the INCA Trail to Machu Picchu Completed the INCA trail with our Hike Junkies family. The Machu Picchu tours were INCREDIBLE!!! A great big shout out to John Taqquere Villanueva & his team for providing us with their expertise & care before, during & after the 4-day backpacking hike. The porters had camp setup for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner during our hiking adventure. Our chef, Carmelito "5-STARS," prepared meals that you should only find in a fine dining restaurant. We even had some Peruvian history lessons along the way. A few surprise discovery viewpoints along the trail. After completing 4-day Inca trail, we hiked the Humanatay Lake on 5th day & Rainbow Mtn on 6th day. We THANK YOU, John, Alberto, Berle, Aiwyn & drivers, porters for making this the adventure of the century!...so far Rebecca ROctober 19, 2024Verified 4 day Inca Trail with Hike Junkies We just completed the 4 day Inca Trail with Machu Picchu Tours. John Taqquere Villanueva went above and beyond to provide us with an amazing experience, with fun, knowledgeable guides to qn amazing chef and porters. Our tents were comfortable and kept us warm and dry from the elements. We were served four course meals, desert and happy hour on each day. Happy hour consisted of fresh hot popcorn, hot cocoa, coffee, cookies and bread. In addition to the 4 day Inca Trail we scored permits to hike Huayna Picchu ( Stairs of Death) which we conquered just having completed the last day of the Inca trail. Yes, our group is crazy! One member of our group was unable to hike the four day Inca trail due to severe health issues, John Taqquere and went above and beyond to give him an amazing Machu Picchu experience. Our trip consisted of City Walking Tour of Cusco, Alpaca Farm, Humantay Lake, Rainbow Mountain and other ruins. This was a humbling experience that will last a lifetime. Chalmers BOctober 9, 2024Verified Great experience! Our guide Edwin was excellent. The first day is very challenging but equally rewarding, and we were really glad that MPT arranged a pre-meeting the day before to go over logistics and make sure we were properly equipped -- renting poles is highly recommended, well worth the $10. Reaching the Sun Gate and getting the full vista of Machu Picchu felt like a life accomplishment. The second day is much less challenging, walking through the actual ruins of Machu Picchu, and we felt much less pressure because we'd gotten such great views and photos the day before.
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