Day 1: Cusco – Mollepata – Humantay Lake –  Salkantaypampa

We will pick you up at your hotel around 05:00 am. We proceed to drive nearly 4 hours to Anta – Mollepata. During the bus ride, you can observe the white snowcapped mountains of Salkantay and Veronica: the Holy Gods of the Incas. Also, you will glimpse the spectacular views of the upper part and lower valleys with colorful landscapes.

After 4 hours of driving, we will make the stop in Soraypampa town, where there are toilet facilities and optional short breakfast. There we will meet with our support staff, organize all the equipment, horses and mules and we will have an introductory meeting. At approximately 9:30 a.m. we will start our trek to Humantay lake (4200 m.a.s.l).

Once we reach the lake, we can observe the Humantay glacier, Humantay Lake. We will spend like an hour there and come back to Soraypampa where we will have our lunch prepared by our cook. After our meal, we will keep hiking to Salkantaypampa where we will spend the night. Salkantaypampa is located in the middle of the glacier valleys where at night, it is so dark with no ambient light making it a perfect spot to appreciate the constellations in the sky.

Day 2: Soraypampa – Salkantay Pass – Huayramachay – Ccollpampa

Early wakeup call at 5:00 am with coca tea brought to your tent. Afterward, we pack up quickly, enjoy our breakfast, and immediately begin hiking up to the highest point of the Salkantay trail (4620 masl – 15,255 ft).  The distance is 5 km we should complete in 4 hours. During the ascent through the rocky valley, we can observe the magnificent Salkantay peak and may even see chinchillas on the trail (6217 masl – 20,341 ft). Once we reach the top of the trail, we will enjoy spectacular views of the mountains and the imposing snowy peaks of the Salkantay, Humantay, and Pumasillo.

Salkantay is considered the second highest mountain of Cusco region and one of the main Inca Gods known as “Apu Salkantay”. Hiking to the top is the most difficult part of the entire trek.  You will feel so accomplished!  The next  3 hours is spent heading downhill on the serpent trail along gravel and rocky path to reach Huayracmachay, our lunch spot. In the afternoon we will arrive at the upper part of the rain forest, also called a “cloud forest”.  We will cover 9 km in 3 hours until to get Challway Village (2900 masl – 9,514 ft) our base campsite.   The second half of the day during the descent, we will observe the thick forest which is decorated with colorful orchids and native plants. The majority of the year the weather is warm and pleasant.

Day 3: Collpapampa – Lucmabamba – Aguas Calientes

Around 5:30 am wake up call with coca tea!  Next, we have breakfast and afterward start hiking straight to la Playa; walking through the thick jungle and following the riverbank of the Salkantay River on a gradual trail. On the route, we stop at several family hamlets to enjoy the local fruit and vegetables (passion fruit, banana, coffee, avocado, mango, orange, and papaya).  If we are lucky, we will be able to observe the famous bird called “the Cock of the Rocks”.

The trail distance is 16 km and the hiking time is 7 hours until we reach Lucmabamba, our base camp. Lucmabamba is a small town surrounded by coffee trees and can provide the basic facilities (toilet, electricity, shopping, and souvenirs) and serves as our lunch point. After having lunch we take a local bus for an hour to Hydroelectric from there, we will keep walking along the train tracks until we reach Aguas Calientes.  Once in town, we check into our hotel, go out to dinner then overnight.

Day 4: Aguas Calientes – Machu Picchu – Ollantaytambo – Cusco

Day four is the most magical day: Machu Picchu. We will wake up at 3:30, extremely early, to take the first bus up to Machu Picchu and see the sunrise over the ruins.

Your guide will spend around 2 hours explaining the highlights of Machu Picchu.   Afterward, you will have time to explore by yourself the ruins and hike Huayna Picchu if you have booked this option. (This is a separate entrance ticket that costs $65 per person). Finally, you will return to Aguas Calientes and take a train back to Ollantaytambo, and then bus back to Cusco.   Once in Cusco, we will transfer you back to your hotel.