The Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu in Peru is a fantastic trek across the Cordillera Vilcabamba towards Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel. It provides travelers with the ideal opportunity to see many of Peru’s unique scenery.
You’ll see a variety of habitats, including mountains, beautiful valleys, streams, and the tropical rainforest. Here are some tips to make your journey efficient and less tiresome.
The best time to hike the Salkantay Trek is from March to October when the weather is calm. This indicates that it will be hotter at night and clearer all through the day. Traveling during the summer months, especially from June to August, means crowds.
However, this is a minor price to be paid since you will not want to hike during the monsoon season. We recommend doing this trip in the spare seasons of March to May or September to October.
If you plan to hike the Salkantay Trek alone and stay in homestays, there will be fewer people, making it much easier to stroll up and locate a room to live in.
It is necessary to stay in Cusco a few nights before embarking on the Trek. Three or four days prior to the hike should suffice.
Note that Cusco is 3,399 meters above sea level. If you aren’t accustomed to it, you may get headaches, nausea, reduced appetite, sleep disturbances, or breathlessness.
We strongly advise you to bring a rechargeable battery with you. Some of the campsites along the path provide charging stations with a little hourly fee because the power is photovoltaically produced by the residents, but others do not.
However, bringing a rechargeable battery with you on the path to recharge your electrical gadgets, particularly your cameras, is strongly suggested.
Because the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu exposes you to altitudes of up to 4,650 meters, insurance is both a need and a requirement. You may be well-trained and in peak physical condition, but the illness can hurt your health.
An evacuation plan may be necessary at times, so be certain you have adequate insurance. However, some ordinary insurance plans do not cover altitude sickness, so check your plan before leaving the house to ensure that it covers all of the relevant conditions.
Because there are no ATMs along the trek till you reach Aguas Calientes, carry enough money to cover your lodging, meals, and celebratory beers all along the route.
At the very least, 400 soles for each passenger should be enough.
We hope that you found these Salkantay Trek Advice and Tips helpful. Wondering what to pack for your Salkantay Trek? Check our ultimate Salkantay Trek Packing guide.