Salkantay Inca Trail Trek to Machu Picchu is the best of the both iconic treks to Machu Picchu from Cusco. The seven day Inca Trail Salkantay Trek offers an insight to the Inca ruins along the Inca trail and a closer contact with nature on the section of Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. It also takes you to the famous Humantay Lake, a colorful lagoon hidden in the middle of the Andes.
The high altitude experience begins at the Incachiriaska pass “frozen inca’s pass”. This is a main point of Salkantay Trek. It then takes you through the original paved Inca pathways. Here you will get to see a variety of fascinating ancient ruins, beautiful sceneries before entering Machu Picchu.
With smaller groups you get the full attention of our staff and with each traveler having a personal porter to carry your personal items, so that you can enjoy your Machu Picchu hike.
The region is a part of the Peruvian Andes. It is subject to two seasons, dry season and rainy season. The best time to experience the trek is during the dry season – between March and November.
Please note that Inca Trail is closed for maintenance in February every year.
Happy Gringo Tours is a local tour operating company founded by a local guide who has hiked the Inca Trail over 500 times. All our guides are locals and passionate hikers. We have years of experience in tourism. Our guides have extensive training in providing aid to altitude sickness.
Do take a moment to check our reviews on Tripadvisor.
Check out our post on What to expect on Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. Also take a view at our Ultimate Salkantay Trek Packing List.
Cusco Hotel Transfer
05:00 AM
Happy Gringo offer daily departures on the Inca Trail “excluding February when Inca trail is closed”.
It is strongly recommended to reserve your Inca Trek at least 4 months in advance as permits can quickly sell out. Therefore, the Inca Trail Peru is available to book from March 01st to January 31st every year.
Campsites may change depending on booking, availability, weather conditions or on restrictions undertaken for safety reasons by the Peruvian Government.For more details let us know.
We will be picking you up from your hotel in Cusco and embark on a two hours drive to Mollepata. Here we will be stopping for breakfast.
After breakfast, we will be driving further to Challacancha.Here we will start hiking to the base camp Soraypampa.
We will then visit The Humantay Lake and return to the campsite for lunch.
After relishing a typical breakfast, we will begin with a 4 hours hike to Pampa Japonesa. This is where we will be stopping for lunch before hiking up to Salkantay pass.
We will then descend to Sisay Pampa where we will be camping for the night.
We will begin the day after relishing a delicious breakfast. We will be hiking up the hill to the highest point of the trek. This is the point from where you will get a closer peek at the mighty Salkantay Mountain.
After immersing in the tranquility of the Sacred Andean Mountain, we will be hiking for six hours, down the hill to Paucar Cancha. Here we will be stopping for lunch. After lunch, we will be bidding goodbye to our muleteers as mules are not allowed on the Classic Inca Trail.
We will begin the day with a guided tour of Paucar Cancha complex. After the tour, we will be hiking on the Inca Trail. We will begin at Wayllabamba village. Our team of porters will be joining the expedition here.
The campsite for the night will be at Llulluchapampa 3800m / 12460 ft. It is the closest campsite to Dead Woman’s Pass. Climbing up to the campsite we’ll pass through various microclimates and it is the second coldest campsite.
We will begin the day with an organic breakfast. Then we will be hiking up the hill for five hours to the highest point of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Dead Woman’s pass locally known as Warmi Wanusca at (4215 meters/13779 feet).
This is the most challenging part of the Inca Trail. We will have a short break here so you can rest and rejuvenate.
We will then start hiking for two hours down the hill through original Inca steps amidst the cloud forest. These are quite steep steps. We will then reach our campsite for lunch.
After lunch, we will be hiking for another two hours up the hill. On our way, we will be stopping at different Inca sites.
The popular ones are Runkurakay and Sayamarca. From Sayamarca it’s a 30 minutes hike to our exclusive campsite in Chaquicocha.
After relishing a typical breakfast, we will begin the third day of this 4 Day Inca Trail Hike to Machu Picchu by hiking to the last mountain pass, Phuyupatamarca. This is the best area to witness the highland flora and fauna.
In Quechua, Phuyupatamarca means “City in the Clouds” and IntiPata ” Sun above the terraces” .
We will then stop for lunch at our campsite. After lunch we will hike to the iconic site, Winay Wayña “Forever Young”. This is one of the interesting sites on the Inca Trail. After a guided tour of the ruins we will walk back to our campsite for dinner.
After dinner, we will be bidding goodbye to our porters.
The highlight of the Salkantay Inca Trail Trek. We will be leaving the campsite early in the morning to Inti Punku or Sun gate. You will get the first sight of Machu Picchu citadel from here.
We will then hike down to the citadel. We will be giving you a two hours guided tour. After the tour, you will have some free time to explore the citadel on your own. If you have booked to hike Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu mountains, our guide will be directing you to the trail head.
After exploring Machu Picchu, you will be taking a bus back to Aguas Calientes. Here we will be serving lunch at a local restaurant. At around 04:00 PM, we will be taking a train back to Ollantaytambo in Sacred Valley.
Our representative will be meeting you on arrival and will be transferring you back to your hotel in Cusco. We will be returning to Cusco by 09:30 PM.