SALKANTAY TO MACHUPICCHU 5 DAYS – 4 NIGHTS

DAY 1: CUSCO – SORAYPAMPA

Departure 5 AM we leave Cusco, passing through the towns of Izcuchaca and Limatambo arriving at Mollepata where we will have a nutritious breakfast then we continue to Patacancha where we will meet our muleteers and horses that will transport our equipment and we start our walk with an impressive view of the snow-capped Humantay and Salkantay we will arrive at Soraypampa, where we will enjoy a delicious lunch in the afternoon, visit Lake Humantay.

Dinner and overnight under the starry sky.

DAY 2: SORAYPAMPA – CHAULLAY

At dawn a nutritious breakfast to then continue with our walk, we will have an ascent of approximately 3 hours until we reach the highest point of our entire route Salkantay Pass 4600 meters above sea level, a sacred place where many rituals were performed, from this point we will descend until we reach Wayracmachay where We will have lunch, we continue our walk, entering the landscape of the jungle, in this section we will appreciate formations of the rivers that later become tributaries of the Urubamba River, a variety of typical plants of the place, we arrive at Chaullay where we will spend the night.

DAY 3: CHAULLAY – COLLPAPAMPA – THE BEACH – LUCMABAMBA

At 6:00 am. We will begin our trek to La Playa through the Santa Teresa valley. We will be walking for approximately 6 hours. During the walk we will see waterfalls, wild orchids, but also coffee, banana and avocado plantations. Here you can taste the famous passion fruit and granadilla. We will see a town called Colpapampa, also called the “front cloud forest” where you can see waterfalls, hot springs, fruit trees, varied flora and birds. If we are lucky, we will be able to see the famous bird called “El Gallo de las Rocas” national bird of Peru. After lunch at the beach, we will hike for about 1 hour to our base camp called Lucmabamba (2400 MASL – 7874 feet). We are going to explore the tropical forest for a while and have a lovely visit in an organic coffee farm. Here you can taste the coffee prepared by the local people. Coffee is the main agricultural industry for the local people here in the jungle and they grow many hectares of coffee for export to the US, Asia and Europe. Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia, but it was not until the Spanish invaded Cusco that it was brought to this region. We will also explore an orange and avocado plantation.

DAY 4: LUCMABAMBA – LLACTAPATA – HYDROELECTRIC PLANT – AGUA CALIENTES

The trek chef will wake you up early with a hot cup of coca tea served in his bed. You prepare for today’s activity, while enjoying your breakfast prepared by the trek chef. We will start the trek early and you will have the opportunity to enjoy a small part of the famous Inka route! After a 2 hour climb with incredible views of the Santa Teresa valley we will arrive at the Llactapata Inca site just in front of Machu Picchu. This will be the first archaeological site that we will see of the Lost City of the Incas and a very special place to enjoy and spend time. We will be able to see not only the ruins of Machu Picchu from this place, but also the Huaynapicchu and the mountain of Machu Picchu. We will explore this Inca site with the guide and he will continue the history lessons about the Incas of this beautiful country and of course you will have plenty of time to take as many photos as you like. After the ruins of Llactapata, we will continue our trek with a 2-hour downhill hike.

On this walk you can always have views of Machu Picchu until you reach the Hidroelectrica train station which is our lunch spot. The most impressive part of this area is the 300 meter high natural waterfall that generates electricity for the Cusco region. Then we will arrive at the famous Intiwatana. Intiwatana is an ancient rock used as a sundial in ancient Inca times. According to history, this ancient Inca stone used to work with the famous sundial stone in Machu Picchu. These could measure and read the winter solstice which was the beginning of the new growing season for the Incas. After passing this small Inca site we will arrive at the train tracks. Next to the rails there is a good walking path; This path will take us approximately 3 hours. After 3 hours we will arrive at Aguas Calientes, which is located at the foot of Machu Picchu. This section is very interesting because it is the trail that was used by the American professor Hiram Bingham who rediscovered Machu Picchu after centuries of being lost.

DAY 5: HOT WATER – MACHU PICCHU – CUSCO

The highlight of the trek, Machu Picchu! We will wake up early at the hotel. This is better to visit Machupicchu, before the mass of people arrive. The checkpoint of