About this trip
Four days on foot through the Andes, following the Salkantay route to Machu Picchu rather than the more crowded Inca Trail. You climb past snow-capped peaks, drop into cloud forest, and reach the citadel having earned the view.
Early on you'll stand above the turquoise water of Humantay Lake, well over 4,000 metres up, before the trail eases down through changing scenery and warmer air. Nights are spent camping, with proper tents rather than anything makeshift.
There's a Pachamanca barbecue along the way, cooked the traditional Andean way in an earth oven, and fresh coffee from farms you pass. The return to Cusco is by train, with wide windows built for the mountain scenery.
What you'll do
- Hike the Salkantay route beneath Salkantay Mountain
- See the turquoise waters of Humantay Lake
- Camp at the Salka Glamp campsite
- Cook and eat a traditional Pachamanca barbecue
- Pass through cloud forest en route to Machu Picchu
- Return to Cusco by scenic Vistadome or 360° train
- A multi-day trek with significant altitude — you should arrive with some fitness and time to acclimatise
- Camping-based, not hotel-based, for most of the trip
Worth it if you're fit, flexible with logistics, and prepared for repeated tipping conversations. Think twice if you dislike high-altitude hiking or prefer clarity on gratuities upfront.
- Guides consistently excellent—Wilbert, Roger, Pepe, Carlos—attentive, informative, and genuinely invested in group safety and morale.
- Food quality high with daily variety including vegetarian options; porters and chefs deliver hot tea, snacks, water throughout demanding days.
- Tipping expectations murky and repeated: daily requests from driver, mule handler, cooks create awkwardness despite operator claims of 'consolidated' tips.
- First night camping near Salkantay pass is genuinely cold; expect early 3am starts if protests or road blocks necessitate route changes.
Distilled from real traveller reviews on TourRadar — we don't edit out the bad bits.
The same-vibe trips, side by side — price, value per day, and how each is moving. Only we can lay two operators' trips out honestly.
Sorted by fit — never by who paid. Price moves and availability come from our own daily tracking.
Getting there
Opens Trip.com, pre-filled — one-way so you can book your return whenever. Prices & booking shown there.
Where to stay
A night before your tour in Cusco · 26 Jul – 27 Jul
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