Available to Club Members Only.
Trek through the finest elevated Andes landscapes in beautiful Peru, amid some of Cusco's highest peaks. This spectacular route takes hikers through tropical cloud forest ecosystems to see some of the finest sights of Peru's high Andes mountains. The challenge? Five days of passing through a range of pristine ecological niches on foot. The reward? Machu Picchu, the greatest surviving legacy of the Inca empire. *Prices in your Cart are listed in CAD.
Highlights
- Trek past the glacial Andean Lake Humantay, with green and turquoise waters surrounded by soaring snow-covered mountains.
- See several types of orchid and endemic bird species while hiking through an Andean cloud forest.
- Visit the ruins of Llactapata, catching your first glimpse of Machu Picchu from an angle that very few get to experience.
- Explore the Inca city of Machu Picchu, one of the seven World Wonders on your own, private guided tour.
- Hike over 50km across some of Cusco's highest peaks with a team of experienced guides, naturalists, mules and horses; there to keep you safe, well-resourced, and comfortable.
5 Day Itinerary
Day 1 | Cusco | Soraypampa | Lake Humantay | Soyrococha | We’ll arrive in Cusco, and from there, we’ll drive to the trailhead in the Apurimac Valley. We will drive as far as Soraypampa, where we will meet our wranglers, who will be responsible for the mules and horses that will carry most of our gear. From Soraypampa, we’ll begin with a hike up a gentle slope with fine views of the southern face of Mount Salkantay (6,271 meters / 20,568 feet) dominating the skyline. Today, we’ll also visit Humantay, a stunningly beautiful glacial Andean Lake, with green and turquoise waters surrounded by soaring snow-covered mountains. After completing the most challenging stretch of our route, we will make camp and relax, enjoying the magnificent surrounding scenery. Lunch and dinner will be included on this day. Total trekking distance: 6 kilometres (4-5 hours) at peak altitude of 4200 meters. |
Day 2 | Soyrococha | Collpapampa | After breakfast we will head up towards the next pass at the base of Mount Salkantay, where we’ll be met by even more dramatic views as we stop to rest and take photos. From the pass, we’ll head down to our next campsite. This day’s hiking will take us from the high Andes into a lower-altitude cloud forest environment. Just one hour after passing the highest point of the trail, we will find ourselves amid tropical vegetation with temperatures warmer than those experienced on the first day. These forests are the habitat of many orchid species and several endemic bird species, including several varieties of hummingbird. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be included on this day. Total trekking distance: 15 kilometres (6-7 hours) at peak altitude of 4,622 meters. |
Day 3 | Collpapampa | Lucmabamba | We will make an early start today to ensure that we have plenty of time to enjoy this area’s varied flora and abundant birdlife, including Peru’s national bird, the cock-of-the-rock (Rupicola peruviana). The trail will take us further into a valley filled with beautiful scenery, dotted with the smallholdings of local farmers who grow tropical fruits and coffee. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be included on this day. Total trekking distance: 15.9 kilometres (6-7 hours) at peak altitude of 2831 meters. |
Day 4 | Lucmabamba | Llactapata | Aguas Calientes | Today’s early start will give us plenty of time to visit the Inca ruins of Llactapata and appreciate the fine surrounding scenery. We will hike along the complex network of highways established by the Incas, linking every corner of their vast empire. It’s a demanding ascent to Llactapata, but we’ll be well rewarded by the extraordinary scenery that surrounds us during this section of our trek. As we complete the ascent, we will pass through a forested area that is home to abundant birdlife, including hummingbirds, toucans and Peru’s national bird: the cock-of-the-rock. It is from Llactapata that you’ll get your first view of Machu Picchu, seen from an angle that very few visitors to Peru’s most emblematic archaeological site experience. The next part of the hike is much less demanding physically, while the scenery that surrounds us is some of the most rewarding of the entire trip. We will descend further into the Urubamba canyon, venturing deeper into a cloud forest environment. After passing the hydroelectric station, we will continue to the town of Aguas Calientes by train (around one hour). We’ll spend this night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes. Breakfast and lunch will be included on this day. Total trekking distance: 13.2 kilometres (6-7 hours) at peak altitude of 2705 meters.
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Day 5 | Aguas Calientes | Machu Picchu | Cusco | Today we will get up early to visit the Inca city of Machu Picchu, which was only rediscovered in 1911. Standing at the top of a steep, forested hill overlooking the Urubamba River, Machu Picchu was hidden by dense vegetation for centuries until the American historian Hiram Bingham began to clear the site. Your guided tour will include the temples, plazas, palaces, watercourses, and residential areas of the Inca city. Optional; after the tour you will have the option of climbing Huayna Picchu Mountain (2-3 hours, subject to availability - if interested, please make your booking as soon as possible). In the afternoon we will return to Aguas Calientes to board the train to Cusco, where upon arrival you will be brought to your final hotel to rest after your incredible, challenging, and rewarding trek. |
INCLUDED:
- Private transportation from your hotel in Cusco to the trailhead
- Train ticket from the Hydroelectric station to Aguas Calientes
- Return Vistadome Train ticket from Aguas Calientes to Cusco
- Transportation from the train station to your hotel in Cusco
- Entrance fees to the Salkantay trail
- Entrance ticket to Machu Picchu
- Round trip bus ticket to Machu Picchu
- Hotel in Aguas Calientes town, double or twin room
- Camping equipment: 4-persons tent for every two participants (single tents on request); air mattresses; kitchen utensils with complete tableware, chairs and tables; dining tent and kitchen tent; latrine tent; first aid kit and emergency oxygen bottle; duffle bag
- Your team: Our English-speaking tour guide, a cook, mule drivers and camp assistants, pack animals (mules carry up to 8kg of each participant’s personal gear)
NOT INCLUDED:
- Sleeping bag (available for rent at an additional cost)
- Travel insurance
- Meals not mentioned in the itinerary
- Tips to guides and to the staff
- Tipping our guiding staff is acceptable, at your discretion, when you feel they have gone beyond their normal job requirements and should be compensated by you for it. Tipping for guides, cooks and porters may vary, depending on the type of service, length of trip and group size. Tipping is not compulsory
OUR MEALS:
Our delicious meals will be prepared by a cook each time we set up camp. We’ll have plenty of drinking water to fill up your water bottle regularly, sourced naturally and filtered, then boiled. We’ll stop for snacks in the morning and afternoon, consisting of fruit, biscuits, chocolate and energy bars, and candy. We’ll have hot drinks such as tea and coffee available.
WHAT TO BRING:
- Passport (bring additional photocopies)
- A daypack for personal items (to be carried personally)
- Warm clothing
- Rain jacket
- Long sleeved shirts (cotton)
- Shorts for walking (optional).
- Cap and sunglasses
- Sun block
- Camera
- Binoculars for birdwatching enthusiasts
- Good hiking boots
- Walking poles (make sure they are not metal tipped, to protect the Inca Trail’s original stone steps)
- Swimming gear and sandals (if you would like to visit the thermal baths in Aguas Calientes)
- Flashlight
