Glamping Peru Trek's unique and specially designed 4 day Wilderness Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu takes you around the stunning spectacular peak of Mount Salkantay. You will be trekking off the beaten track on your way to see one of the most sacred peaks in Inca culture. It is the second tallest mountain in the Cusco region at 6,277m / 20,577f). On this trek you will explore a gorgeous turquoise glacial lake, waterfalls, and will hike through the unforgettable Peruvian cloud forest. In this special forest, you will take the opportunity to taste the fresh fruit grown there such as bananas, oranges, avocados, pineapple and much more.
We will pick you up from your hotel in Cusco, at 4:00 am in our private van. We begin our adventure heading towards Mollepata, on our 3 hour drive to the trailhead at Soraypampa (3,800km/12,467ft). When we arrive at Soraypampa, you will enjoy a gourmet hot breakfast prepared by our chef. After breakfast, you will give your duffel bags to our horsemen and begin your trekking adventure on the Salkantay trek by hiking up towards Humantay Lake. This hike takes about 1.5 hours and will take you to the base of Humantay Mountain, where you get to take in the beautiful, crystalline-blue waters of the glacial cirque itself. After some time enjoying the mesmerizing beauty of such an incredible creation of nature, you will hike back downhill to Soraypampa, from where you continue with your trek to the lunch spot. This hike takes about 2 hours as you descend to Salkantaypampa at 3,900km/12,795ftç, arriving at about 1 p.m. Salkantaypampa is located on the base of the Salkantay glacier mountain and has incredible views of the Salkantay Mountain. After lunch, you will gradually hike uphill for around 3 hours to the campsite of Pampa Japonesa at 4,250km/13,943ft. There, you will admire the unforgettable star filled night sky at the base of the majestic Salkantay Mountain. Your guide will show you the Inca’s constellations, still used in traditional Quechua villages to guide their planting and harvest cycles.
Your guide will wake you with a hot mug of tea or coffee in your tent before you get up for a hearty and delicious breakfast. Starting out the day’s hike, your first pictures of the day will be spectacular views of the surrounding glacier peaks and mountains. From Pampa Japonesa, you will slowly ascend for the next 3 hours until you reach the Inca Chiriaska, a pass located at (5,100km/16,732 ft). Chiriaska means “getting cold” in Quechua, and you will notice that this place is truly cold at most times of the year but it also has some of the best views of the Salkantay glacier peaks. Enjoy a hot drink while you admire the breathtaking scenery, before continuing on your trek. The hike from the pass to Sisaypata, our lunch spot, will take around 3.5 hours, but is all downhill. At Sisaypata, you will delight in the beauty of the Paltayoc peaks.
After lunch, we continue trekking for another 3 hours downhill towards the campsite for the night at Paucarcancha at 3,770km/12,368ft. Hot drinks and snacks will be ready for you when you arrive at camp. Enjoy the luxury of the Glamping Peru Treks service as you take in the beauty of yet another incredible panorama of the Peruvian Andes.
Another hot mug of tea or coffee, enjoyed in your sleeping bag, will help you get up for an early breakfast. Your guide will take you to visit the Inca archaeological site of Paucarcancha, before continuing on with your trek. Today, you get to trek on an original section of the Classic Inca Trail! Walk in the footsteps of the Inca as you hike on part of the system of trails designed hundreds of years ago, stretching from Ecuador down through most of Chile. As you are trekking, you will be enthralled by the stunning views of the surrounding valleys and mountains. You will also get to explore a bit of the important buildings along the Inca Trail by visiting the famous, Llactapata Inca archaeological site. This site is known for having been an Inca village, characterized by its houses, water channels, and many farming terraces gently bordering the mountain side. From Llactapata, we will trek for about 1 hour to where we stop for lunch.
After lunch, you will hike for about another 2 hours until you reach Km 82, where you will get picked up by our private van and be transferred to the city of Ollantaytambo. At Ollantaytambo, you will get to enjoy dinner and we will take the 7:04pm train to Aguas Calientes. Your guide will take you to your hotel, where you will stay the evening in anticipation of visiting the famous Machu Picchu Citadel.
Walking distance: 15km/9mi
Campsite elevation: 3,300 km/10,826 ft
Trail end elevation: 2,700 km/8,858 ft
Aguas Calientes elevation: 2,000km/6,561 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Accommodations: Tierra Viva or Casa Andina
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
This is the day you have been waiting for! We take the 5:30am bus to Machu Picchu archeological site, in time to enjoy the morning sunrise. This spectacular sight will stay with you the rest of your life! It is truly magical! With our 2.5-hour private tour, you explore every nook and cranny of this New 7 Wonder of the World, the majestic Machu Picchu Citadel. What an unforgettable experience!
You may wish to indulge in a few of these extra activities:
***Note: you get 2 hours extra at the Citadel of Machu Picchu if you choose to climb Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mt.
You will descend to Aguas Calientes, eat a leisurely lunch and at 4:22pm board the Vistadome Train to the Ollantaytambo station. There, you will be transferred by private van to Cusco and your hotel arriving at about 8:30pm.
Difficulty: Easy
Meal included: Breakfast at your hotel
Our NEW 4 day Wilderness Salkantay to Machu Picchu Trek may leave on any date that is best suited to you, as long as we have a minimum of 2 hikers!
***This price includes an extra pack horse, which will carry your belongings up to 7 kgs. We will provide you a duffel bag that you can put your things in.
Glamping Peru Treks is a family owned travel agency and a local tour operator based in Cusco with personal experience over many years of trekking. Glamping Peru Treks is a 100% Cusqueñian Company without any shareholders.
Our dream as a locally based company is to create small personalized tours & treks strictly and only operated by local professional staff catering in PERSONALIZED and HIGH QUALITY SERVICE.
We take pride in our reputation as a RESPONSIBLE & SUSTAINABLE tour operator. Our staff are our extended family! We ensure they are supported financially by offering them a fair salary. We are so proud of our team. Without them we wouldn’t be able to offer the best service and lifetime experiences to our guests.
In an effort to provide a more personalized service to our passengers, at Glamping Peru Treks, we have a policy that our groups will not exceed 8 people. This sets us apart from other companies that operate departures with bigger groups.
Our itinerary is slightly different than the other trekking companies. Our campsites are far away from others and we visit the 2 amazing glacial lakes when no one else is there. We hike up to Llactapata Inca ruins, which is directly across from Machu Picchu. You will enjoy the guided tour of the Machu Picchu citadel in a small group.
We are proud of our guides! Highly professional, fluent in English, very knowledgeable and passionate for Incan heritage and history. Our guides are dedicated to continuous professional development, learning to ensure that you receive the most accurate and recognized theories in Incan and Andean culture. Fun loving, great sports and well – educated, they hold degrees in one of the following: Archaeology, Tourism, Botany, History or Anthropology.
Trekking the Salkantay Trail with Glamping Peru Treks is a life changing experience with a fully portered trek, where your comfort and enjoyment are our first priority. We make sure that you get the best experience for your holiday in Peru, while you interact with the locals, explore fantastic sites and re-discover remote ancient Inca towns. Our pack horses will carry your gear, and your horsemen will help to set up your tents and camping equipment. Enjoy the best service and let them take care of you, while you sit back and relax.
We provide the following items to our employees for free: Jacket, sun hat, warm hat, t-shirt, pants, hiking boots, comfortable duffel bags, canteen and girdle for protecting their spine, sleeping bags, mattresses and travel insurance. All of our horsemen and porters are hired from isolated communities and are given the opportunity to work with our company, which allows them to better their economic circumstances, as well as getting help for their children’s education! We, Glamping Peru Treks, ensure that all of our porters and horsemen are treated like family!
We constantly receive the highest praise for our fabulous cooks, as well as their delicious and abundant gourmet style meals. Peruvian and international cuisine are prepared by our professional and dedicated cooks from a mixture of local and exotic produce. If you have diet restrictions or food allergies, we can cater to your needs!
Our team (guides, cooks, porters, horsemen) and our equipment are what really makes Glamping Peru Treks stand out from all the competitors. For all our adventures, we include the following items:
Glamping Peru Treks have always believed that we should give back to the local isolated communities. Therefore, as part of our commitment to responsible tourism, we always do many service projects and hire locally.
Glamping Peru Treks is so proud to be able to support these people, not only employing them but go back to our grassroots as they share with their families. It makes us happy to have this holistic approach with our highland employees and their families!
Please read carefully the following information as it will help with questions about our services and the Salkantay To Machu Picchu Trek
You will be welcomed at Cusco airport and taken to your hotel, please ensure that you inform us of your flight details at least 14 days prior to your trek. Look out for our representative holding a Glamping Peru Treks board at the arrival terminal.
It will take place the night before the trek at 6pm at our office, which is located on Calle Santa Teresa Nº383 ; 303 (second floor), we are next to SUBWAY sandwich shop.
Of course! During the Salkantay to Machu Picchu Trek your main luggage can be store at our office or at your hotel, whichever is more convenient for you.
FIRST, to book your Salkantay to Machu Picchu Trek, we need you to fill out our booking form by clicking on BOOK NOW on our homepage or click here the link BOOK NOW.
Please be ready with the following information (FROM EACH PARTICIPANT in your group). We cannot purchase an Salkantay to Machu Picchu Trek permits and entrance tickets without the following information:
SECOND, we require a deposit of $211.00 USD per person, in order, to purchase a permit for the Salkantay to Machu Picchu Trek. You can make you deposit by clicking on the VISA or PAYPAL symbols on the top of our home page, or you can click on the VISA or PAYPAL symbols on our booking page.
If you would like to avoid the high credit card fees in Peru, you can pay in cash at our office (we accept US dollars or Peruvian soles) in Cusco. There are many ATMs within the historical center to withdraw money. You can also pay by VISA or PAYPAL online but you will have to pay a 5.5% service charge, charged by VISA and PAYPAL. To pay your balance through PAYPAL, you need to log into your PAYPAL account using our email address of glampingperutreks@gmail.com.
With alternative treks, we may be able to change dates for a fee depending on what has been already purchased. Please contact the office as soon as possible if you need to change your date. If you cancel your Salkantay to Machu Picchu Trek, the deposit is not refundable!
Yes! You have to bring your original passport. It is required by authorities to gain entry onto the trains, Machu Picchu or the Inca Trail. It must be the original passport that you have used to book with us from the start.
In case you are renewing your passport or changing your name, go ahead and send us your old passport information to secure your permit and we can change it when you get your new passport number or updated your name for a fee of $25 USD per person. We must have a copy of your old and new passport to make the change.
If you do not wish to pay this fee, you will need to bring both your old and new passports to Peru with you. You can enter Peru with your new passport but you will need to show both passports, old and new to enter into Machu Picchu and other sites. If you do not have both, you will not be allowed to enter into these amazing sites.
The weather is very unpredictable and it’s difficult to foresee. We recommend to always dress in layers as it is more easier to adjust to the different climates.
In general, if you exercise regularly and spend a couple of days in Cusco or the Sacred Valley, you will be able to acclimate normally. It usually take between 24 hours to 2 days.
The recommended remedies for altitude sickness is WATER, COCA TEA and OXYGEN, IF NEEDED. Our guides are trained to treat you for Altitude Sickness.
The maximum group size is 8 persons. Our groups are between 2-6 persons. Glamping Peru Treks specializes in SMALL, PRIVATE groups and provide a personalized service.
You will have 1 cook, 1 assistant and 1 horseman per group. The number of pack horses depends of the size of the group.
The evening before you start your trek, you will be given a SMALL DUFFEL BAG to pack your clothes for the next four days. Your weight allowance is up to 7kg/14lbs. Your team of pack horses will carry your duffel bag for you, together with the food and camping gear. It’s important to be aware, that you will not have access to your items in the duffel bag until the end of each day, as the horses will always be ahead of the group. During the trek, you need a day backpack big enough to carry your personal belongings such as a warm jacket, a rain jacket, your camera, sunscreen, snacks, water, etc. Usually a 25 to 30 liters backpack is sufficient.
The Salkantay Trek is a fairly difficult and you should be well prepared and healthy prior to starting it. You have to be moderately fit and exercise regularly. In preparation: try walking 15kms/9 miles in a day or working out in the months leading up to the trek. It is also important to be well acclimatized to the altitude. Try to spend at least 2 or 3 days in Cusco (3,350m/11,047ft) prior to starting the trek.
Our Salkantay to Machu Picchu trek is unique to us and an out of the way location even during peak season, we will only occasionally encounter another group.
It has been highlighted by most of our clients, especially by the female trekkers, who want a bit of privacy, clean and sanitary toilet!! Glamping Peru Treks portable bathroom facilities have an individual tent and a camping toilet with a seat. Check out the picture, which illustrates how we set up our camping toilet on the trek by using this link: picture of toilet tent. Our toilets are always set up a comfortable distance from our campsite. At night, if you need to use the toilet, it is readily accessible and clean, unlike the dirty facilities supplied by the Peruvian government.
In this unlikely scenario, that you are unable to finish the trek due to a health issue, Glamping Peru Treks will assist you to the nearest town for help with transportation. We always carry oxygen on the trek for any respiratory problems. In extreme cases, a helicopter pick up can be arranged at your own expense. (Travel insurance is required and recommended). There are no refunds in the unlikely situation that you are unable to finish the trek.
Generally, those who have to be assisted off the trail are taken to Ollantaytambo and if they recover quickly they, then, continue the journey to Aguas Calientes (cost incurred by trekker) and visit Machu Picchu, according to original plan.
Absolutely!! Hotel pick ups and drop offs are included with all of our packages! If you have booked your hotel in the Sacred Valley, we will drop you off there and vice versa.
It will depend on the train time availability (during high season it could be sold out) but the idea is to give you as much time as possible in Machu Picchu and enjoy the amazing views on the way back to Cusco while on the train. Therefore, we usually book the train at 4:22pm. With this train schedule, you will have the maximum about of time to enjoy Machu Picchu
We recommend the Vistadome train, which has nicer seats, panoramic windows and ceiling. You will be offered snacks and a dance show will take place on board. The train includes the transfer from the Poroy train station to your hotel in Cusco. The total travel time is about 4 hours roundtrip. On the Vistadome train, you will go all the way back to Poroy, the trip lasts 3.5 hours, then 25mins by taxi to your hotel. Our clients are back at the hotel by 8pm.
If you’re happy with the services provided, a tip – though not compulsory – is appreciated. While it may not be customary in your home country, it’s of great significance for the people who will take care of you during the trek. It inspires them to give excellent service and is an entrenched feature of the tourism industry across many Glamping Peru Treks destinations. Of course, you are free to tip more or less as you feel it, depending on your perception of the quality and the length of your trip. Remember, a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
Yes, we are a local, sustainable & responsible tourism operator that incorporates universal principles of tourism: protect the environment and benefit the local communities by respecting their culture and religion. With this in mind, we have trained all our local staff to know and understand, respect the places and the local people.
As a Direct Local Tour operator, we provide you with a duffel bag at your briefing and INCLUDE an extra pack horse. Who will carry up to 7 kgs or 14lbs including your 2.5kg sleeping bag, mattress and extra clothing.
We highly recommend a small backpack 30 to 40L for hiking in the day. A big backpack will not be allowed into Machu Picchu. The remainder of your belongings will be in your duffel bag at camp.
All of our guides are experts in trekking and hold degrees related to tourism. They are passionate about their career and love to show others about their culture!
We specialize in providing our treks and tours with small groups. It helps create a more unique and personalized experience!
We have more than 6 years experience, in providing high quality service. We are considered one of the few operators that most clients trust.
All of our chefs prepare gourmet meals catering to different dietary needs. This sets us apart from other companies.
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As one of the few tour operators that dedicated itself to social responsibility. We are always looking for innovative ways of caring for our natural surroundings.
Our camping equipment is top of the line being replaced when needed. Our camping equipment is available for rent as well.
All Treks & Tours will be OPERATED by SAM Travel Peru staff and professional guides. What that means for you is that SAM Travel Peru will never pass you onto another company or 3rd Party; we will work with you until we get it right…. All the departures are 100% guaranteed – If you are booked and have made your deposit. ! You are going!
