Peru · 5 days · Challenging
5-Day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu
The alternative to the Inca Trail, and in several ways the better walk: higher, emptier, and it crosses from glacier to cloud forest in three days. It is genuinely hard — day two is 22 km over a 4,650 m pass — and you sleep in glass domes rather than a tent for most of it.
Short answer
5-Day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu is a 5-day, 4-night Peru itinerary starting in Cusco and finishing in Cusco, for small groups. It starts from US$872 per person sharing a double room in our standard hotel category, in low season. International flights are not included. Every day of it is published below, and we rebuild it around your dates at no extra cost.
Highlights
- The Humantay lagoon at 4,220 m, glacial meltwater under the peak
- The Salkantay pass at 4,650 m, with the snow line on four mountains around you
- Sleeping in glass sky domes at 4,000 m and jungle domes in the cloud forest
- Llactapata, where you see Machu Picchu across the valley before you reach it
How this trip moves
4 nights, 3 places to unpack
The thing most itineraries hide is how much of your holiday is spent getting somewhere. Here it is up front.
Where you sleep
- Mountain Sky Hut 2 nights
- Jungle domes 1 night
- Aguas Calientes hotel 1 night
The shape of it
- 1 The day you get there
- You sleep here
- Road
- Train
Day by day
- Day 1
Cusco → Soraypampa → Humantay lagoon
Pick-up at 4:30 a.m. and three hours to Mollepata for breakfast, then an hour more to the trailhead at Challacancha (3,380 m). Three hours to camp at Soraypampa (3,900 m), lunch, and then the 1.5-hour climb to the Humantay lagoon at 4,220 m. Around 10 km. Night in a glass sky hut.
- Change of base
- None — you stay where you slept
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- You sleep at
- Mountain Sky Hut
- Day 2
The Salkantay pass — the hard day
Breakfast at 5. Three hours of ascent to the Abra Salkantay at 4,650 m, with Salkantay, Humantay, Tucarhuay and Pumasillo around you. Then down — three hours to Huarachmachhay for lunch and three more to Colpapampa at 2,900 m. About 22 km and nine to ten hours. This is the day the trek is judged on.
- Change of base
- Road
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- You sleep at
- Mountain Sky Hut
- Day 3
Into the cloud forest
Five and a half hours through coffee plantations, orchids and medicinal plants as the vegetation thickens and the temperature climbs. 16 km, and easy after yesterday. The Cocalmayo hot springs at Santa Teresa are an optional add-on.
- Change of base
- None — you stay where you slept
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- You sleep at
- Jungle domes
- Day 4
Llactapata and Aguas Calientes
Up to the Llactapata ruins for the view across the valley to Machu Picchu from behind — most visitors never see this angle — then down to the river and on to Aguas Calientes and a hotel bed.
- Change of base
- Road
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- You sleep at
- Aguas Calientes hotel
- Day 5
Machu Picchu and back to Cusco
Early bus up for the guided circuit of the site, then the train and transfer back to Cusco.
- Change of base
- Train
- Meals
- Breakfast
- You sleep at
- — last day, you fly home
What is included
- Salkantay and Machu Picchu entrance tickets
- Pre-departure briefing with the guides in Cusco
- Certified English/Spanish-speaking guide and a cook with full cooking equipment
- Two nights at the Mountain Sky View glass domes, one night in a jungle dome, one hotel night in Aguas Calientes
- Meals: 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners
- Transport to the trailhead and from La Playa to Santa Teresa
- Sleeping pad (double foam)
- Guided tour of Machu Picchu
What is not included
- Sleeping bag (rentable)
- Cocalmayo hot springs
- Train upgrade options
- Travel insurance
- Tips
Per person in double occupancy. Final price depends on your dates, party size and hotel category — high season and single occupancy carry supplements. Full breakdown →
When to do this trip
May to September is the dry season and the right window. The route is at its worst January–March.
Good to know before you book
- Group size
- Small groups
- Starts
- Cusco
- Ends
- Cusco
- Pace
- Challenging
- Passport
- Valid at least six months beyond your arrival date. Entry requirements →
- Insurance
- Not included and not optional in our view. Medical evacuation from the islands or the rainforest is expensive.
- What moves the price
- Hotel category, private versus shared guiding, your dates, and party size — a solo traveller pays the room, not half of it. Tell us your party and dates and we will price it properly.
- If we have to change something
- Weather, park regulations and flight schedules occasionally force a swap. We tell you before you travel, not on the day, and we replace like with like.
Who this trip is not for
We would rather lose the booking than sell you the wrong week. These are the reasons people come back from this itinerary disappointed, and all of them are predictable before you pay.
Anyone who has not walked at altitude
The Salkantay pass is around 4,600 m. Fitness at sea level does not predict how you do up there, and the honest answer is that nobody knows until they try. We ask about previous altitude experience before we book anyone.
Anyone who needs comfort
It is multi-day camping or basic lodges, cold nights, and a shared toilet. The scenery is the payment.
Anyone on a tight schedule
Weather closes the pass. We build a spare day, and trips that do not have one are the ones that miss the Machu Picchu entry.
If any of those describe you, tell us — there is almost always a version that fits, and it is usually not more expensive.
Questions about this itinerary
How long is the 5-Day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu?
5 days and 4 nights, starting in Cusco and ending in Cusco.
How difficult is it?
Challenging. Group size: Small groups.
When is the best time to do this trip?
May to September is the dry season and the right window. The route is at its worst January–March.
What extra costs should I budget for?
Per person in double occupancy. Final price depends on your dates, party size and hotel category — high season and single occupancy carry supplements.
If this one is not quite it
