The Salkantay Trek

• 7 nights en suite hotels and 6 nights full-service camping
• 7 days point-to-point walking with full porterage
• Altitude maximum 4960m, average 3550m
• Travel by private minibus and by train
• Inca Trail Permit required - early booking essential
• 10kg personal weight limit on trek

All breakfasts, 8 lunches and 6 dinners are included in the price of the tour. Peruvian cuisine has developed a reputation for its flavours and originality and it’s well worth trying out a few of the local delicacies. Amongst these are ceviche (a spicy dish of seafood or fish marinated in lime juice), lomo saltado (a Peruvian take on a beef stir-fry) and various hearty soups such as the delicious quinoa soup. Other dishes include roasted cuy (guinea pig), alpaca steak, and to drink, the national beverage: Pisco Sour. Drinking water is provided. The tap water in Peru is not safe to drink; boiled and filtered drinking water is provided on the trek and elsewhere your leader will buy large water containers for you to refill your bottle from. Hotel breakfasts are normally simple buffet-style affairs, usually including bread/toast and jam, cereal, sometimes eggs or a cooked dish, sometimes fruit, tea/coffee and fruit juice. Regrettably, we can not guarantee that wheat/gluten-free products will be available for breakfast in all locations - if you have an intolerance you may wish to bring your own breakfast food. Where lunch and dinner is not included in Cuzco/Aguas Calientes we'll visit a variety of cafes and restaurants. During the trek, hearty breakfasts are served and good quality cooked lunches and dinners are provided, and usually consist of soup or a starter, a main course with meat/fish and some form of carbohydrates, followed by a dessert. Some snacks between meals are also provided. Bed tea/coffee is brought to your tent each morning and juice or hot drinks are provided with all meals during the trek.

Peru's diverse geography results in a very varied climate between different regions. Cuzco and the Andes have a temperate climate. December to March is the rainy season in Cuzco/the Andes and April to November is the dry season; characterised by clear skies and strong sunshine in the mornings, sometimes clouding over as the day progresses. Daytime temperatures are usually pleasant (approx. 20 degrees C on average) but night times only 5-10 degrees C, except for May, June, July and August when days are cooler and nights on trek are often below freezing, particularly at the highest camps where it may be around -10 degrees C. In the Andes, however, anything is possible at any time of year, including cloud, rain or even snow, and rapid and unexpected changes! Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu are in the cloud forest and as such attract large amounts of precipitation all year as clouds move up from the Amazon Basin. Rain here can be heavy but is seldom prolonged. Cold fronts sometimes occur from July-August. Peru is affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon whereby warming of Pacific Ocean surface water off South America drives a shift in the atmospheric circulation resulting in abnormally high levels of rainfall over parts of South America. These events occur at irregular intervals of two to seven years, and last nine months to two years. A strong El Niño event occurred in 2014-16.

This trip is graded as Challenging (level 5) - please refer to our activity level guidelines. There are 7 days point-to-point walking with full porterage, reaching a maximum altitude of approx. 4960m, average 3550m. More strenuous and at higher altitude than the classic Inca Trail, sections of this trek take us over difficult terrain underfoot, particularly on the descent from the high pass, which has a lot of loose gravel. The walking days are generally not long but there are some steep climbs and descents. On the main Inca Trail the paths are well maintained, but there are a lot of irregular stone steps which can be tiring on the knees, so we recommend walking poles.

You may find our Fitness Training Guide a useful reference.

Some nights can be very cold (below freezing), and you should note that over the last few years there have been a few occasions where heavy snowfall has closed the Inca Chiriasqa Pass (day 7). If this happens the leader will take an amended route to join the Inca Trail. If the snow is very heavy the group may retreat to Mollepata and then join the Inca Trail at Km 82 (the start point of the normal Inca Trail). This is not a common occurrence but you should be aware that it does occasionally happen. It is most likely to occur in July and August although is very unpredictable.

As this trip spends considerable time at altitude, we ask you to refer to the altitude warning within the Trip Notes. We spend three days in Cuzco (3400m) acclimatising before starting the trek.

Protest action/strikes are not uncommon in Peru, and whilst these are generally peaceful, they can involve roadblocks and cause disruption to travel. Occasionally your leader may have to adapt your itinerary in response to this.

Walking hours stated within the itinerary are given as approximates only. Timings stated include lunch and photo stops and will vary depending on the pace of your group.

Inca Trail Regulations

An Inca Trail permit is required for this trip. There are a number of important regulations regarding the Inca Trail that we would like to make you aware of:

1. Spaces on the Inca Trail are on a first come, first served basis and we urge you to book as early as possible.

2. If you cancel your booking more than 8 weeks before departure and wish to transfer your deposit to another departure or another trip the transfer fee is £150 as we will lose the permit we have purchased. This is an amendment to our Booking Conditions. No transfers are possible within 8 weeks of departure.

3. Bookings can only be made if we are supplied with your full name, passport details, date of birth and nationality, exactly as per the passport you will be using to travel to Peru (this information is used to purchase your Inca Trail permit). If your passport details do not match those on your permit you will be refused entry to the Inca Trail by the local authorities.

4. Should the passport used to purchase your permit be lost, stolen or expire before your Inca Trail start date, you must purchase a new passport and notify Exodus immediately as we will need to apply to amend your Inca Trail permit. To do so, you must supply copies of both your old and new passports to Exodus in advance of travel and pay an administration fee of £25. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you make a copy of your passport at the time of booking.

5. Please be aware that these regulations may change at any time, and Exodus is not responsible for the decisions made by Peruvian authorities.

6. There is a possibility that the Peruvian authorities may increase the entrance fees to the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu and other major sights at any time. If they do so, we will inform you of this increase and the extra amount will need to be paid locally in cash in Peru.

Please Note: Whilst your departure date may be 'Guaranteed', your Inca Trail permit itself will initially be 'On Request'. If travelling within the current year we will try to purchase your permit immediately upon receiving your booking. If travelling next year, we will apply for your permit as soon as they are released for sale. In either case, in the event that we are unable to get your permit we will contact you to discuss your options.

List of Regulations for visiting Machu Picchu:

The main points impacting your visit are the following:

The tickets are valid only for one entry which means that you cannot leave the site and re-enter.

Once you have done the chosen circuit with your guide, you cannot walk back to view anything already visited and once you finish the circuit, you will have to leave the site. You can no longer explore the site further after the guided tour.

The two visit times for visiting the site, either 6am-12pm or 12-16.30pm.

The local authorities have restricted the temples which can visited at Machu Picchu depending on the time of the visit to the site.

These regulations will affect how long you are able to spend at Machu Picchu and which temples you can visit.  In the past, after the guided tour passengers could stay longer to explore the site, this is not possible anymore. The alternative that we are implementing on our visits to allow you further time, is to walk up to the Watchman’s Hut (for classic shots of Machu Picchu) before starting the guided tour.  The guided tour will be about 2 hrs in duration and ends with exiting the site to catch a return bus back down to Aguas Calientes for lunch.  On our circuit you will be able to visit the Temple of the Sun, House of the Inca, Sacred Rock and Condor’s Temple, but not the Sun Dial on this itinerary – circuit routes are dictated by the Mach Picchu Park Authorities.

Schedule of visit to Machu Picchu on this itinerary:

Early bus to Machu Picchu with the tour leader to walk up to the Watchman’s Hut for iconic photos of Machu Picchu

Between 9-10am start the guided tour

Between 11.30am-12.30pm passengers leave Machu Picchu

Please see our COVID Travel Guide for Peru for more information on current guidelines for travel in Peru.