Experience the Sacred Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu while traversing lagoons, snow capped mountains, cloud forests, and Andean communities. This sacred Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu is a magical pilgrimage and unique hiking experience that clears your mind and soul. You integrate spiritual, physical, and mindful activities, so you get the most out of this life-changing adventure.
Travel and Healing is a women-friendly employer – over 50% of our office employees & guides are female workers. 70% of our management are women. With our consciousness of human equality, we aim to create a women-empowered, human-centered environment. That is also due to our respect to Pachamama, the Mother Earth, who in Andean cosmology is the force loving & supporting all beings unconditionally, and our respect to our own mothers too.
Very early in the morning, you will be picked up at the hotel in Cusco and drive towards Lake Humantay, which is known for its clear water and imposing views of the snowy mountains.
You will drive to Soraypampa, located at 3,800 m above sea level. After approximately two hours, the ride will stop in Mollepata (290 m) for breakfast (not included) and you will have the chance to make your last purchases needed for the hike.
You will follow the route for another hour until you reach Challacancha (3,675 m), where the Travel and Healing team (Andean healer, yoga teacher, cook, muleteers, mules) will be ready to welcome you and give you detailed instructions about your spiritual trekking adventure for the next five days. You will then reach the camp at Soraypampa and will have a delicious lunch.
In the afternoon, you will ascend to Lake Humantay (approximately two hours) and be able to witness the clear water of the lake, its vibrant energy, and impressive views of the mountain on top. It is the perfect place for meditating and practicing yoga!
There will also be time to enjoy the wonderful views, soak in the energy of the mountains with your spiritual healer, take pictures, and breathe the purest air of all. After returning to the campsite, you will have dinner and experience an offering to Mother Earth. You will learn how to do a ceremony of gratitude to the mountains (apus) and how to ask for their protection.
Early in the morning, you will enjoy breakfast and do a yoga session to start your day with a lot of energy. Later, the true challenge of the journey begins, going uphill until you reach the 4,650 m at the Salkantay pass. The path is steep and rocky and will go on for seven kilometers (approximately three hours).
This section will require physical resistance as well as a good acclimatization. Depending on the weather and the physical condition of the group, there is also the option to visit the second glacial lagoon near the base of Salkantay.
From Salkantay Pass, you will hike up Huayra Machay, where you will enjoy lunch and go on until you reach the exotic rainforest. As you travel, the vegetation changes from the sparse grasses and high mountains to lush cloud forest, being home to butterflies, hummingbirds, and a wide variety of flora.
This part of the trail is less demanding, and with generally warm weather, you will enjoy the exuberant landscape with its small rivers, wonderful views of waterfalls, native plants, wild orchids, colorful birds and tropical fruits such as coffee, banana, avocado, passion fruit, and much more.
After lunch, you will head down to the river before climbing the ridge on the other side. It will take around five hours to reach the camp Chaullay where you will enjoy yoga, dinner, and snacks. Your camping equipment and food will be transported by pack horses. The purpose of the yoga session on this day is to explore your body and perform some asanas.
This day, you will wake up early, starting your day off with meditation, energetic yoga, and breathing techniques. After a large breakfast, you will take a transport to Lucmabamba. On the campsite of Lucmabamba, you will start your hike to Llactapata.
Llactapata is a well-preserved Incan road which once ran all the way up to Quito, Ecuador. You will be able to appreciate a great variety of crops such as coffee, banana, avocado, pineapple, and even coca leaves, considered the sacred leaf of the Incas.
You will also ascend to the archaeological site of Llactapata, where you will be able to see part of the famous Machu Picchu and the entire valley that surrounds it. You will explore the archeological site, still covered in vines and jungle vegetation. After your boxed lunch, you will hike back to the campsite. Upon arrival you will have a yoga session and then rest before dinner.
On this day, you will enjoy an energetic breakfast and start your day with another yoga session. You will then continue your spiritual hiking experience from Lucmabamba to Hidroelectrica.
After having a delicious boxed lunch, you will resume your walking for two to three more hours until you arrive at Aguas Calientes, also called Machupicchu Pueblo, the town on the bottom of the magnificent Wonder of the World. For the rest of the day, you will have time to relax in your hotel after your long journey or explore the village of Aguas Calientes by yourself.
Early in the morning, you will leave your hotel to take the bus up to Machu Picchu, the “Lost City of the Incas.“ This complex is considered a jewel of Incan architecture. It is a complete town with different quarters, squares, alleys, buildings, astronomical observatories, and terraces. The city was rediscovered on July 24, 1911 by the US researcher Hiram Bingham.
After a guided tour, you can explore this magical place a bit more on your own. There is also the option to take a short hike to the Inca Bridge or to the “Intipunku,” the sun gate.
In the afternoon, you will return to Aguas Calientes by bus and take the train to Poroy / Ollantaytambo. On the way back, you can enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Sacred Valley. Upon arrival at the train station, you will be taken to your hotel in Cusco.
A life changing experience can renew your vitality. Imagine balancing yourself in all aspects of your being: the physical, emotional and spiritual. Travel and Healing offers transformational travel experiences, which integrate spiritual retreats to
invigorate the soul, treks to generate physical and personal confidence, and ancestral culture to help you accomplish your life goals. We combine all of these experiences to restore your well-being; we call this “traveling in balance,” or “intelligent travel.”
We Embrace the Power of Pachamama & Women
Travel and Healing is a women-friendly employer – over 50% of our office employees & guides are female workers. 70% of our management are women. With our consciousness of human equality, we aim to create a women-empowered, human-centered environment. That is also due to our respect to Pachamama, the Mother Earth, who in Andean cosmology is the force loving & supporting all beings unconditionally, and our respect to our own mothers too.
Our mission
To provide transformational travel experiences that empower people and inspire their life journey. Self transformation journeys as a pilgrimage for your body, mind & soul.
Support of local projects
Every journey paid by our travelers, we pay it forward by donating 12% of what we earned to local community projects. You can decide which project you want to support: The dog shelter of Cusco, our reforestation project in Pucallpa or the children's home?
Sumac Kausay
We commit to the Andean principle of Sumac Kausay; the path of life, where everybody understands the deep meaning of living well and internalizes that the detriment of all beings is the deterioration of the whole.
Highlights:-
You will try local superfoods like quinoa, maca, amaranto, yellow potato, passion fruit, and many more things! Everything will be provided by the local mountain chef and his cooking team, who are happy to share their Andean and Amazonian fusion cuisine. The meals are crafted for sustaining energy throughout the day. Meals can be accommodated for any dietary requirements such as vegetarian or vegan. They’ll provide you the experience to try food products with non chemical composition and non transgenic transformation from the Andean communities and local markets.
Day 1 - lunch, dinner
Day 2 - breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3 - breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4 - breakfast
Day 5 - breakfast
The following meals are included:
