The Salkantay Trek
The full traverse: Humantay Lake, the pass, a night at the Cocalmayo hot springs, the Llactapata ruins and a hotel night below Machu Picchu. The route as it was meant to be walked.
from $598 per personView trek →
Expeditions — 4 to 10 days · from $598 · every departure guaranteed
Choose your Salkantay trek
Every route crosses the same 4,630 m / 15,190 ft pass beneath the glacier. The difference is how you get there — and how ready your lungs are when you do.
Five expeditions, one mountain. The express version for tight schedules, the classic five-day traverse, and longer journeys that fold in Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Lima. All run with local Quechua-speaking guides, a maximum of 12 trekkers, and the Machu Picchu entrance ticket included. Not sure how hard it is? Read the honest difficulty grading and the altitude guide first.
The expeditions — five ways over the pass
Five treks. One mountain.
Salkantay Express
The pass and the citadel on a tighter clock — for trekkers who arrive already acclimatized.
from $598→
Salkantay & Cusco
Two acclimatization days and a guided city tour in the capital of the Incas before the trail.
from $798→
Off the Beaten Path
The quiet variant — camping-style trekking through unspoiled country, for those who want the mountain to themselves.
from $798→
Lima to Machu Picchu
Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and the complete trek in one journey — hotels, flights and the Machu Picchu ticket included.
from $1,298→
Side by side — the numbers that decide it
Compare the five treks
All five cross the same 4,630 m pass — you can scroll the ascent as an aerial film before you pick one.
| Measure | 4-day Express | 5-day Classic | 7-day + Cusco | 8-day Remote | 10-day Full Peru |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | 4 days · 3 nights | 5 days · 4 nights | 7 days · 6 nights | 8 days · 7 nights | 10 days · 9 nights |
| Highest point | 4,630 m — Salkantay Pass | 4,630 m — Salkantay Pass | 4,630 m — Salkantay Pass | 4,630 m — Salkantay Pass | 4,630 m — Salkantay Pass |
| Best for | Short on time, already acclimatized | First-timers — the full classic traverse | Careful acclimatization: two Cusco days first | Quiet trails and remote camping | A first trip to Peru — Lima, Cusco & the trek |
| From price | $598 per person | $598 per person | $798 per person | $798 per person | $1,298 per person |
What the price includes — and where cheap treks cut corners →
The decision — three honest questions
Shortest, classic or acclimatized?
Short on days: the 4-day express
The Salkantay Express crosses the same 4,630 m pass on day two, then uses a local bus between Playa Sahuayaco and the Hidroeléctrica to reach Aguas Calientes by the third evening — Machu Picchu on day four. It is the right call when annual leave is the constraint, with one caveat: there are no buffer days, so arrive in Cusco two to three days early and acclimatize properly before the trailhead.
The route in full: the 5-day classic
The Salkantay Trek over five days is the version most trekkers picture: Humantay Lake, the pass, then a full night in Santa Teresa with unhurried time in the 38–44 °C pools of the Cocalmayo hot springs, and a fourth-day climb to the Llactapata ruins for the only distant, front-on view of Machu Picchu on any trekking route. If you have the extra day, spend it here — the recovery time after the pass is what makes the second half enjoyable.
Altitude respected: the 7, 8 and 10-day journeys
The pass is serious, and the safest response is time. The 7-day Salkantay & Cusco tour puts two acclimatization days and a guided city tour in Cusco before the trail; the 8-day Off the Beaten Path adds the quieter, camping-style route through unspoiled country; and the 10-day Lima to Machu Picchu package builds the whole of Peru around the trek — Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, then the mountain.
Still weighing routes? See how Salkantay stacks up against the classic Inca Trail, check the month-by-month weather, and read how booking works — departures run year-round with a two-person minimum.
Five routes — one gate at 2,430 m
Pick your days. We handle the mountain.
Tell us your dates and fitness and we will recommend the right trek — no permit lottery, departures guaranteed from two trekkers.