Cusco Salkantay Trek Puerto Maldonado 9D/8N Package

Upon arrival into Cusco you will be met by one of our professional and friendly representatives. They will be holding a sign with your ‘last name’ on it. You will be transferred to your comfortable Cusco hotel in the air conditioned comfort of our modern van. Upon arrival to your hotel you will be given a pre-briefing about your upcoming trip and you will be presented with all your vouchers for your upcoming trip. You will have the morning free to relax and acclimatize to the altitude.

In the afternoon you will be picked up from your hotel for your half day City Tour of Cusco. Our tour will start with a visit to the San Cristobal Plaza where we will enjoy panoramic views of the city. From there we will make our way to the San Pedro Markets where we will soak in the local flavours and learn about the products grown in the area which supply the whole city. Our visit to the Koricancha Temple is an interesting one. This temple in Quechua means ‘Gold Enclosure’ and back in Pre-Colombian times it was completely covered in gold. We will continue on and visit the Santo Domingo Church and then up the cobblestone streets visiting the artisans’ neighbourhood of San Blas stopping by the Inca Roca Palace which today is the Archbishop’s Palace and home of the famous 12 Angled Stone. We will finish our tour visiting the main square in Cusco, the Cathedral and its many precious colonial materpieces. After your tour of Cusco you will be transferred back to your hotel in Cusco.

You will be picked up at 8:15 am. Full day excursion to the Urubamba Valley visiting: the colorful Indian market in Pisac where a mixture of color and tradition will be able appreciated besides will have a good opportunity to try our bargain skills on the free time to interact with the local craftsmen to purchase their hand-made souvenirs. The Valley has a distance of 31 km (19 miles) of Cusco, and an altitude of 2,970 ms (9,700 p), Pisac is located to the entrance of the Sacred Valley and followed by Ollantaytambo, the older town continuously occupied of the American continent. The narrow streets of Ollantaytambo, along with their channels that have not varied from the time Inca, evoke their ancestral inheritance, lunch in a typical restaurant and after we explore Ollantaytambo we will be visit Chimcheros which is another great archeological site in the Sacred Valley we will be back in cusco at around 6:00 pm.

We pick you up from your hotel at 4:00 am. and we traveled by bus for approx. 2 hours to Mollepata, where we will have breakfast, this first breakfast must be ordered at a local restaurant in Mollepata. After that, we take the private transport again to Challacancha for about 40 more minutes of travel, where our walk will begin.

The 3-hour trek will take us to Soraypampa where we will have lunch with panoramic views of our Domes and the beautiful Humantay (4,120m. / 13,500 feet) and Salkantay (6,271m. / 20,575 feet) peaks. We will begin our trek towards Soraypampa, our first camp. (3,800m. / 11,750 feet, the highest and coldest camp of the trip) admiring the beautiful landscape on the way as an optional visit we will go to the Humantay lagoon which is located 1:30 minutes walking from Soraypampa.

We will have breakfast around 5:30 am. and we will start our trek towards the highest pass of this trek (4,650m. / 15,200ft) located midway between 2 huge mountains, Salkantay on the right and Tucarhuay on the left. From this pass, the views of the 2 snow-capped mountains are incredible, there is a possibility of seeing snow here.

After a break, we will continue our walk (downhill) through a spectacular cloud forest towards Huayraqpunku, where we will have lunch. Then we walk again after lunch in the direction of the beginning of the jungle until we reach Chaullay or Colpapampa (3,000m. / 9,800ft), where we will take a transport to the Domes.

After breakfast, at 6.30 am, we will try to arrive as early as possible in Llaqtapata, we walk a part of the original Inca trail and get some experience of the natives who live here in the area. Have the opportunity to harvest various fruits and have one of the best views of the Urubamba Valley. See the Salkantay mountain in the background and have your first glimpse of Machu Picchu, after arriving at Hidroelectrica where we will have lunch, then continue walking, passing a variety of crop plantations, coca, banana we will be walking approx. 2:30 minutes along the train track until we reach the town of Aguas Calientes where we will spend the night in a hostel in Aguas Calientes, you can take advantage of the hot springs of the town (entrance 10 soles) a real pleasure after finishing the walk.

We get up early in the morning around 4 am. then to have breakfast and go to Machu Picchu, which takes 1:30 minutes walking, but there is another option to take the first bus that leaves at 5:30 am. towards Machu Picchu (it lasts 25 minutes) to appreciate the magnificent city as the sun rises.

Your guide will give you a 2-hour tour, and then you can explore the mysterious city on your own. If you still have energy, you can also climb Huayna Picchu (2,720m. / 8,890ft) It takes 1:45 minutes to reach the top (optional and see availability). Then you will take the train around 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm or 6:20 pm depending on the availability of the train, so you will arrive in Ollantaytambo after 2 hours of travel, so a private transport that will take you from return to Cuzco.

Your guide will pick you up from the airport or from the bus station. You’ll then go to our office based in Puerto maldonado to register (passport number and flight number). Then, you’ll take the boat down Madre de Dios River to get to our Lodge. After a one-hour boat ride, you’ll arrive at the Lodge where you’ll be given a fresh exotic fruit juice. You’ll get the key to your room.

After resting for a bit, you’ll go for a two-hour walk in the jungle. Your guide will tell you about the lush vegetation (some trees are 500 years old). You’ll also have the chance to see birds (parrots, macaws…), monkeys snakes, butterflies… You’ll discover our wonderful jungle.

In the evening, you and your guide will go for a boat ride on Madre de Dios River to look for caimansYou’ll spot the shiny red eyes of the caimans with a flashlight. You might also observe capibaras, the biggest rodents in the world. They can weight up to 60 kilos.
Back at the Lodge you will be served dinner.

You’ll wake up early (5.30am) to get to a canopy and Zip lining , that is 40 metres high. From up there you’ll get to see different species of birds, such as macaws or Eagles.
After breakfast, you’ll go to the Monkey Island, which is jsut across from our Lodge. There, you’ll see different kind of monkeys. Then , you’ll take the boat again to get to the National Tambopata Reserve. After a five kilometre walk, you’ll discover the amazing Sandoval Lake. It’s a real wonder, where you’ll see a great varierty of animals, such as birds, monkeys, sloths…After a typical lunch, you’ll go for a boat ride on the lake to see the animals from closer. If it’s a lucky day, you might see giant otters (animals in danger of extinctiuon) or very big black caimans (the biggest one registered is five metre long).

After breakfast you’ll head back to the city to visit the local market and discover some tropical fruits. Your guide will take you to the airport or to the bus station.