For whatever reason you are not able to do the Classic or the Short Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, don’t be dismayed! If there’s something which is not scarce around here, it’s trekking alternatives to the hilltop retreat of Inca nobility, in the middle of the tropical Urubamba Valley, border of the Cusco Amazonian jungle, hiking down from the challenging Andean range heights into the lush green of the rainforest.
This time, we will share with you about the amazing Salkantay trek, the 5-Day Salkantay Trek we have here at TOUR IN PERU. It is indeed a top alternative hike! Challenging alternative hike. Mostly done by strong, tall athletic men and women who walk around Cusco City wearing track suits or spandex pants. However, don’t be dismayed again, what it really requires is a spirit of adventure and being able to spend five days mainly outdoors.
Let’s break down next the great adventure features of this alternative hike to Machu Picchu, which actually, finally, stands out by itself:
- Our 5-day Salkantay Trek starts uphill, hiking across the Andean dry, rocky, steep wilderness, at elevations averaging 4,000 meters (13,120 feet approx.), watching the massive range with its big snowies, a truly unique natural scenery
- The first 3 nights of the Salkantay trek, hikers will sleep on campsites, inside tents under the starry sky. You’ll feel the powerful flow of natural energy in the middle of a mighty silence. We don’t know what you’re going to dream about or if you’re going to dream at all. Andean heights are a quite relaxing, reinvigorating place. Some people have written about a connection with nature that washes away anxiety and sorrow
- Of course, in the high part of the Salkantay trek, we’ll be able to observe the mighty Salkantay snowy, which is a sacred mountain in Andean religion, standing for masculine energy of the cosmos. Pachamama (Mother Nature) is the feminine energy of cosmos in Andean shamanism
- Of course again, the high part of this great alternative hike includes the adventure of reaching the Salkantay pass (4,629 meters/15,187 feet above sea level), the highest point of the trek. There is where people take the classic picture, standing beside the sign which attests the spot’s elevation.
- In the downward stretch of our Salkantay trek, hikers walk to the wonderful Santa Teresa valley, and the Andean wilderness begins to change to the vegetal abundance of Cusco’s rainforest. There, you will find a unique wealth of typical fauna and flora.
- This great alternative hike to Machu Picchu also includes an amazing final stretch, which is from Machu Picchu village (that is, Aguas Calientes, the small cozy town at the base of the citadel) up to the archaeological site itself. Once there, you’ll have a professional guide showing and explaining in detail all the facts about that magical place
- Optionally, you can add to the Machu Picchu tour one last adventure, which is going to the top of the Huayna Picchu mountain! Up there, you’ll have a 360° view of the entire Urubamba valley, and the citadel will be a tiny site way down below.
- Finally, and also optionally, for the way back to Cusco City after a great alternative hike to Machu Picchu, you can enjoy an amazing ride on the Vistadome train; among many nice experiences, you will enjoy a fully panoramic view because the Vistadome has large, wide side and ceiling windows.
So, the Classic and the Short versions of the Inca Trail are not the only ways to get to the amazing archaeological site of Machu Picchu. Now you can consider doing the 5-Day Salkantay trek instead. Also, you may want to know more about another alternative hike to Machu Picchu, the Lares trek.
Talk to our travel specialists about options to Machu Picchu. Our 5-Day Salkantay trek may be the alternative hike you’re looking for!
