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Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

Salkantay

Reach the ruins via the back door on the magnificent Salkantay route, where it’s possible to stay in comfortable mountain lodges as an alternative to camping.

Approaching Machu Picchu ‘through the back door’, the Salkantay Trail weaves through a tremendous spectrum of landscapes and microclimates, from mountain passes (up to 4,638m) choked by glacial ice sheets to steaming subtropical jungle.

The views are nothing short of breathtaking, particularly when your first glimpse of Machu Picchu reveals the mountaintop citadel from an angle few get to see, completely untarnished by any evidence of modern civilisation.

For those with an aversion to camping, you can take a 7 day trek, including a day of acclimatisation walks, where you spend your nights in extremely comfortable, heated mountain lodges with excellent hot meals and wine all along the route – unwind after your exertions in the Jacuzzi with an ice-cold beer, surveying the mountains beyond.

Note that if you take the camping version you travel at a brisker pace and your sleeping conditions are rudimentary. Take the lodge version, with its days of acclimatisation built in, slower pace and comfortable accommodation, and the grading falls to Moderate (2).

Activity Rating: moderate

Holidays Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

From expertly designed Private Journeys to trail-blazing Group Tours, browse our range of carefully crafted holidays.

City of La Paz under mountains, Bolivia

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Peru / Bolivia / Lake Titicaca

Active Peru and Bolivia: trekking Andean peaks to tropical rainforest

17 days from £4,070pp

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    Heloise started her Latin American journey as an exchange student in Santiago, Chile. With extended summer holidays this was the perfect opportunity to backpack through Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Brazil.

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    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

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