Machu Picchu Reservations — Attraction in Distrito de Cusco

Salkantay Trek-5 Days,

I wholeheartedly recommend this hike, and indeed Machu Picchu Reservations’ version of this hike. I’ve provided more info below, but you can stop reading there if you like… our group’s main guide Abel was a comedian and a storyteller, keeping us safe, informed, and entertained along the way. His deputy Owen was a great foil, the strong silent type with a great sense of humour who dialled it up at the camp sites. The facilities we used were great (except for the occasional blocked toilet), the food was plentiful and varied, and the elements in this hike made for a fantastic 5 days.

In general this trek is great for the young and young at heart - it’s priced lower than most competitors, so you’ll find it attracts long term travellers in their early 20s, keen to chat, laugh, and share stories (and save a few $ along the way). If you want a more luxurious trip with older, likeminded folk… this might be a little rustic for your tastes. That’s not to say we were ever uncomfortable or unhappy with the provisions, but this was far more like festival glamping than it was a series of hotel stays.

Myself and my partner did this trek mid Sept ‘24, as part of a group of 18. 2 or 3 other groups from the same company were doing the same hike on the same schedule. Our weather was almost perfect throughout, so bear that in mind, YMMV.

Itinerary highlights:

On day 1 we had a short but hard day, climbing up to Humantay Lake from a nearby car park where we dropped off our gear. We had a short walk and a sharp climb, settling for the night at a campsite higher up the valley than most; each company runs a variation of the route, and ours felt the easiest, and best for acclimatising - most other groups started 10km further back down a flat road, so they were only reaching the lake near dusk.

Day 2 was nearly identical for every group, and we shared the path with Salkantay Trekking, KB Adventures, and others. Don’t expect your choice of company to truly change your experience!

Day 3 was a relaxation day - stunning views along the river valley descent, with stops at a fruit farm, a coffee plantation, and a zipline. If you’ve no interest in these things, consider taking the 4-day alternative, though the views were some of the finest I’ve ever seen when camping, and the light schedule was a godsend considering the overall length of the trip. I’ll confess to being cynical about the zipline for 120 Sol (35$?), but it wasn’t one zipline, it was 5, each almost a kilometre long. Some lengths you got the choice to ride upside down, or hanging from your back like a Condor. Unforgettable, and I completely recommend it. We camped for the night in a brand new private resort, owned by the tour company. Everyone was paired up into pristine glass domes, and we had a party night which was a real treat.

Day 4 was a short sharp climb, and a long descent. We mostly followed sections of the Inca Trail through the forest, and the way down was a few miles of steps. This was probably the hardest section of all, on knees and feet. We travelled at a decent pace, stopping regularly, but just one to be aware of if you have mobility issues and want to try it anyway- this section is not forgiving. Out the other side of the descent we made it to Hidroelectrica for a restaurant meal, then a long flat walk along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes where we checked into a hostel. The beds were incredible, and really set us up well for the final day.

Day 5 was mostly self guided - we all left the hostel depending on our Machu Picchu entry times (each person had their own booking. Most of our group had the same entry time, but that wasn’t guaranteed), and whether we’d elected to take the bus or walk. The stair climb to the site is tough, isn’t scenic (an hour of stairs in the jungle), but I found it a rewarding finish. Our guides gave us a tour of the site, and we returned to the town to finish off with a self funded meal in a restaurant with a brilliant river view (maaaaaaany flavoured Pisco shots...

I'm a travel writer working on my 3rd book for Latin America and I decided to go with Machu Picchu Reservations based on my "scientific" research: I quickly discovered they simply are the biggest tour operator and with the most 5 star reviews at a reasonable price point from various sources. They offer basically the same thing at a good price point compared to the competition!

PRO TIP#1: For your Machu Picchu trip, book the same hotel in Cusco when you arrive before and after your trip so that they can hold your wheeled luggage (but confirm first), as you can only use your backpack (and pack light!).

Before Machu Picchu, I had a full day scheduled to explore the area, and it was either the Sacred Valley Tour or the beautiful Rainbow mountain tour. I chose the Sacred Valley Tour because I read a couple of people did both and recommended Sacred Valley over Rainbow Mountain because there was just more to do and see, and Rainbow Mountain could be a hit or a miss depending upon the weather: if it was overcast and cloudy, the colors are very dulled and bland.

PRO TIP #2: I used the Sacred Valley Tour to get to the town of Ollantaytambo (its the town that has the train station) to spend the night in instead of returning back to Cusco since all Machu Picchu tours go through here and saved us 1.5 hours--not needing to wake up at 4am in Cusco! Most tours should be able to pick you up at your hotel or its a short walk from down town to the train station.

Please note that the Sacred Valley Tour is at a good price but does not include the extra $100 worth of entrance tickets to the places to visit (for 5 people).

For our family of 5 with older teens, I chose the 2-Day Inca Trail Hike Tour simply because it was the cheapest all-inclusive package that allowed you to hike on the Inca Trail (its mandatory to have a certified guide), entrance tickets and guides for Machu Picchu, and it was a lot easier and less that half the cost than the 4-day hiking tour option.

Please note that the 2-Day Inca Trail Hike Tour is a one day, 7-mile hike to the upper level of Machu Picchu (to get the best views and photos), and the 2nd day is a bus to come back to the separate lower level of Machu Picchu that has the actual stone building ruins to explore.

PRO TIP #3: In July, the temperatures in the Andes Mountains are cold at night, but it gets nice and warm during the day. If you plan to do the day hike, ideally you should always pack light as possible and plan on dressing what the temperature will be later. Within 30 minutes of our hike, I had to shed my lightweight hiking pants and windbreaker (I already had shorts under them). Besides, you naturally work up a sweat when hiking up hills!

About the halfway point you stop at the sheltered lunch spot with restrooms. The packed lunch was huge--it consisting of chicken breast and a large portion of grains, a croissant with too much cheese, along with Oreo cookies and fruit. The rest of the hike after is much easier, consisting of rolling up and down hills with tree shade, even some downhill stretches that took only 2 hours or so, twice as fast as the first half. The best part was just after a steep section that you needed your hands to walk on all fours, we arrived at the very top at a ruins structure called the “Sun Gate”, looking down at Machu Picchu from a distance.

Luckily we had Miguel Huanca as our tour guide, and he was just on the next level deep! He brought a unique perspective from his culture and his personal world view of spirituality and nature that are tied together with Machu Picchu and its history.

Ironically when it came to the actual buildings in Machu Picchu, it was basically just a bunch of old stone walls at the end of the day. But the incredible views of the surrounding mountains and the stories behind it brought everything to life! Super surprised to find out it was an American from Hawaii that "discovered" this place and brought it out to the world in 1911, although it was known to local farmers over the centuries...

We booked the 2 day 1 night Salkantay trail. As we walked the beginning of the hike we were encouraged to move fast at one point. The locals and guides were speaking in Spanish so we didn’t understand what the issue was. Fast forwarded a couple hours later the whole area became a landslide which was the only way in and out of the hike. A tour group was walking the path and a few people from the group got hit from the landslide and were missing. We didn’t find this out till the next day when we were trying to leave. The tour guides played down the severity of the conditions and made it seem like everything was okay. However, when we ran into a large tourist group, they explained what had happened and that it was unsafe to follow the tour guides out. The tour guide who witnessed the landslide and missing people also advised us to not attempt to leave while our tour guide was adamant we should go and it would be safe. The government of Peru issued a statement the day before we left for the hike that no one should hike this trail as it is unsafe due to extreme landslides. MPR didn’t mention this once and kept all hikes scheduled to ensure they were getting paid. We had to contact the Canadian embassy to ask for a rescue mission as many people were stuck in the mountains. Our tour guide said there was another route to get out - over the landslide. He said we had to decide fast if we wanted to wait for the rescue team (which could take several days) or attempt the new route. They mentioned that the new route was safe. We decided to take the new route as we didn’t want to be sitting ducks for more landslides and had to pay the locals extra money to take us. The emergency exit route was not included by MPR just to further illustrate their disregard for safety. The route was super dangerous as we hiked an entire mountain with no path and were right beside the large landslide that was still moving. The land slide was right beside us, about 20 meters and trees and earth was tumbling down by the minute. We were right beside earth that was disappearing in front of our eyes. Once we finally go out of the mountains, the company van left without us! We had to be there for 2pm and got there at 1:45pm. We were told to once again pay a local to get us to the closest town where we had to pay another van to get us back to Cusco. The road out of the mountains was covered in fallen boulders that were also hitting cars as they drove. Unbelievable that the company allowed us to go on this hike even though they were warned from the government the day before our departure! We had no idea and were kept out of the loop. When we go back to the office and demanded a refund they told us “you’re alive so what’s the problem”. Totally made it sound like a successful trip! Would NOT recommend as safety isn’t priority, it is obviously money. We met other people back at the company office who had similar situations. Some even mentioned cars of people getting hit with mudslides as they tried to exit the park area, and getting pushed off of the mountains. It was only after all the stranded tourists reached their embassies that the police showed up with transportation for everyone. The news has zero reports on any of this! The US embassy released a small note of caution for this area due to...