Maureen Santucci

Even Machu Picchu veterans remember their first time. Mine was arriving after completing the classic Inca Trail, an undeniably magical experience. But when I was finally able to go the Salkantay route, that was the trail that stole my heart.

Nevado Salkantay

It all started when I was in the break room at my job in Los Angeles. I had already been to Peru twice that year and knew it was only a matter of time before I moved here for good. A couple of friends were tossing around the idea of going on a trek to Machu Picchu but were concerned that neither one of them spoke Spanish. I decided to do the honorable thing and force myself to go back earlier than planned.

Looking for more people to increase the fun and decrease the costs, I immediately put an announcement up on Facebook, thinking some of our other L.A. friends might join in. Much to my delight, a college friend that I hadn’t seen in 20 years took the bait. Although she was coming from the East Coast, we had the same connecting flight to Peru and ended up being reunited in the airport at San Salvador after two decades.

After a couple of days acclimatizing in Cusco and in the Sacred Valley, we were ready to start our trek. We started out early from the city, taking a van to the trailhead where we met up with our mules and wranglers. It is always at this point that I feel a twinge of guilt as our porters load up the mules with luggage and provisions to last us the entire trek, although I knew that before long I would be glad to have them.

What a difference this trail makes from the Inca Trail! While the Inca Trail follows an ancient stone road, this is a true dirt trail. Rather than encountering Inca sites along the way, Salkantay is known as the nature trail. National Geographic actually named it one of the top 25 treks in the world.

But by far the greatest difference is the number of other trekkers plying the route. As anyone who has completed the Inca Trail knows, it’s rare to not see other groups either ahead or behind. But on the Salkantay route, you can go for miles and even days without encountering another group. It is this isolation that gives you a genuine sense of trekking the wilderness.

Early on the second day, after a challenging climb we reached the highest point of the trek. From there, my guide lied, it was all downhill.

As we continued going (relatively) downhill, the climate began getting warmer and there was more and more vegetation. We also begin to see more running water and the occasional small waterfall. In the late afternoon, we were lucky enough to make it to a campsite where there was a small store and so enjoyed some well deserved cerveza at the end of our day. But after two days on the trail, it wasn’t long until everyone was ready to turn in for an early night.

The third day was one of the highlights of the trek. After hiking for a few hours, our transport picked us up and took us to the hot springs just outside of Santa Teresa. These were not only an extremely welcome luxury after 3 days of trekking, they were quite gorgeous as well, being beautifully landscaped with stone so that they blended in perfectly with the surrounding terrain.

The final day brought another complete change of scenery, as we hiked into Aguas Calientes through a thick, lush jungle. Everywhere around us there were orchids upon orchids, birds (especially hummingbirds), coffee beans and bananas. Although it was now hot and humid, the scenery made the stickiness well worthwhile.

The Salkantay trek does not end directly at Machu Picchu, which is a deal breaker for some trekkers – especially those that haven’t visited the ruins before. Yet for us, having the luxury of a soft bed and warm showers in Aguas Calientes meant we were rested and able to make the most of our final day, touring the ruins. Having spent four days hiking through the Peruvian countryside, I felt like the energy of the ancient citadel was even more palpable.

Ready to set off and experience Salkantay for yourself? Contact this specialist in tours to South America and South America tour packages and begin planning your trip.