DAY 1 – Cusco – Soraypampa – Humantay Lake
Meals: lunch and dinner
Pickup at your hotel in the morning between 4.30 and 5 AM and we start our drive to Mollepata (2900 m) where we will meet with the horsemen and horses that will carry our camping equipment (you will also pay your entrance fee of 10 soles). On the way we will also have a 30-min stop at a local restaurants in order for you to have breakfast (not included). Already it is possible to see the snowcapped peak of Salkantay mountain (6267 m) from this area. We start our trek and will walk for about 2 hours ascending up to Soraypampa (3920 m), our first campsite, passing through some wonderful mountainous scenery along the way. Here we will then take a break and have lunch to recover our energies. After lunch we will hike for about 1.5 hours up to the stunning Humantay Lake. We will stay there for about 1 hour in order to take in the views and take pictures of this incredible lagoon. We then make our way back to Soraypampa for dinner. Tonight we go to bed very early in order to wake up early on Day 2.
DAY 2 – Soraypampa – Salkantay Pass – Salkantay Lake (optional) – Chaullay
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner
We wake up at 5 AM and start this day with a hot tea or coffee. After a good breakfast we start walking for about 3 hours to the Salkantay pass at an altitude of 4600 meters (this is the highest point of our trek). This is the toughest stretch of the whole trek and if you don't feel like walking all the way up you can also rent a horse on site (about 90 soles). Once we arrive at the Salkantay pass we pause to take in the views and take some rest. Here our guide will also explain about the relationship that the Incas had with their mountains and we will also take part in a short ritual. We then continue our adventure descending towards Wayrapunku where we will stop to have our lunch. On our way down we might even be able to visit another lake, the Salkantay lagoon, but this entirely depends on the group speed and timing (it takes about 1 hour total to reach the lake and return back to the normal path). After eating and a break we will continue in high jungle areas populated with large trees that contain a number of bromelids and orchids. We will arrive to our camp site in Chaullay (or Colcapampa) and relax, have dinner and sleep here for the night. Total trek time for the day is about 9 ot 10 hours.
DAY 3 – Chaullay – Santa Teresa – Cusco
Meals: breakfast and lunch
On the third morning, after breakfast, we will set off along the trail passing through several different ecological zones and an abundance of flora in what is one of the most beautiful parts of the trek. We will trek for about 5 hours until we reach La Playa (2200 m) and we will stop for lunch before taking a bus to the town of Santa Teresa (1700 m). From here you take your 4 pm bus to return to Cusco arriving there at around 10.30 PM (dropoff near Plaza de Armas).