Chat on WhatsAppThis was an amazing trip and I would recommend this exact trip to everyone I know. From the beginning, Salkantay.org has been in contact via email with all the important information we needed to prepare for our trip. When we arrived in Peru, we were met at the airport and taken directly to our hotel in Lima. The hotel was located in Miraflores, right in the middle of where you want to be in Lima. The hotel receptionist spoke English and was very helpful with getting us a map and telling us all the places we would want to see in Lima.
After spending the afternoon and evening exploring the city, we woke up the next day to fly to Cusco. Again, a driver showed up right on time and took us to the airport with plenty of time to spare. The information that Salkantay.org provided us was perfect, and we boarded our flight to Cusco with no trouble.
Cusco is amazing. Again, we were picked up from the airport right away and taken to our hotel in the middle of Cusco, right off the Plaza de Armas. It was a beautiful hotel that served the purpose of getting us in the right part of the city. We had 3 days in Cusco to acclimate to the altitude before starting our trek to Salkantay and Machu Picchu. Our days in Cusco were busy with tours: 1 half day city tour of Cusco and another full day Sacred Valley tour. Both were complete with fantastic guides, comfortable buses, and loads of information about the Inca people.
When we arrived in Cusco, we met with Carlos at the Salkantay.org office for a pre-trek meeting. He gave us a day by day breakdown of everything we were going to do, let us know what we needed to bring and what we needed to be prepared for. He made sure that we had all of our questions answered before we left, and we felt really confident. He even recommended a delicious restaurant that was off the beaten path and not at all touristy. It was perfect!
The trek was incredible from beginning to end. The first day started with a bus ride into the mountains and a 2.5 hour hike to our first campsite. We did not have to carry our own things: horses were able to take 7 kilos of our personal things. When we arrived at our campsite, the horseman had already set up our tents and brought our bags up. The cooks had lunch ready (every single day was different, delicious and filling ! They even gave us cookies and a piece of fruit to take as a snack everyday!). After lunch we headed out on a little hike to a beautiful mountain lake. It was definitely difficult because of altitude, but it was a good warm up for what we were to do the next day!
The first night was very cold, so be prepared with lots of layers. We woke up at 5 am to begin our trek up to our highest point. I would not have done it any other way. It was a definite challenge, but well worth it. Carlos was very informative, kind, funny and personable. He gave us the guidance that we needed in order to stay safe, but enough freedom throughout the trek to go at our own pace and make the trip our own. Along the way, Carlos gave us information about the Inca people and their traditions. It made our arrival at Machu Picchu that much more interesting and meaningful.
I think that this 10 day vacation may have been one of the most well organized, seamlessly executed, most wonderful trip I've ever had. I am so glad that we booked through Salkantay.org and I would gladly recommend it to everyone I know!
