Rainbow Mountain, Humantay, Sacred Valley, city tour. From US$27.
All 15 packages
Lima, Nazca, Cusco, Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, 6 to 15 days.
All 6 packages
Machu Picchu, both shores of Lake Titicaca, La Paz and Uyuni. 10 to 15 days.
All 8 packages
Cusco, Machu Picchu, a lake ceremony at Llachón and a night on Amantaní, 5 to 12 days.
All 4 packages
Uros, Taquile and the Aymara shore from Puno, or as part of a longer trip.
All 15 packages
Where do you want to go?
The Inca citadel at 2,430 m (7,970 ft) above the Urubamba River, 3.5 hours from Cusco by road and train, visited on a timed ticket with a guide.
29 packages include itExplore Machu PicchuThe Inca capital at 3,400 m (11,150 ft), 1 hour 20 minutes by air from Lima, where every Machu Picchu trip and every trek starts.
24 packages include itExplore CuscoThe Urubamba River valley between Pisac and Ollantaytambo, about 2,870 m (9,416 ft), one hour north of Cusco and on the train line to Machu Picchu.
25 packages include itExplore Sacred ValleyThe lake on the Peru and Bolivia border at 3,812 m (12,507 ft): the Uros reed islands, Taquile and the Aymara shore, reached from Puno.
15 packages include itExplore Lake Titicaca and PunoVinicunca, a striped mineral ridge at 5,036 m (16,522 ft) south of Cusco, reached by a 3-hour drive and a 90-minute to 2-hour uphill walk.
3 packages include itExplore Rainbow MountainA turquoise glacier lake at 4,200 m (13,780 ft) under the Humantay peak, three hours from Cusco by road plus a 90-minute uphill walk from Soraypampa.
3 packages include itExplore Humantay LakeThe Inca stone road into Machu Picchu: 43 km (26 mi) in 4 days from km 82, over Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 m (13,829 ft), on a permit limited to 500 people a day.
1 package includes itExplore Inca TrailPeru's capital at sea level, where every trip lands, plus the desert coast to the south: Pachacamac, Paracas, Huacachina and the Nazca Lines.
13 packages include itExplore Lima and the coastThe Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca (Copacabana, Isla del Sol), La Paz and the Uyuni salt flats, reached by road from Puno in our Peru and Bolivia tours.
7 packages include itExplore BoliviaPhotos: Draceane, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (source); Nicolas Rénac, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (source); Sashimi-b, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (source); Hugo van den Bos, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (source)
The Salkantay trek is the route for hikers who want a real mountain pass, glaciers close enough to hear them crack, and an arrival at Machu Picchu without an Inca Trail permit. You go higher than on the Inca Trail, you walk mostly on dirt instead of stone steps, and you sleep one night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes before the citadel. If the ruins along the way matter more to you than the glacier, book the Classic Inca Trail 4 days instead.
Fit walkers who can book late, people whose knees hate stairs, and anyone who missed the Inca Trail permits. It does not suit you if cold nights at 12,800 ft (3,900 m) sound miserable, or if you arrive in Cusco the day before. Two or three nights in Cusco first is the minimum we accept.
Day 2 starts in the dark below Salkantay mountain. You climb about 2,400 ft (730 m) on switchbacks to the Salkantay Pass at 15,190 ft (4,630 m), then lose more than 5,000 ft on the way down into cloud forest. Expect 8 to 9 hours. The pass is cold and windy, the descent is long, and the change from ice to orchids in one afternoon is the reason people choose this trek.
Days 3 and 4 are warm and green: the Santa Teresa valley, coffee and fruit farms, and a climb to the Inca site of Llactapata, where you see Machu Picchu across the valley for the first time. You reach Aguas Calientes on day 4 and sleep in a hotel. Day 5 is the guided visit and the train back. Read our Salkantay route, altitude and difficulty guide for the full profile.
One service level, priced per person on shared service: Full trekking service from US$707. It covers the crew, the camp, the mules, one hotel night in Aguas Calientes, the Machu Picchu ticket and the train. Your Cusco hotel is separate. Single travelers and quotes for your own group go through the free quote form.
Pick the day you leave Cusco. The trek runs all year with no trail permit, but the Machu Picchu ticket on day 5 has to be available.
Send the free quote form with your date and every hiker's passport data exactly as printed, since the Machu Picchu ticket goes in that name. For June to August, ask two to three months ahead. We confirm the ticket, train and hotel before you pay.
Open a day to see the hours, the altitude and where you sleep. Times are the ones our guides actually keep.
Camp at Soraypampa, about 12,800 ft (3,900 m), high point Humantay Lake at 13,780 ft (4,200 m)
Pickup between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. About three hours by road to Mollepata, where you stop for breakfast at your own cost. Leave your suitcase at your Cusco hotel.
The walk follows a valley with Humantay and Salkantay mountains ahead of you. The muleteers load the duffels and pass you on the trail. Camp is at Soraypampa, at about 12,800 ft (3,900 m).
About 1.5 hours up a steep path to the lake at 13,780 ft (4,200 m), right under the glacier. Go slowly. This climb is your test for tomorrow, and the guide uses it to judge the group's pace.
Hot dinner and an early night. The temperature drops below freezing on clear nights from May to August. Sleep in a hat and keep tomorrow's clothes inside the sleeping bag.
Night at Chaullay, about 9,510 ft (2,900 m), high point 15,190 ft (4,630 m)
Breakfast in the dark. Wear every layer you have for the first hour, then strip down as the sun reaches the trail.
About 3 to 4 hours of steady climbing to 15,190 ft (4,630 m). The air holds roughly 40 percent less oxygen than at sea level up there, so you breathe hard even at a slow pace. Emergency horses go with the group if someone cannot continue.
Salkantay's glacier fills the view to the south. Many hikers add a stone to the cairns. Stay twenty minutes at most, the wind cools you fast.
More than 5,000 ft (about 1,700 m) of descent on rocky trail. The grass turns to shrubs, then to cloud forest with moss and bamboo. Poles save your knees on this stretch.
Camp at Lucmabamba in coffee country, high point about 9,510 ft (2,900 m)
A gentle downhill along the river, with waterfalls coming off the slopes. Swap your fleece for a T-shirt and put on insect repellent here, not later.
Bananas, avocados and passion fruit grow along the trail. Lunch is near La Playa.
Camp sits among coffee farms. If the family that hosts the site roasts coffee that day, buy a bag, it travels well.
Hotel night in Aguas Calientes, 6,690 ft (2,040 m), high point Llactapata at about 9,190 ft (2,800 m)
The last real climb of the trek, through shade on an old Inca path. From the ridge, Llactapata looks straight across the valley at Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu.
A steep descent to the hydroelectric station on the Urubamba River, then lunch.
The last stretch follows the railway along the river into Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu Pueblo). You check in, take your first hot shower in four days, and eat dinner in town on your own.
Back in Cusco at night (hotel not included), Machu Picchu at 7,970 ft (2,430 m)
About 25 minutes by Consettur bus up the switchbacks to the gate. Bring your passport, it is checked with the ticket.
Two to three hours on Circuit 2, the route with the classic postcard view from the upper terraces and the main temples below. Huayna Picchu or Machu Picchu Mountain are extra and must be booked months ahead.
About 1 hour 40 minutes on the train, then about two hours by road. You reach Cusco at night.
The route crosses the Salkantay Pass from the Mollepata side, follows the Santa Teresa valley down, and climbs to Llactapata before reaching Aguas Calientes.
Sacred Lake Titikaka is new; these are public Tripadvisor reviews of Viajes Cusco Perú, the family agency that operates every package on this site.
Reviews shown: Viajes Cusco Perú travelers (sample of public Tripadvisor reviews, read Sep 30, 2026).
"Incredible experience!! Beautiful landscape and beautiful people. We were lucky to be guided by Vladimir, who with his lovely personality and amazing knowledge made this trip a great learning experience."
"All the tours I did (Machu, Humantay Lake, Rainbow Mountain, Sacred Valley) were spectacular!!! From picking me up at the hotel (always punctual and attentive, notifying about everything!) to the guides I had who were also excellent."
"I came to this agency by recommendation and, after traveling with them on two occasions, I can say that it was an excellent decision. I must highlight the professionalism of the guides, who made every tour very interesting and safe."
Everything we get asked about this package before people book.
Demanding, mainly because of altitude. You sleep at 12,800 ft (3,900 m) on night 1 and cross the pass at 15,190 ft (4,630 m) on day 2, an 8 to 9 hour day. The other days are 5 to 7 hours and mostly downhill or flat. Acclimatized, regularly active hikers finish it without trouble.
You never sleep at the pass. You sleep below it at Soraypampa, about 12,800 ft, where dry-season nights dip below 32°F (0°C). Bring a warm sleeping bag, a hat and gloves. By night 3 at Lucmabamba it is mild.
Yes. After you reach camp at Soraypampa, you climb about 1.5 hours to Humantay Lake at 13,780 ft (4,200 m) and come back down to sleep. It is steep, and it helps you acclimatize for the pass the next morning.
The route needs no permit, so independent hiking is legal. We do not recommend it for a first trip in Peru. The pass is remote, weather turns fast, and a guide with oxygen and an emergency horse makes the difference on day 2. You also need your Machu Picchu ticket and train sorted.
Salkantay if you want a high pass and glaciers, if permits are sold out, or if stone stairs bother your knees. Inca Trail if you want Inca sites along the trail and the walk through the Sun Gate. Salkantay is colder and higher, the Inca Trail is steeper underfoot.
Three nights are camping or simple lodges on the trail, at Soraypampa, Chaullay and Lucmabamba. The fourth night is a hotel or hostel in Aguas Calientes with a hot shower, the night before your Machu Picchu visit.
Our pick is May, June or September: dry trail, clear views of the glacier, and fewer groups than July and August. December to March brings rain, mud and sometimes snow on the pass. The trek runs all year, but the views are worth planning around.
Shorter, longer, or a different route.
Bike down from the Abra Málaga pass, hike through coffee country to the Cocalmayo hot springs, walk the railway to Aguas Calientes and tour Machu Picchu on day 4. No camping above 7,000 ft.
Four days down into the Apurímac canyon and up to Choquequirao, a large Inca site with no road to it, then back out the same way. Guide, cook, pack animals and camping included.
Four days through the Lares valley: hot springs, a night with a weaving family, a 15,420 ft pass between glacier lakes, then the train to Aguas Calientes and a guided Machu Picchu visit.