8-Day Short Salkantay Trek & Amazon Tambopata Natural Reserve

We pick you up from your hotel Between 4:30 a.m to 5:00am to drive for about 2 hours to Mollepata  where we stop to have breakfast. Then we keep driving 1 hour to Challacancha where start our Salkantay trek. As soon as we are at Challacancha while you get ready to walk. The cook and the horseman will pack all the camping equipment and cooking stuff and we start hiking the first 3 hours will be a little bit uphill to get Soraypampa where we will have lunch with panoramic views of beautiful snow-capped mountains (Humantay; 4120m/13500ft and Salkantay; 6271m/20575ft) – just the start! After Lunch We will begin our Hike up to Humantay Lake, and hen back to Soraypampa our first Salkantay Trek camping spot (3800 m/11750ft; the highest and coldest campsite of the trip) we will be very close to the second highest Salkantay snow capped – mountain of Cusco.

1ST DAY: Total distance: 15 km (aprox.)
Estimated walking time: 7- 8 hours
Maximum altitude point: 3,800 m (aprox.)
Campsite altitude: 3,800 m (aprox.)

After having our Salkantay Trek early breakfast we start walking about 6:00 am, because this day will be the longest day the first 4 hours is uphill to get the highest point of the Salkantay Trek (4650m/15200ft) located halfway between 2 huge mountains; Salkantay on the right and Tucarhuay on the left. From the pass, the views of the 2 snow-capped mountains are incredible. There is a possibility of snow here. After a rest, we will continue our walk (downhill) through a dramatic cloud forest towards Huayracpunku, where we will have lunch. We hike again after lunch in the direction of the start of the jungle until we reach  Chaullay Where we take our Local transportation for 1 hour to Get our La Playa Loreta Coffe Campsite. The Reason we stay at this campsite is because the next day we will climb up to a mountain where you will find one of the most beautiful inca trail site which is known as Llactapata. You will also see Machu Picchu City from this point.

2ND DAY: Total distance: 19 km (aprox.)
Estimated walking time: 8 – 9 hours
Maximum altitude point: 4,650 m (aprox.)
Campsite altitude: 2,750 m (aprox.)

We will have breakfast at 6:00am and leave our camping spot of La Playa Loreta. We walk up on a original Inca Trail to Llactapata site where you will get a chance to see Machupicchu far away (one of the most beautiful place to see Machupicchu) then We continue walking, passing a variety of crop plantations, coca, banana etc. until we reach the hydroelectric station for Lunch. And after the lunch we keep walking about two and half hours till reaching Aguas Calientes town where we will spend the night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes, you can take advantage of the thermal springs in the town (entrance 10 soles) a real treat after finishing the Salkantay Trek.

Please note: (For those who dont want to hike via this trail. There is a chance to take a bus to Santa Teresa and do an adventure sport of zip lining and Canopy and then transfered to hydroelectric station for Lunch and meet the group.) This has an extra Price of US$40 per person.

3RD DAY: Total distance: 15 km (aprox.)
Estimated walking time: 7 – 8 hours
Maximum altitude point: 1,600 m (aprox.)
Hotel (aguas calientes) altitude: 1,900 m (aprox.)

The most important day of the Salkantay trek! We’ll wake up early in the morning at 4 am to have breakfast. We’ll start to hike up to Machupicchu which takes 1 and half hours. But there is another option to catch the first bus which leaves at 5:30am. In order to appreciate the magnificent city as the sun is rising we have to be the first group in the site. A walking tour (approximately 2 hours) will be offered by your guide and after this you can explore the whole citadel by yourself. If you still have energy you can also climb Huayna Picchu (2720m/8890ft)! It takes 45 minutes to reach the top. After enjoying Machupicchu, we’ll go down to Aguas Calientes to take the train back to Ollantaytambo and then the bus back to Cusco. This night you will catch the night bus ride from Cusco to Puno at 10:00pm.

4TH DAY: Total distance: 6 km (aprox.)
Estimated walking time: 1- 2 hour
Maximum altitude point: 2,700 m (aprox.)

On arrival of your bus to Puerto Maldonado, our guides or staff will meet you at the bus station and transfer you to our office to make a registration.

Your excess luggage will be stored safely in our office in Puerto Maldonado and then we will continue to the Capitania port. We take our motor boat along the Madre de Dios River for approximately – 40 minutes to Amazon Garden Lodge. A cool welcome drink awaits you.

The start of the adventure circuit is reached a tower and stairway that ascends to the treetops where a platform that marks the start of the zip-line almost 200mts long, the breathtaking views are only matched by the excitement of overcoming our fears and the adrenaline that courses through us as we leap off the platform supported by the high security harnesses that connect us to the zip- line cable to a platform 27mts high. The 75mts long of the log walkway, hanging 27m above the floor, leads off this platform, a risky balancing act, and takes us to the platform at the start of the second zip line, a 160m fly back to the tower and stairwell that descends to the forest floor. And then Return to the Amazon Garden Lodge After a well-deserved lunch, we take the kayaks to the river, well protected with high quality life jackets, and accompanied by a motor boat that guarantees extra security; this level one activity is relaxing and accessible for all. Getting Monkey Island you will be able appreciate a great diversity of monkeys such as the: capuchin, tamarines y squirrel monkeys we will put on a show of swinging through the treetops charging down the trunks of the large trees that form their home in order to accept food from your hand .

Return to Amazon Garden Lodge .Nocturnal activities are available this night we have the caiman spotting.

After a great breakfast, we’ll take the boat to get to the entry control of Tambopata National Reserve zone. After 1 and half hour of walking through the rainforest, we will be approaching the famous Sandoval Lake. The landscape is full of immense ancient trees and entangled vines. We will be able to see multi hued flowers and fauna including: Giant Otters, birds, coloured butterflies, turtles, and a variety of fish. We will spend a few hours canoeing on one of the most beautiful lakes in the region. At the end, we will return to Amazon Garden Lodge, for dinner and rest.

We’ll take a boat ride into the majestic Madre de Dios River and set a course downstream for an hour for the Native Community of Ese´Ejas. The largest Ese´Ejas community of about 200 families. We will be visiting some of them. The Project “Rescuing Cultural Values“, situated on Gamitana Island, is working with two families who will show us the culture of their ancestors, their language, customs, clothing and dances. The culture of the Ese´Eja will reveal a completely different way of life from indigenous people. They will give us the opportunity to have direct contact with ancient warriors and hunters and to share their ancestral ways. 

At 1 pm, we will have lunch. By the afternoon we’ll have time to do rustic fishing in Madre de Dios river, where with some luck we’ll have a chance to catch some species like pictus cat fish, small mouth, armored cat fish and red eye piranha. At the end we will return back to the lodge for dinner and rest.

Parrots and parakeets need to eat rich clay that provides them with the salts and minerals necessary to metabolize and neutralize the toxins and acids of the flowers, fruits, and seeds upon which they feed. Early each day, therefore, they congregate at the clay licks. The clay walls along the rivers and streams in the Madre de Dios region of the Amazon rainforest, are the scenario for a magical spectacle. We will witness this at daw, so we will wake up super early. At about 7:00 am we’ll go back to the lodge to have breakfast and return to Puerto Maldonado. We will embark you at the bus terminal around 9:00 am.