4 - Dag Kort Salkantay Trek till Machu Picchu med Sky Camp Stay

Machu Picchu is a once in a lifetime experience for many people that requires a great deal of sacrifice: the time to plan, the time to acclimate, the financial cost, etc. For a trekking company to accept my payment, confirm my reservation and then to drop the ball on securing a Machu Picchu ticket is inexcusable and the reason for my 1 star rating. I first went to Machu Picchu 24 years ago when I was in college. It was one of the awe insprining experiencs of my life. This year, I was so excited to finally go back! I painstakingly planned the whole experience 6 months in advance. The centerpiece of that plan was the hike the Salkantay trail and do 2 circuits of Machu Picchu: 2a and 3a. 2a so I could have the in depth guided tour of the archeological ruins and 3a so I could climb Huayna Picchu. Important to note that cicuit 2 is easily the best circuit to do. In February, I spoke with them about my plans. He assured me the 4-day trek included a circuit 2a admission to Machu Picchu since I was booking far enough in advance. So I booked the tour with Salkantay Trekking, made the payment and recevied the confirmation. Once confirmed, I booked a 3a ticket for myself independently. I never heard anything from Salkantay after receiving the confirmation, and had no reason to believe there where any issues. Fast forward to August, while I was packing and preparing for my trip I reached out to Salkantay Trekking with some questions I had. It was at that moment, 5 days before my trek was scheduled, that they informed me that there was some of the personal information on my form was filled out incompletely and they hadn't bought my Machu Picchu ticket. My heart sank. Again, during that 5.5 month period, they never communicated to me at all that there was any issue. At that point, there was nothing that could be done to secure an entry for circuit 2. Since it was the best and most sought after circuit, it had previously sold out. That is why I had tried to book everything so far in advance. The only thing they offered me was a free rental of a sleeping bag and hiking poles, and an entry to circuit 3b. 3b was usless to me since it is the worst circuit (which is why it was the only one left) and I already had a 3a entry which covers all of 3b plus more. They kept promising to find ways to make the experience better for me. But after 5 days of stressful, on and off confusing communications during the hike, they delivered on nothing. In total, all the communication from the office during my trek was contradictory, distracting and exasperating. Their office was also a hot mess when it came to processing my final payment, which I don't think they would have asked me for it I hadn't reminded them. The worst part was they never took responsibility for their error. They alternated between making vague admonishments to me that I should have filled out the form correctly (without being able to tell me what was missing) or vague allusions to IT screwing up the saving of the online form. It's possible that I missed a section of the form or there was a glitch in their system in processing my form. I don't know, and it doesn't matter. For me, the most biggest error on their part was processing my reservation, sending me a confimation and then not buying my ticket for Machu Picchu. If there were any error or anything preventing them from booking that ticket, they should have reached out to me so we could have fixed the issue. Or they never should have accepted my payment and sent a confirmation if there were information missing that prevented the processing of something so critical as a Machu Picchu ticket. Machu Picchu is a once in a lifetime experience for many people that requires a great deal of sacrifice: the time to plan, the time to acclimatize, the financial cost, etc. For a trekking company to accept my payment, confirm my reservation and then to drop the ball on securing a Machu Picchu ticket is inexcusable. I hate to give anyone a 1 star rating, and there were many positives from the trek itself, but I feel it's the only fair rating for a company who failed on something this crucial and repeatedly failed to take responsibility for it, and, with very little self awareness, has been constantly reminding me to leave a TripAdvisor review for the past 3 days. If they had bought the Machu Picchu ticket, it would be a 4 or 5 star review. This hike was absolutely gorgeous! Our guide Julio Cesar was excellent! The accommodations were good. The cooks and guys managing the horses were great. The Salkantay hike itself was a once in a lifetime experience to be sure. I will have lifelong positive memories of the trek itself. It's unfortunate that I will also have the disappointing memory of not being able to have the Machu Picchu experience I had planned.

Extremely professional with amazing guide (Uriel). The food was delicious and the campsites were amazing. An amazing experience to create lifelong memories.

View is beautiful and food is excellent

Marco (tour guide) is the man!! Extremely passionate, very knowledgeable and friendly staff!! They know it’s a tough 4 day hike with high altitude and keep the group close “la familia” to complete each part of the trip. It’s my personal observation the company Salkantay relies very heavily on tipping: cooks, muleers, guides, drivers, etc.. but, Salkantay is not upfront about this until you get there. The 4 day hike for a family of 3 cost me over $1k USD in undisclosed costs. Be prepared and have extra cash on-hand as it blindsided me and had to make multiple trips to the ATM. I knew there was some tipping, but it was 4x my expectation and I’m from USA.

I had an incredible 4-day Salkantay Trek experience with this company! Everything was well organized—from transportation and accommodations to the overall logistics—making the trek completely stress-free. The food was honestly one of the highlights of the trip. Every meal was creative, fresh, and absolutely delicious. Huge thanks to the chef and sous chef for exceeding our expectations, and to the horsemen whose hard work behind the scenes kept everything running smoothly. A special shoutout to our guide, Marco. He was knowledgeable, responsible, and truly passionate about what he does. He consistently went above and beyond to ensure everyone felt safe, comfortable, and motivated throughout the trek. His energy and care made this experience unforgettable. One observation I’d like to share with the company: your guides, horsemen, chefs, and support staff are the backbone of this experience. Their dedication is what makes this trek so special, and I hope they continue to be recognized and fairly compensated for their incredible work. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking to do the Salkantay Trek!

Incredible experience with our guide Marco and his team. We have our 11 year old with us on this challenging journey. He had a brief episode of altitude sickness mid hike, Marco and Pedro immediately started examining his vitals and took amazing care of him. The food the chefs prepared are well above expectations and I cannot believe they made all this happen. We all felt very safe and well taken cared of the entire trip. 10/10 experience!

Well organised. If you feel tired or sick , you can take a horse or choose a minibus at some stages. You will be fed regularly :)

Fantastic trek. Super guide Marco.

It was a challenging trek because of the altitude and long hiking days but the crew was very professional and helpful, they made it a very personal and special experience. The accommodations were adequate. It was great to finally visit Machu Picchu after days of anticipation, learning about the culture and the region. Unforgettable 4 days.

Nice trek - really recommend it. We did it with Salkantay Trek - everything was well organized. Accommodation both in camps and in Cusco was really nice. Meals cooked and served by our team outstanding.