Apu Salkantay Mountain

Apu Salkantay

Salkantay is the highest peak in the Vilcabamba mountain range, part of the Peruvian Andes. It is located in the Cusco region, about 60 km (40 miles) northwest of the city of Cusco.

View of Salkantay mountain top

Salkantay proximity to Machu Picchu makes trekking around it an alternative to the Inca Trail; this is known as the Salkantay trek.

The name Salkantay is from sallqa, a Quechua word meaning wild, uncivilized, savage, or invincible, and was recorded as early as 1583. The name is thus often translated as "Savage Mountain".

Climbing the Salkantay Mountain

Salcantay is a large, steep peak with great vertical relief, particularly above the low valleys to the north, which are tributaries of the Apurimac and Vilcanota Rivers.

The standard route on the mountain is the Northeast ridge. Accessing the route typically involves three days of travel from Cusco. The climb involves about 1,800 m (5,900 ft) of vertical gain, on glacier, snow, ice, and some rock.

Attractions along the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

The Salkantay Trek is a hiking in south America and an alternative to the traditional Inca Trail for reaching Machu Picchu. It presents a unique combination of culture and mistic, with preserved proudly by the Peruvian people, and is an amazing adventure and extraordinary natural beauty. Salkantay trekking is set at the highest peaks of Humantay Mountain, where the cold ice of the mountains meets the steamy heat of the Andes.

The hike is surrounded by the historic Machu Picchu (National Park and is considered one of the 25 best hikes in the world). Salkantay trek is very diverse and rich geography hike, Andean culture and history. The Vilcanota Mountain range contains two twenty highest mountains in the Americas.

Chonta - Canyon of the Condor

The Natural viewpoint of Condor's Flight is located at Chonta community in Limatambo, Anta - Cusco. Along the trail, you can see natural attractions (landscapes, valleys and sacred mountains) that are located on the right margin of the Apurimac River.

Humantay Lake

This lagoon formed by the thaw of the Humantay mountain presents a unique landscape of the district of Mollepata (Anta). The Humantay Lake is a place that impacts with its immensity, traces and colors in the landscape, which make it one of the unmissable tourist destinations in the bowels of Peru.

Apu Salcantay (Salkantay Mountain)

Salcantay or Salkantay (in Quechua) is the highest peak in the Vilcabamba mountain range, part of the Peruvian Andes. It is located in the Cusco Region, about 60 km (40 mi) west-northwest of the city of Cusco. It is the 38th-highest peak in the Andes, and the twelfth-highest in Peru. However, as a range highpoint in deeply incised terrain, it is the second most topographically prominent peak in the country, after Huascarán.

Cocalmayo hot springs

The hot springs of Colcalmayo are a popular destination among travelers who seek a connection to the land and its balance. On your trip to Machu Picchu in Peru, you can take a hot bath, in an impressive environment of abundant vegetation next to a huge river; the place seems out of a fantasy.

Llaqtapata

Llaqtapata (Quechua) llaqta = place (village, town, city), pata = elevated place, pronounced 'yakta-pahta', hispanicized Llactapata) is an archaeological site about 5 km (3.1 mi) west of Machu Picchu. The complex is located in the Cusco Region, La Convención Province, Santa Teresa District, high on a ridge between the Ahobamba and Santa Teresa drainages.