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.

Cocalmayo Hot Springs

Before the days of high-tech spa treatments, wellness seekers headed to the hot springs.

On your Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu in Peru, you can take time to take a hot bath, in an impressive environment of abundant vegetation next to a huge river; the place seems out of a fantasy, but you can buy beers and snacks. The hot springs are the method of Mother Nature to infuse relaxation in tired bodies.

The hot springs of Colcalmayo are a popular destination among travelers who seek a connection to the land and its balance.

There is nothing better than taking a hot bath in nature, while enjoying a drink of "aguaymanto". Take a dip in the hot springs of Cocalmayo, it is a great experience. It is situated between a huge river and a small mountain. In Cocalmayo, bathers can enjoy outdoor swimming pools fed by natural hot springs, built between a small mountain full of vegetation and the Urubamba River. You will find 3 pools of different sizes and depths. The water temperature varies between 38 and 44 ºC and unlike most thermal waters in Peru, it has clear waters. Very close to the pools there are cold showers, the water comes from the lagoons of Uripata and is very refreshing; the mixture of waters will give you a very comforting feeling.

The benefits: Located at 1,600 m.s.n.m. Its waters are rich in essential minerals such as sodium, magnesium, bicarbonate, calcium, sulfate and others, which have healing properties on the skin, bones, muscles and joints.

Where are the thermal baths of Cocalmayo?

The hot springs of Cocalmayo are in the valley of the Urubamba river (Vilcanota) in a cozy and relaxing place, their naturally heated pools reach 44 ºC. They are to 20 minutes of the town of Santa Teresa in the province of the Convención, in Cusco - Peru; precisely at kilometer 135 of the railway line between Cusco and Quillabamba, at 1,600 m.s.