Why wouldn't you pay the Salkantay entry fee? I've had a few people address this issue, but Craig Falkenhagen was the first to ask without vitriol.... so here's my answer. Craig assumes the fee "helps maintain the trail and cover various public costs". What I don't think people realize is that this path is not a "hiking trail" as we would experience in the United States. The Salkantay Trail is a dirt road that the local population uses for the purpose of travel. It interconnects various villages, and it is not uncommon to have cars (mostly 4WD vehicles) pass you during your "trek", although most of the local population travels on the dirt roads by horse or on foot (most likely - because they don't own vehicles). The high altitude section (1 day's worth?) of the hike is not accessible by vehicle (single track), but it must be noted that the local population primarily uses ALL of these sections of the path for the purpose of travel - not recreation. Keep in mind, there are no maintained campsites along the way. Considering this fact, a $50 fee for foreigners (no fees were expected from members of the local population) does not seem like a "small amount" as Craig states, for travel on what amounts to a backcountry road. Also, I would hesitate to assume that the majority of the profits from the fees even went to cover our "fair share of the usage".... but it seems the fee has been discontinued, probably for good reason.
Alternate Route? I think the trail that Claudia mentions is a well known (at least for the local population) alternate route to the same destination. Thanks for the info!!
Why wouldn't you pay the Salkantay entry fee? We're headed for the Salkantay Trail in a few weeks and I've been reading as much as I can online to help prepare for the trip. I was surprised that you you would deliberately avoid the fee stations to save a few bucks. I haven't been there yet, but I assume that what you pay helps maintain the trail and cover various public costs. If you're using the trail, wouldn't you want to pay a small amount to help cover your fair share of the usage?
Salkantay July 2014 Thanks for the information and just a few updates from July 2014:
Still no fee station, although in the Mollepata parking lot (where the collectivo driver lets you out) there is a lady from the Peruvian government asking you to register with your name and passport number. You register again when you get to Hidroelectrica. They said they want to make sure no one gets lost on the trek, so if you don't register again in Hidroelectrica, they might send a rescue helicopter out or I don't know what. Maybe it's just for show. We didn't have to pay anything though and I thought this little gesture was quite nice, gives you a feeling of safety.
Day 1
You do not have to hike along the road to Soraypampa, there is a much more scenic path. Start at the central square of Mollepata and then head uphill through the streets until the streets turn into forest (maybe ask a local for the right street uphill, there's always someone hanging out on the street). Once in the forest, you will frequently see blue and white signs with a bus and a hiker on them. Obviously, you want to follow the direction of the hiker, namely a steep uphill path. After only a few kilometers you will have reached 3800m - the same altitude as Soraypampa. You will get to a small lookout point with a (locked) bathroom and another sign saying that Soraypampa is now only 3 kilometers away. That's a lie. It's more like ten, but all flat from here, so don't get discouraged. From the path you will now start to see the road winding up below you, eventually catching up with you just as you enter Soraypampa (which really is not more than one house).
No comments on Day 2, just that - in my opinion - it is not necessary to start hiking right at dawn. We slept in, packed our gear and headed out at 8:30. This way I felt more relaxed and prepared for this strenous day. We arrived in Challway before sunset, but admittedly only barely.
Day 3
We got to La Playa quite early in the afternoon and then teamed up with an organized group to go to the hot springs near Santa Teresa together. Those two hours in the hot springs were amazing for our bodies and I definitely recommend it, there are generally lots of people in La Playa willing to drive you there (we paid 10 soles per person to Santa Teresa, then another 10 for the round trip to the hot springs - totally worth it).
Day 4
We got a ride to Hidroelectrica and then walked along the tracks to Aguas Calientes. No guide was required. In fact, I didn't even see a single guide there.
Fitness Level
It was fun, but I think I underestimated how hard it would be. Luckily, the altitude didn't really affect me, but the weight of my backpack really got to me after a while. I heard that you can rent a mule in Mollepata for 20 soles per day (they come pick it up again in La Playa), so maybe that's a good option for those of you that are good hikers but less experienced backpack-haulers.
what fitness level/experience is required to do Salkantay on your own? Hi, it's me again; thanks for explaining. I'm confident that we will be ok and enjoy the trekking.
I'm still not sure about doing this with or without a guide/agency however; we would love to do it without a guide, but we are not experienced trekkers and I find it very hard to judge how difficult it will be with >10 kg on my back at this altitude. I've been to Bolivia before and remember that it was already hard just to walk around in La Paz... and at the Chacaltaya glacier (5200m) it was really difficult to climb the last meters to the lodge.
Porters are Good - They Carry Your Supplies!! In my opinion, having problems with altitude is most likely the thing that will lead an unsuccessful journey. I would recommend some descent knowledge of the Spanish language, so you can ask local residents where the trail is. On this hike, I thought I was going to die, and when I got to the top, I cried tears of joy!!
what fitness level/experience is required to do Salkantay on your own? Hey,
Thanks for this nice blog, it is really interesting to read your experiences and recommendations on this trekking.
I'm planning to go to Peru oct/nov and I'd like to do the Salkantay trekking either with an agency, or on my own (2 persons). I understand from this and other blogs that it is doable, but also challenging. So I wonder whether or not to do it... we are overall in good shape, but we have only limited experience with multiple day hikes (last one we did was Torres del Paine, CHili) and no experience with the altitude.
What do you think?
thanks!!!
4 Days - Sunrise to Sunset Our trip took four days to complete, and if there was sunlight, then we were on the move. We spent the morning of day one in a taxi, and the afternoon of day four waiting on a train, so those days were not as exerting. Two entire days were spent hiking with limited breaks. The trek would have been much less grueling if we had porters. If you have never experienced high altitudes, then your tolerance to those conditions is a gamble. Aside from AMS, if you're comfortable walking ten miles a day, and you hire an outfitter, then my guess is that you shouldn't have any big problems. Happy trekking!!
Update Thank you all very much for these comments; they were very helpful!! We walked the salkantay trek unguided in the beginning of April, 2012; hence at the end of the wet season. Here is our update:
•If you don´t like tours, and your an ´experienced´ hiker (meaning, did other more-day-hikes at such altitude already) I would definitely recommend on doing this trip on your own (meaning at least with 2 people of course!). It was great and not more difficult than other treks to do by yourself.
1. We were very concerned whether we´d be able to find the road. We printed several maps that we found online and ended up with having NO PROBLEMS finding the right path. I have to say, it was quite muddy and therefore we could often follow the tracks of the horses. One tricky point: after leaving Mollepata at one of the last houses, the road splits up. The left road seems to go up, the right on seems to go down. Although it feels like you have to go up and take the left path, you have to take the right on. It does go up afterwards. One other part were we were confused: after leaving Colpapampa, there is a road on the left and right side of the river. They both go to la Playa. The right one is a new road for cars, the left one is the original path. You can take either one, but maybe the left one is nicer (although it´s been affected by landslides)
2. After leaving Mollepata at some intersections you can find signs indicating ´continuar´. Follow these!
3. For people that are thinking about doing it in the rainy season. Although being at the end of the rainy season, we had quite some rain. But the most annoying thing was that after crossing the pass to Colpapamap, the road was EXTREMELY muddy… However, we had good equipment and therefore still really enjoyed it! We didn´t walk from La playa to Llactapata because people told us this road was too muddy right now and unsuitable to walk. As we already struggled so much with the other parts of the road, we didn´t walk this (although we haven´t checked the road ourselves) and took a minibus from La Playa to Santa Teresa, and from there to Hydroelectrica. However, as other people mentioned, I´m sure this would have been a very nice road…
4. The locals were very friendly and helpful. For example, the second day it rained a lot and after buying a drink locals let us camp underneath a roof in their garden, which was great!
5. If you want to hike wayna picchu when you are at macho picchu, book in advance, because it was full when we tried to reserve this the day before.
6. We bought food in a supermarket in Cusco. As other people already mentioned, you can buy plenty snacks on the way (chocolate bars like snickers, water, Gatorade, chips etc). Furthermore, when we did the trek at the end of the wet season, there was plenty of water everywhere, we just disinfected it with tablets (that´s at least what we did). So pack lightly and don´t take too much food. In Aguas caliente and St Teresa, you can buy breakfast/dinner/lunch if you wish, so you don´t have to take food for many days.
7. Prices that we paid:
-shared cap to mollepata: 15 soles per persons (4 persons in a cab, it took around 2 hours), we didn´t wait for the bus, which might have been cheaper
-we were thinking about taking a cab from mollepata to soraypampa. However, in Mollepata they would have charged us around 250 soles for such a cab. They told us they couldn´t do it for less since the roads were damaged because of the rain. We thought this was a ridiculously amount of money, so we walked. And the road to Soraypampa was fine and not damaged!
-Shared minivan from La playa to St Teresa: 10 soles pp
-shared minivan from St Teresa to Hidro electrica: 10 soles
-train (Peru rail) from Hidro electrica to Aguas caliente: 18 US dollars (leaves at 16.35h), which is ridiculously expensive; walk it if you can!
-Train from Aguas caliente to Ollantaytambo: 35 US dollars per person (you can also walk this though).
Salkantay updated June 15, 2011 Hi, many thanks for your blog and the information that has been very useful, especially the latest updates, so we explain our experience.
We did the Salkantay trek from Aguas Calientes to Mollepata in 3 days, without a guide, entirely on foot, without taking any means of transport, with bags over 20 kg, with tent and all the food on our shoulders , though very long and hard stages.
Day 1 - Cusco - Mollepata - Soraypampa
22km - 1.200m ascent - 150m descent - 6h
Take the bus to Cusco street Arcopata leaving at 5:30 am at the price of 7 soles to Mollepata, takes 3 hours to arrive. Start walking at 9 am and go up through many places to buy snacks and drinks. We arrive at camp Soraypampa where the first night.
Day 2 - Soraypampa - Wiñaypoco
26 km - 1,000 ascent - descent 2.300m - 10h
Leave AbraSalkantay direction (4650 m) in 3 hours we reach the pass, the highest place of all trekking. Begins a long descent to Wiñaypoco (2535 m) where we camp the second night.
Day 3 - Wiñaypoco - Aguas Calientes
35km - ascent 1.300m - 1.400m descent - 11h
The road plan with slight decline to pass on the La Playa and take the detour on the Inca trail (2000m) from here up to the ruins of Llucmabamba (2850 m). A strong descent brings us to the train station Hidroelèctrica (1,800 m). A path that runs alongside the railway brings in 2 hours to Aguas Calientes (2050 m). Today we slept in a hostel, a well-deserved reward.
Day 4 - Aguas Calientes - Machupicchu - Aguas Calientes
20 km - ascent 2.000m - 2.000m descent - 12h
We leave at 4:30 am in Aguas Calientes, the day before we get to the Plaza de Armas ticket to enter the price of 126 soles with student ID 50% discount. From 5 am to open the fence to cross the bridge and climb the stairs. At 6 am We act the entrance to the ruins, if you want to get on Huaynapicchu (2,700 m) of you have been sealed before entering and should indicate if you want to turn up at 7 am or 10am. Cross monastery and we all queued for the rise, We act at 7am, we are the first to arrive and get to the top. Go down the other side through the Gran Caverna and the Temple of the Moon. Also climb to the summit of Machu Picchu (3,100 m), great views. We also visited the temple of the sun and Intipunku or after visiting the rest of the ruins, we fall back to the path of Aguas Calientes.
The return train to Ollaytamtambo worth only $ 40 + 10 soles to Cusco.
We walk from Aguas Calientes to Hydroelectric, there we took a taxi to Sta.Teresa (30 minutes) price of 5 soles, another taxi to Sta. Maria(1 hour) price 10 soles and another vehicle to Cusco (5 hours) 20 soles.
You can find all the tracks to cd to the following address:
Stage 1:
http://ca.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1778253
Stage 2:
http://ca.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1778244
Stage 3:
http://ca.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1778231
Total Trek & waypoints:
http://ca.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1778257
Total Machupiccho + waypoints:
http://ca.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1778291
Additional Information:
1 - Do not pay anything, any input to any village, or camping, or at all.
We in return we consume a drink in the place where we camped.
2 - During all the way to find places where you can buy drinks and snacks.
3 - during the walk you can find many places to get water and rivers.
4-If you do not like to walk can take vehicles:
Mollepata - Soraypampa (auto)
Collpapampa - La Playa (auto)
La Playa - Sta. Teresa (auto)
Sta. Teresa - Hydroelectric (auto)
Hydroelectric - Aguas Calientes (train)
5-Do not pay anything to go by the path along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes.
All you have to register to Hidroeléctrica, but is free.
6-If you don't walk, you can take a bus from Aguas Calientes to the entrance of Machu Picchu for $ 10.
Salkantay update May 2011 Hi there, thanks for you blog an all the useful information. We just finished the trek and would like to share the latest information:
1. I can confirm that there are no fees to pay, no tollgates or similar. You can walk along the regular path.
2. In case you want to skip the first day (Mollepata to Soraypampa) the taxi costs ~80 soles and takes approximately 1.5 hours. You can arrange it in Mollepata after you arrive. We took the taxi at 6:00am to start walking at 8:00am.
3. We published the full trek (1st day from Mollepata to Soraypampa by taxi) on wikiloc. You can find it at the following location including all the important way points (also with the point where the buses/minivans leave in Cusco: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1726915
4. If you are willing to walk for 10 or 11 hours, you can make it from Soraypampa to 'La Playa' in one long day. In La Playa you can catch a minibus to Santa Teresa (5 soles). From there you can catch another minibus to Hydroelectrica. Alternatively you can also walk to Hydroelectrica from La Playa as described by Arnaud.
5. Starting from the 1st of June 2011 you need to hire a guide to walk along the rail tracks from Hydroelectrica to Aguas Calientes. At least this is what the officer at the checkpoint where you have to register told us. The guide costs 60 soles per person and also includes guiding at Machu Picchu the following day. Here is a picture of the notice: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/imgServer.do?id=604443 Can somebody verify this?
Otherwise it's a really attractive hike, especially around the pass of Salkantay. There are lots of horses on the way.
David
Taxi Boat to Jaco You can take a water taxi from Montezuma to Jaco or vs./vs. for a nominal fee. The trip is advertised as two hours from Montezuma to Manual Antonio and three hours to San Jose. This option for travel is great, if your not using a rental car.
Thanks you for sharing your trip My boyfriend and I are going on this trip in July for 15 days and doing about the same itinerary except we may do an overnight trip in Grenanda and if there is time go to Jaco from the montezuma or Puntanares area. How many days were you in Costa Rica? We are also considering doing this trip by bus to save money for more tours.
Salkantay update September 2010 Hey guys,
Thanks a lot for your blog. It was really helpfull ! I did the salkantay trek on my own on early september so i'll give the last information which could be of some interest.
I confirm what Dale says : there is absolutely NO fee whatsoever in none of the place you cross during the hike. They suppressed those fees about 8 months ago after an official complain from the tourist agencies in Cuzco was sent to the authorities: those "paytolls" were illegal. So no need to try to sneak away from villages.
You cross a lot of estancias on the way (minimum 2 a day) where they sell basic food (drinks, snacks, chocolate bars, etc...), so give yourself a break and try to make it light on food : save some weight out of your back cause this trek is a pretty tough one... People are very friendly : i was able to camp for free in their backyard. Just buy them a coke or a snack and everybody will be happy. They also know the route perfectly, so use your best spanish and ask them! Maps i found in Cuzco were expensive and useless : the PDF that appears on this blog is good enough : print out the first page, read carefully this blog, download the GPS trail and you're all good !
If you don't want to pay the 25$ for the GPS map that's shown on this blog, you can download for free a good GPS trail on Wikiloc :
http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=53933
http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=23336
One of those 2 is abolutely perfect all the way down to Aguas Calientes, unfortunately i can't remember which one so you'll have to figure this out yourself...
You are not at all isolated from the rest of the world on this trek, you cross many people and villages on the way so don't hesitate to do it on your own if you have a minimum of experience.
If you have enough energy for doing the trek all the way, i would recommand to walk the first part from Mollepata to Soray, going through Marcocasa (ask villagers), it's a very nice start ! Agencies go up to Soray by car through a different road... Sad.
Then, after Collpapampa you can choose to go by bus to Santa Teresa, or you can keep walking to Lucmabamba (free camping spot on the football field next to the school) and then through Llactapata pass. Very nice... And it goes all the way down to HydroElectrica. From there, take a nice lunch break and walk along the railroad. I know it sounds weird but it is a super nice walk through the jungle and through those steep mountains around Machu Picchu... Definitely worth it not to wait for the train that shows up only at 6:00PM...
Last comment: about transport.
To go to Mollepata from Cuzco, i went to Avenida Arcopata at 4:15 AM and didn't even have to wait for the bus: you can hop on those taxi-cars that are waiting to be full for leaving. It cost me 10 soles to go to Mollepata and it took 2 hours. A woman is serving a delicious Mate de Quinoa and bread for breakfast right at the Plaza in Mollepata. And it costs 1.5 sol ;)
For the way back to Cuzco, I walked back to Hydro-Electrica (but feel free to take the train, 8US$...) and took a combi to Cuzco. It costs 25 Soles and takes... a long time. They say it takes 6 hours, but for me it turned out to be 9.
Other option by train, without paying for it! But for early birds only!!! there is a maintenance yellow cart that departs at 4:XX AM everyday from the train station in Cuzco and rides up to kilometer 82 just to check if the ralraod is OK before sending tourist trains from Cuzco. You can walk along the railroad for like 500m and wait for it. Wave your bills when he shows up and hope for the best! I know people who successfully did that. In my case, I couldn't wake up that early after such a hike... Good luck !
Love it with Caution!!! I think it is clear that I love Puerto Rico and it's people, but it is important to travel there with caution. My friends/family who are from PR would advise the same. I have traveled all over the world (Baja, Yucatan, The United States, Jamaica, Peru, Europe, Hawaii, etc.) and I grew up in a city with some very un-safe neighborhoods. I know when you need to proceed with caution. More than most other places that I've traveled in this world, it is very important that you consider your safety in PR. Peace!!!
Love it or leave it! You know you got to hate when people come to our Island and just gripe how it's not safe like they're sweet little home in the States... It's another Country folks! And it's like anywhere else, you got good sections and not so good sections, just don't be dumb and know where you're going and you should be fine! I was born on the Island and grew up in Cali, I come back at least twice a year and love it! I've brought a ton of friends with me and no-one has ever had a bad thing to say about PR or our peeps!
Love it or leave it I guess...
Salkantay update April 2010 Hi there,
Thanks heaps for the helpful info. I just finished Salkantay with a pal and it was absolutely fantastic. Just a quick update on a few minor things which could prove useful for anyone planning to do the trek in the next few months.
We saw no fee-stations along the route so I don't think there's any need to scramble around Mollepata or Soray.
The train from Hidroelectrica to Aguas Calientes departs daily at 4:30pm. Locals may tell you that the train is only for local people. This is not true. The ticket office opens at about 3pm and you can buy a ticket at that time. The train ride takes about 20 minutes as opposed to a two to three hour walk (we walked but after four days of trekking you might fancy taking a load off your feet).
Officials at the Hidroelectrica station told us that we would not be able to buy tickets to Machu Picchu without a train ticket purchased from Cusco. This is not true. A ticket to Machu Picchu can be purchased for 126 Soles at the tourist information centre in Aguas (it's located just off the main square).
There were a few mudslides along the route between Colpapampa and Playa. Most of these had been fixed and the trail restored by the time we went though however, the weather at the moment is still variable and more mudslides are predicted. Don't let this put you off but be aware that you may need to take some minor detours to get to your destination. Ask the locals if the trail you plan to take is okay. It most likely will be but if not, alternatives are available.
Unless you plan to walk back, book your train ticket in advance. They're booked up a long way in advance at the moment so do it as soon as you get to Cusco. The alternative route back via Santa Teresa (involving a hike and a bus) may not be your cup of tea after a long trek. It also takes about 8 hours to get back to Cusco as opposed to about three via the train.
Good luck and enjoy.
Cheers,
Dale
Awesome Info My wife and I are in Cuzco getting ready to start the trip in 2 days. We actually have a copy of this blog printed out for help, along with topo maps of course. Thanks for the great info. You have undoubtedly helped us a ton.
Trail is Well Marked, but Not Perfect The description I gave for the start of the "secret" trail in Mollepata is as good as I can provide. Everyone in town knows where the official start of the trail is, so you can always ask around. The trail was marked well in most places, but at junctions where there was no label we waited until a traveler passed us, and then we asked them which way to go. Keep in mind..... The trail is a passage in which the locals travel on. It is nothing like a desolate hike as we have the United States, it is more like a walk thru various Peruvian communities. If you're confused about which direction to travel someone will pass you soon enough and you can ask them to guide you.
Salkantay Trek Is the trail out of Mollepata marked / is it difficult to navigate your way out of the town and onto the Salkantay trail? Also was your entire trip on a marked trail? Quite a few pics I have been seeing look like there is minimal marking to guide you.
Too Long but Not Long Enough We did the hike in three and a half days days. If there was sunlight, we were hiking. It kicked our *****, but even if it lasted two weeks it would have been worth it. Absolutely beautiful.....
In my youth, in the 1980's, I had traveled across the United States and Europe. After a trip to Jamaica in the mid-nineties, I realized the grounded nature of the Rastafarian culture and took up it's influences. I never forget that I am more fortunate than most people in this world, and I thank the highest every day for my opportunities. I have traveled throughout The United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Jamaica, Hawaii, Kenya, Peru, and Costa Rica.
Please keep in mind that all the information on these blog pages have been made available at no cost to the reader and therefore fall u... full info
SkateVert
Skate Vert
Why wouldn't you pay the Salkantay entry fee?
I've had a few people address this issue, but Craig Falkenhagen was the first to ask without vitriol.... so here's my answer. Craig assumes the fee "helps maintain the trail and cover various public costs". What I don't think people realize is that this path is not a "hiking trail" as we would experience in the United States. The Salkantay Trail is a dirt road that the local population uses for the purpose of travel. It interconnects various villages, and it is not uncommon to have cars (mostly 4WD vehicles) pass you during your "trek", although most of the local population travels on the dirt roads by horse or on foot (most likely - because they don't own vehicles). The high altitude section (1 day's worth?) of the hike is not accessible by vehicle (single track), but it must be noted that the local population primarily uses ALL of these sections of the path for the purpose of travel - not recreation. Keep in mind, there are no maintained campsites along the way. Considering this fact, a $50 fee for foreigners (no fees were expected from members of the local population) does not seem like a "small amount" as Craig states, for travel on what amounts to a backcountry road. Also, I would hesitate to assume that the majority of the profits from the fees even went to cover our "fair share of the usage".... but it seems the fee has been discontinued, probably for good reason.