Alternative Trekking Routes to Get to Machu Picchu

Travelled to Peru to visit Machu Picchu for her birthday. We arranged to go through Cusco Peru travel, and it was seamless from start to finish. They were very responsive via email when organising the trip, and we're very open to making changes to suit our requests. We did a ten-day tour, starting Lima, four days in Puerto Maldonado (Jungle lodge – an unexpected highlight!) and then on to sacred valley/Cusco/Machu Picchu.

From arrival to departure, it was so easy – we were met at every point with English speaking tour guides/travel agents and who looked after us kept in touch with us throughout the tour via whatsapp – checking in that all was going to plan and to our liking.

Choquequirao Trek To Machu Picchu

The arrangements were very organized. Our team included Andy, our guide and translator, Roberto, our cook, and Justin, our Caballero and helper around camp, were beautiful, friendly and accommodating. Justin ran the extra miles to retrieve a mattress that had been taken with another group to the next campsite. Roberto made delicious, abundant hearty food in the Peruvian style with extra touches like bananas flambe. And Andy was a wealth of knowledge on Incan culture. He was enthusiastic in helping us learn more Spanish and Quechua and to learn more English himself. On returning to Cusco, he gave recommendations for us for restaurants with good typical Peruvian food.

Choquequirao Trek To Machu Picchu. Staying at the Sanctuary was a very welcome comfort spot midway with hot showers and a chance to meet another group over dinner. The weather cooperated with rains mostly in the night, cold temperatures in the morning for hiking, and sunny afternoons for relaxing when arriving at the destination.

The roads are gnarly to get to the base of the trail; however, we had Fidel, who was not only a very competent driver but agreeable as well.

Choquequirao was fabulous and uncrowded, allowing for a very intimate experience. Overall, the trip was well worth the pain and effort.

Inca Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu

By no fault of theirs, we ran into a delay in doing the white water rafting due to tourism commission checking in. Ibra was fully transparent and communicated clearly with updated plans. In our case, we pushed this to the following morning and cut off about an hour of hiking to make up for a lost time, which our group was extremely thankful for.

Inca Jungle to Machu Picchu. Rest assured, feel confident in choosing this tour in which will be filled with adventure, breathtaking views, history and local knowledge shared by your guide, and all food and lodging are taken care of. Shout out to Ibra once more for an excellent experience, being open to all questions and whatever concerns we may have had. You made our trip more enjoyable and one our group won't ever forget!

Salkantay Trek To Machu Picchu

We booked the 5d/4n trek two days before departure in low season. Two things that especially made our trip: the staff and the food. Nico was our leading guide. A true professional! He has so much knowledge of the area and history. On the night of the briefing, he patiently waited for us because our tour was running late. The guide assistant Javier was great as well.

Salkantay Trek, Full of energy and a good sense of humour, waking us up early mornings with hot coca tea. Then the food. Loved it! No problems were catering to a vegetarian. All meals included fresh juices, hot drinks and multiple courses for lunch and dinner. After the tour, we had a different hotel booked than the one where we were picked up at, but no problem, Salkantay Trek transferred our luggage.

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

My girlfriend and I chose the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu after doing some online research. Well, we had a good idea the trip would be well thought out and supported, we had no idea the extent to which thought about every tiny detail to make our hike as comfortable as possible. We had two excellent guides- Henry and Lu who gave us valuable information throughout the journey, and by the end had learned a great deal about Incan and pre Incan history and culture, as well as modern Andean and Quechua culture through some great conversations with Lu. Our chef Alex cooked consistently delicious and hearty meals that helped propel us forward each day, and our team of porters led by the veteran soldier and superhero Cesar were some of the most active people I've ever seen in my life. It was also great to hear and see that Inca Trail Travel does treat their porters well as it's a challenging job carrying 60 lbs of stuff for us gringos day in and day out, with continually changing conditions it's essential to have right gear and that they did whereas not every company thinks to get their porters new and robust shoes for example.

Lu was also extremely patient helping one person in our group who was not physically or mentally prepared for the journey, and he reached Machu Picchu thanks to her encouragement and helped from the porters as well. In my opinion, he should have been turned around on the second day. To say that Inca Trail Travel will do whatever they can to help you complete your journey, but don't be an idiot and do some freaking research as to how challenging this hike can be with elevation and make sure you're in decent shape beforehand and have all the gear you need.