Salkantay Trek

Name: Salkantay Trek
Address: PE

Camino del Salkantay

Salkantay Trek, OSM relation 2376237 (Camino del Inca Salkantay), 75.08 km, DEM high 4,626 m. No government walking permit is reported (secondary); community fees at Soraypampa / Humantay are separate. Not the classic Inca Trail (15703494).

75.08 km · 5d · SAC T1 · OSM hiking

Last verified 2026-09-24

Cite this record

The Hiking World, Salkantay Trek, verified 2026-09-24, https://www.thehikingworld.com/trails/salkantay-trek

How we verify · last checked 2026-09-24

Byline

The Hiking World editorial · author

Salkantay massif on the Salkantay Trek corridor, Peru

Figures marked provisional are seed data and still need verification. Source and last-checked date sit under each cited value.

Peru SERNANP permits

Weather forecast

Representative point on Salkantay Trek: -13.324°, -72.668°, about 4626 m. A forecast, not a trail-surface reading.

At generation: 4°C.

2026-10-30 -1–6°C, 7 mm
2026-10-31 -1–8°C, 4 mm
2026-11-01 -1–8°C, 7 mm

Source Open-Meteo. Mountain weather changes with elevation and aspect.

Inca Trail and Salkantay — stored fields side by side, not a ranking.

Altitude weather delta

High 4,626 m minus low 1,764 m is 2,862 m of relief on this record. A standard tropospheric lapse of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m implies about 18.6 °C cooler at the high point than the valley, all else equal.

That is a model (International Standard Atmosphere environmental lapse), not a forecast and not a trail-closure. Wind, snow, and storms stay in Hazards.

derived:lapse-rate · verified 2026-09-10 · provisional

ISA 6.5 °C / 1,000 m · wikipedia.org · 2026-09-10

Stored line for Salkantay Trek, from -13.501°, -72.531° to -13.161°, -72.537°. The drawing is the simplified record, not a surveyed GPS track.

loading map...

Line download is the stored OSM geometry, simplified. It is not a surveyed GPS track. GPX · GeoJSON

Facts-13.501, -72.531

Distance75.08 km*

osm:relation:2376237 · verified 2026-09-21 · osm · provisional

Ascent+3,103 m*

copernicus-dem:glo-30 · verified 2026-09-24 · dem · provisional

Descent4,076 m*

copernicus-dem:glo-30 · verified 2026-09-24 · dem · provisional

High point4,626 m

copernicus-dem:glo-30 · verified 2026-09-21 · dem

Low point1,764 m

copernicus-dem:glo-30 · verified 2026-09-21 · dem

Routepoint-to-point

Days5

Seasonunverified

GradeOSM sac_scale: hiking · SAC T1 (mapped — no official SAC grade) · YDS 1

Editorial v1 · Provisional catalog

DifficultyOSM sac_scale: hiking

OSM hiking

SAC T1 (mapped — no official SAC grade): Hiking. Trail well cleared, flat or slightly sloped, no fall hazard.
YDS Class 1: Class 1. Walking on an established path; low fall risk.

Ingested from OpenStreetMap relation 2376237 (ODbL). The mapped line is that geometry. Published length 75.08 km is the Wave P measure (provisional, 2026-09-21). No government walking permit is reported (secondary). Community fees at Soraypampa / Humantay were not priced.

OSM relation 2376237 (Camino del Inca Salkantay), measured 2026-09-21: 75.08 km, DEM high 4,626 m, low 1,764 m, ascent 10,954 m, descent 8,754 m (Copernicus GLO-30, provisional). Salkantay Pass landmark 4,630 m is not the line max. Classic Inca Trail relation 15703494 is related and not merged.

Mollepata is an administrative boundary in OSM (relation 1925141), not a place node, and was not used as a pin. Huayracmachay did not resolve. Santa Teresa village was omitted so the pin line does not jog off the Hidroeléctrica approach.

typicalDays 5 is the recognised typical 4–6 day window — typical, not an official duration statute. That stamp is not this DataPoint. bestSeason is left unverified (a dry-season window is widely described; it was not copied from an official SERNANP statute this pass).

DEM high 4,626 m is the line max. Salkantay Pass landmark 4,630 m is not a replacement for that figure. Water was not mapped to named WaterSource points.

Water was not mapped to named WaterSource points (no honest atFraction). Streams and camps exist on published descriptions; they were not positioned from an official named list this pass.

Water

No water sources recorded.

Permits & fees

No permit required.

Getting there

Sourced legs to the Soraypampa (schematic start) base start station — where this trail record begins. This is not a route planner: durations are approximate and marked provisional until an official transport page confirms them.

Road · Cusco (CUZ) → Soraypampa / Mollepata approaches
Road from Cusco toward Mollepata / Soraypampa. Schematic start is the OSM hamlet Soraypampa, not Mollepata district. Airport identity: Wikipedia Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport, checked 2026-09-09. Walking-permit status for this corridor is unverified on the trail record. If continuing to the citadel, the 2026 Llaqta de Machupicchu ticket is a separate reservation (https://www.gob.pe/institucion/cultura/noticias/1290142-ministerio-de-cultura-inicia-hoy-el-proceso-de-venta-de-boletos-de-ingreso-a-la-red-de-caminos-inka-y-a-la-llaqta-de-machupicchu-para-2026, checked 2026-09-09).
en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-09 · wikidata · official · provisional

No rail to the schematic start. Exit is commonly Machupicchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes). Do not treat this corridor as the classic Inca Trail network (operator-arranged Camino Inka ticket and February closure apply to that record, not this one).

Plan from your location

Type a city, then pick a match. These links open external search tools — they do not fetch fares or timetables.

Getting there car-free

Soraypampa (schematic start): car-free flag unknown.
Machupicchu Pueblo (schematic end): car-free flag unknown.

Trailheads

Soraypampa (schematic start) car-free: unknown
Cusco (CUZ) is the usual international air gateway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Velasco_Astete_International_Airport, checked 2026-09-09, CC BY-SA). Road continues toward Mollepata / Soraypampa. This pin is the OSM hamlet, not Mollepata district.
Machupicchu Pueblo (schematic end) car-free: unknown
OSM named node Machupicchu Pueblo (Aguas Calientes). A 2026 Llaqta de Machupicchu ticket is a separate reservation from any walking-corridor status (Ministerio de Cultura, checked 2026-09-09).

Hazards

Altitude / AMS: DEM line max 4,626 m. Salkantay Pass landmark is 4,630 m (Wave P evidence, 2026-09-21) — a landmark, not a replacement for the line max.
Not the classic Inca Trail. Relation 15703494 is related and not merged.
If continuing to the citadel, the 2026 Llaqta de Machupicchu ticket is a separate reservation (https://www.gob.pe/institucion/cultura/noticias/1290142-ministerio-de-cultura-inicia-hoy-el-proceso-de-venta-de-boletos-de-ingreso-a-la-red-de-caminos-inka-y-a-la-llaqta-de-machupicchu-para-2026, checked 2026-09-09).

Questions

Do I need a permit for Salkantay Trek?

No government walking permit is reported for Salkantay Trek. That report is secondary — confirm before travel.

How difficult is Salkantay Trek?

Salkantay Trek is graded OSM sac_scale: hiking · SAC T1 (mapped — no official SAC grade) · YDS 1. A sourced hazard on this record: Altitude / AMS: DEM line max 4,626 m. Salkantay Pass landmark is 4,630 m (Wave P evidence, 2026-09-21) — a landmark, not a replacement for the line max.

How long is Salkantay Trek?

The OSM 2-D length on this record is 75.08 km (provisional). Published figures may differ. See /guides/how-long-is-the-trail

How do I get to Salkantay Trek?

The record’s base start is Soraypampa (schematic start). A primary gateway on the record is Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (CUZ). Trailhead transit notes are not included in this public FAQ.