Salkantay Trek or Inca Trail: The Road Less Travelled or the Royal Trail? The Incas used many trails to approach their most revered site, Machu Picchu, and you too have alternatives to the most well-known, the Royal Road of the Incas. Have you considered the Salkantay Trek? Let us compare the two.

Built 500 years ago, the Salkantay Trek is more challenging than the Inca Trail. The 62 km trek can be done in the recommended 5 days, or 4 days if you are short of time. This trek is longer than the 43 km Inca Trail, and you do not need a permit in advance for the trek, as you do for the Inca Trail. You must book the Inca Trail trek at least 3 months in advance and can expect no refunds or flexibility if you need to make changes. This is a very crowded and regulated trek, with over 200 people on the trail at any given time – a veritable royal highway! The Salkantay Trek is the road less travelled and less crowded – more difficult and wilder.

You will have a chance to admire stunning views of the Salkantay and Humantay glaciers, view the spectacular ruins of Machu Picchu and relax at the Santa Teresa hot springs. This trail is different from the Inca Trail: the only ruin you will see along the way is Llactapata, and rather than hiking into Machu Picchu through the Inti Punku you will arrive in Aguas Calientes and have the opportunity to take the bus to the ruins or walk the path at a time of your choosing. While this might deter some from this trek, the compensations are: fewer trekkers, more time to meet the locals and a more undiluted trekking experience. There are very basic facilities, with basic or no toilet facilities and cold or no shower facilities.