Salkantay Trek vs Inca Trail

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So I’ve finally finished writing up our experiences on the Salkantay Trek and the Inca Trail. If you are interested in reading them then please click on the links.

But I was asked by a friend about my thoughts of the treks and which one I preferred, and as I was writing them up I was deliberating it in my mind. So I thought I’d write down some of my thoughts.

Should you combine the two treks?

So the first thing I was thinking about was were we correct to combine the two treks as we did. For those of you who haven’t read the full reports yet, we took the 5-day Salkantay Trek (in reality 4 days) and the 4-day Inca Trail and put them back to back, getting rid of the extra day in Machu Picchu and reducing the pointless transport back and forth to Cusco half way through (thanks to Salkantay Trekking for enabling us to do this). Cutting out parts of the treks meant that we didn’t pay the full price for the two expeditions either (although I’d be lying if I said it was cheap).

So was this a good decision? Overall, I’d say yes. We were both very glad to have had both experiences. Was it tough going? Yes, absolutely. After the fourth day of the Salkantay Trek we were both pretty destroyed and it is fortunate that the first day of the Inca Trail is not so strenuous.

Having said that, there are certainly changes we may have made looking back. Firstly, there is already a 7-day trek that combines the first part of the Salkantay Trek with the Inca Trail. We didn’t do this as we didn’t want to miss out on half of the Salkantay Trek. But to be honest, the best bits about the Salkantay Trek were Humantay Lake, the Sky Domes and the hike to the Salkantay Pass; all of which you would still experience during the 7-day trek. Whilst walking to Llactapata on the fourth day was impressive in it’s own way, with nice views over the valley and then the view towards Machu Picchu, I wouldn’t be too sad to miss it. And the third day, I’d happily get rid of all of it.

Another possible option is to try and combine the ‘4-day Salkantay Trek’ (in reality 3 days) with the ‘4-day Inca Trail’ to form a 7-day trek (again cutting out the extra day in Machu Picchu and the unnecessary travelling). The 4-day Salkantay Trek misses out the wasted afternoon on the third day and the hike up to Llactapata on the fourth day. It would be another way of combining what I think are the best bits of the Salkantay Trek with the Inca Trail.

Of course I may have enjoyed the fourth day of the Salkantay Trek more if I had not been covered in itchy insect bites. So perhaps not going to the hot springs would have made the most difference to my enjoyment of the treks!

What are the best and worst bits of the Salkantay Trek?

So now let’s look at the two treks individually, starting with the Salkantay Trek

Parts that I enjoyed about the Salkantay Trek:

• The Humantay Lake was beautiful and well worth the climb up to get there.
• The Sky Domes during the first night were amazing. If you get a clear sky then you fall asleep surrounded by millions of stars.
• The hike up to the Salkantay Pass and the Pass itself were both spectacular. This was the best bit of hiking of both treks.
• I think the walk from the Salkantay Pass into the rainforest would have been really nice if we had had better weather.
• The variety of the nature around you is excellent.
• Whilst I wasn’t so fussed, Radka enjoyed the hike up to Llactapata on the fourth day.

Parts that weren’t great:

• The whole of the third day was a bit of a waste. The walk in the morning wasn’t great. The coffee experience was nice enough if you’re into that sort of thing. The hot springs were a disaster in terms of the organisation and then the swarms of flies.
• The fourth day was 27km despite being advertised as less. It was a bit much and got repetitive towards the end, as the last 10km is flat along the railway line.

Another thought that I have on the trek is related to how it is advertised. It is supposed to be an alternative to the Inca Trail that is more disconnected and in touch with the natural surroundings. But this just isn’t true. Apart from most of the second day, you’re never too far away from a town or farm or road. You sleep in huts that have electricity and wifi (at least some of the time) and there are options for coffee experiences and hot spring trips. Whilst the huts were very nice and the Sky Domes were one of the highlights of the trek, it doesn’t really match with how it is advertised. The Inca Trail on the other hand, once you leave the villages half way through the first day, you are pretty separated from other people until you reach Machu Picchu. During non-COVID times I’m sure the masses of extra people actually doing the Inca Trail would some what negate this argument, but it is still something to consider.

What are the best and worst bits of the Inca Trail?

And now onto the second trek.

Parts that I enjoyed about the Inca Trail:

• I really enjoyed having the Incan ruins as part of the trek. It really added to the experience and brought a sense of anticipation as you walked towards Machu Picchu. It helps to remind you that you are travelling an ancient route that these people would have walked hundreds of years ago. Plus, some of the ruins are worth visiting just on their own as they are impressive structures in beautiful settings.
• The variety of nature you journey through is still really nice, although probably not as varied as the Salkantay Trek.
• Having Machu Picchu as an end point is pretty special. I know that the normal Salkantay Trek also includes this but in my opinion it is kind of ‘shoe-horned in’. With the Inca Trail there is a natural progression to the walk and it builds up to the related end point. You wouldn’t get this progression and anticipation with the Salkantay Trek.

Parts that weren’t that great:

• The steps can be a killer! I much preferred the mountain trails of the Salkantay Trek as opposed to the steps taking you up to the passes on the Inca Trail.
• From a hiking perspective, the passes aren’t quite as spectacular as those on the Salkantay Trek. Don’t get me wrong, the view from the Dead Woman’s Pass is still really nice, it’s just not as good as the Salkantay Pass.
• The throngs of people at Machu Picchu. But this would have been the same if we had included Machu Picchu on our Salkantay Trek instead.

Which trail is for you?

Do your research before choosing which trek to attempt. It very much depends on what you are looking for in a trek but from my limited experience…

You should do the Salkantay Trek if:

• you prefer natural highlights to historical ones. Whilst the nature on the Inca Trail is also excellent, the natural highlights on the Salkantay Trek are better.
• you don’t like to sleep in tents. The Sky Domes and other huts are more comfortable than sleeping in tents on the Inca Trail.
• you have a smaller budget. One thing that I didn’t like to focus on too much is the price. The Salkantay Trek is a day longer, there are better facilities with your accommodation and yet it is still significantly cheaper.
• you want to see less people. During COVID the numbers on the two treks were pretty similar but this wouldn’t normally be the case, as the Inca Trail is much more popular.

You should do the Inca Trail if:

• you enjoy learning about the Incas and experiencing their former towns and cities.
• you want to feel more disconnected with the outside world (although this may or may not still be the case when it more busy). Sleeping in tents also makes the trip feel more authentic (although only to an extent – you don’t carry most of your equipment in either hike).
• you want to feel a progression to your hike.

Which was my favourite trek?

So despite the Salkantay Pass possibly being the highlight of the whole trip, the winner is still the Inca Trail. I just feel that it is a better put together hike. I love the combination of nature and history and there is something special about approaching Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate, an experience you wouldn’t get if you just did the Salkantay Trek. They are both amazing experiences but if you could only do one, I’d still choose to do the Inca Trail.