Amazon Adventures

Peru

Salkantay Route to Machu Picchu, in Comfortable Lodges

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT LIST

Here is a basic packing list. These items are essential to ensure adventure travelers’ comfort and safety.
DAY PACK
BROKEN-IN COMFORTABLE HIKING BOOTS
RAIN GEAR (PONCHOS OR FULL RAIN GEAR)
GLOVES
LIGHTWEIGHT HIKING PANTS OR SHORTS (PANTS RECOMMENDED).
BREATHEABLE LIGHTWEIGHT TOP-WEAR
COMFORTABLE SHOES / FLIP-FLOPS
COLD-WEATHER JACKET
LONG-SLEEVE FLEECE / SWEATER
WOOL HAT
SPORT HAT (BASEBALL STYLE OR SOMBRERO STYLE OUTDOOR HAT)
HEADLIGHT
SUNGLASSES
COMFORTABLE HIKING SOCKS (4 PAIRS AT LEAST!)
SUNSCREEN
INSECT REPELLENT
BATHING SUIT
CASUAL MOUNTAIN WEAR FOR EVENINGS
PHOTO/VIDEO CAMERAS & CHARGERS
TREKKING POLES (MLP PROVIDES QUALITY WOODEN WALKING STICKS)
RE-FILLABLE WATER BOTTLE
LIGHT-WEIGHT, SMALL BINOCULARS

Notes.-
• We appreciate no hard suitcases or carry-ons; soft duffel bags and / or backpacks (“soft” luggage) are recommended.
• Sleeping bags are not required as the lodges provide ample bedding.
• We provide a limited amount of hair-dryers at each lodge, due to limitations in energy supply and environmental concerns.
• At the 1st lodge, all guests are provided with an “Ammenity Kit” that includes bath gel, shampoo, conditioner, mositurizing cream and a shower cap. This Ammenity Kit will be given to guests at the first lodge and guests should pack the kit in their luggage, as there are no additional kits once you leave the first lodge.

Although THANK YOU is always enough to put a big smile on the faces of our employees, we encourage tipping as one of the many ways to reward that extra effort put into every days’ work. Most of our employees – not to say all – are locals who have only just been introduced into the tourism industry. As you will see in their eyes and in the pride they put into every single task they accomplish, they all share a will to progress and a passion for personal and professional excellence.
The following are ONLY GUIDELINES and should not be interpreted as mandatory maximum or minimums. This is meant to guide you, should you decide to reward any of our employees with a gratuity.

1.HOSPITALITY AND TREK TIPS:
TOTAL = US$ 50.00 PER GUEST. This tip is evenly distributed amongst the hospitality staff at all four lodges and the trek service personnel (assistant guides, cooks, assistant cooks, wranglers, porters).
2. GUIDES’ TIPS
We suggest US$ 40 per guest for the Lead Guide and US $20 per guest for the Assistant Guide. This may be handed directly to the guides.
3. SPECIAL TIPS
You are also welcome to tip a specific member of the staff if you feel that you have been cared for extraordinarily by one person.
The hospitality and trek gratuities may be paid for in one of the following ways:
- Pre-charged on the credit card form at the time of booking.
- Charged by credit card at the last lodge.
- Cash may be handed to your guide at the first lodge and he/she will give it to the Front Desk Manager and it will be distributed to the staff during the duration of the trip.
We always recommend that guests carry US Dollars in bills of small denomination

Important Baggage Specifications
Peru Rail, the company that operates the trains from Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu to Cusco, instated on July 9, 2008 a new weight limit for all luggage coming on board the trains.
The new weight limits from Peru Rail (and thus for the trek) are as follows:
1 backpack – 11 lbs / 5 kg (per person, which guests carry with them on the train)
AND
1 duffel bag – 22 lbs / 10 kg (per person, which goes on a separate cargo train)
Anything over this weight limit, Peru Rail will charge guests directly at the train station in Aguas Calientes (Rate: US$0.82 per pound extra or US$1.80 per kg extra). Please note that we do not charge a penalty for surpassing the weight allowance established by Peru Rail.
Most Cusco hotels will allow guests to store extra luggage at the hotel while guests are on the trek. Please inquire directly with your pre-trek hotel. If your hotel does not provide this service please advise MLP of this.
If you do not have an appropriate sized duffel bag, we can provide a duffel bag for loan at the pre-trek briefing (the night before departure). You may return them to your guide after the trek.
Please note that your luggage will now be on board a separate cargo train from Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu to Cusco. This means your luggage will not travel with you on this portion of the trip. Therefore, on Day 7 before you depart for Machu Picchu, will be the last time you see your luggage until you return to your Cusco hotel that evening. If you wish to have a change of clothes or anything else you may want with you that day, please pack it in your backpack that morning.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the weight limit for luggage/clothing/equipment that each traveler can take on the trek?
A: THE WEIGHT LIMIT FOR THE TREK IS 15KG / 35 lbs PER GUEST, AS THIS IS THE MAXIMUM WEIGHT THAT MULES AND PORTERS CAN CARRY. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT “HARD” LUGGAGE POSES A PROBLEM; SOFT, “DUFFEL- BAG” TYPE LUGGAGE IS RECOMMENDED.

Q: What should guests do with their remaining bags and clothing?
A: REMAINING LUGGAGE CAN BE STORED IN CUSCO AT YOUR PRE-TREK HOTEL.

Q: How is luggage transported from lodge to lodge? Is it with us at all times?
A: GUESTS SHOULD CARRY A DAY-PACK WITH THEM WITH EVERYTHING THEY NEED FOR THE DAY. MULES AND PORTERS CARRYING THE LUGGAGE WILL NOT WALK WITH THE GROUP. YOUR LUGGAGE WILL MEET YOU UPON AT ARRIVAL AT EACH LODGE.

Q: What is the weather like on the Salkantay trek during the year?
SEE DATA CHART ON PAGE 17 FOR AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
A: WEATHER IN THE REGION IS EXTREMELY VARIABLE AND YOU SHOULD PACK FOR A VARIETY OF CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION, OUR TREK PASSES THROUGH 9 BIO-ZONES RANGING FROM HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINE CONDITIONS TO HIGH JUNGLE. HERE IS A ROUGH GUIDELINE:
DECEMBER-MARCH: RAIN/COLD
APRIL-JUNE: FAIR
JULY-AUGUST: DRY/COLD
SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER: OCCASSIONAL RAIN/FAIR

Q: How many guides will be with the group on the trek? Is it only over a certain number that a second guide is added, or for emergency purposes, will there always be 2 guides?
A: WE WORK WITH ONE GUIDE FOR GROUPS UP TO 7 TRAVELERS. FOR GROUPS OF 8 TO 14 WE HAVE AN ASSISTANT GUIDE. HOWEVER, THE COOKS AND THE HORSEMEN KNOW THE AREA AND THE TREK VERY WELL AND ARE ABLE TO ASSIST THE GUIDES AT ALL TIMES; EVEN IN CASES OF EMERGENCY EVACUATION.

Q: What kind of emergency procedures are in place if a guest injures themselves in a way that disables them from continuing the trek (i.e. falls and breaks a leg)? What is the nearest hospital and how can they get there? Can the rest of the group continue without them or must they all turn around?
A: THERE IS BASIC MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND ATTENTION AT THE LODGES; THE MLP PERSONNEL TRAVELING WITH THE GROUP ARE TRAINED TO HANDLE EMERGENCIES. MLP ALSO WORKS WITH A MEDICAL HELICOPTER RESCUE OPERATION FOR EMERGENCIES. FOR MINOR MEDICAL ATTENTION THAT CANNOT BE TAKEN CARE OF AT THE LODGES BUT WHICH REQUIRE SPECIAL MEDICAL ATTENTION, THE NEAREST MEDICAL CENTERS, IN THE WORST CASE, ARE ONE DAY DISTANCE BY HORSE OR MULE. GUIDES CARRY FULL FIRST AID KIT AND PORTABLE OXYGEN WITH THEM AT ALL TIMES.

Q: Do the guides have naturalist training of any kind?
A: WE WORK WITH THE BEST GUIDES IN CUSCO. THESE GUIDES ARE ALSO TRAINED ON THE ROUTE AND IN THE FULL OPERATION OF THE LODGES AND THE PRODUCT. WE WILL HAVE SPECIALIST GUIDES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST (BIRD SPECIALISTS, HISTORY SPECIALISTS, ETC.)

Q: Do clients carry their lunch food in their daypacks?
A: ON DAYS 3, 5, AND 6, WHICH CALL FOR A PICNIC LUNCH EN ROUTE, LUNCH WILL BE PREPARED FRESH ON-SITE BY THE COOKS AND WILL CONSIST IN HOT SOUP, GOURMET SANDWICHES OR A HOT LUNCH, SNACKS AND SALADS. ADDITIONALLY, GUESTS WILL BE HANDED A ¨SNACK-PACK¨ TO CARRY IN THEIR DAY PACKS WITH DRY FRUITS, PEANUTS, CHOCOLATES AND FRESH FRUITS.

Q: What is the electrical current found at the lodges if a guest wants to use their own electrical appliances?
A: THE LODGES HAVE AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT OF 220 VOLTS. IF GUESTS HAVE ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES THAT WORK WITH 110 VOLTS, THEY SHOULD BRING THEIR OWN ADAPTORS SINCE THERE ARE IS A LIMITED SUPPLY OF THESE IN THE LODGES FOR THEIR USE.

Q: Where do we meet our group/guide? When and where will we be picked-up on Day 1?
A: THERE IS A PRE-TREK BRIEFING THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE WITH YOUR GUIDE/GROUP AT A LOCAL CUSCO HOTEL. WE WILL CONTACT YOU AT YOUR CUSCO HOTEL TO GIVE YOU THE EXACT TIME AND PLACE OF THE BRIEFING.

Q: What is the terrain like? How challenging is it?
A: THE TREK IS RATED AS MODERATE TO CHALLENGING AND COVERS APPROXIMATELY 32 MILES ON UNEVEN, ROCKY TERRAIN. DAY 3 IS THE MOST CHALLENGING WITH AN ELEVATION GAIN OF 3,000 FEET IN A SPAN OF 3 MILES TO REACH A MAXIMUM ALTITUDE OF 15,000 FEET. PRIOR HIKING EXPERIENCE IS RECOMMENDED AS THIS IS NOT A NOVICE HIKE. PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.