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Traveler Blogs:
Clients Blogging About AE


The best way to understand the experience of travelling with Alpaca is reading and watching what others have experienced with us. Enjoy some of the best blogs and videos created by our amazing clients showcasing their time with the Green Machine.

 

INCA TRAIL


Review of the Classic Inca Trail (with Alpaca Expeditions)

Last summer we did the Classic Inca Trail with Alpaca Expeditions. It was an amazing experience! As we navigated the ancient paths that once echoed with the footsteps of the Inca civilization, the ...

Epic Inca Trail Adventure to Machu Picchu

As you gear up for the epic journey that is the Inca Trail, you’re on the brink of an extraordinary adventure that blends history, nature, and a touch of personal magic. Imagine walking in the fo...

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

This is a post some twenty years in the making. So many of us, I think, have seen a photo of Machu Picchu and thought, “Wow! I wanna go there.” I know I did, and for a couple of decades I let t...

Your Complete Guide to the Traditional Inca Trail (+ Best Tour)

The Traditional Inca Trail trek through the Andean peaks of Peru needs to be on every traveler’s bucketlist. Embarking on a high-altitude hike through some of the most scenic swathes of Peruvian ...

Machu Picchu Hike & Trek Guide

How do you hike Machu Picchu and do a multiple day trek? It can be very overwhelming and the simplest solution honestly is to hire a tour company.

I will give a ton of tips on how to do it y...

Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu Hike: A Complete Guide

Congratulations! Have you decided to visit the majestic Machu Picchu via the famous Inca Trail? This is definitely one of the most popular thing to do in South America. Sounds like a big adventure;...

Hiking the Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Of all the trips and countries I have visited in my life, it was my time hiking the Classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu that is without a doubt my most memorable. The spectacular ruins, the friendly...

Hiking The Classic Incan Trail 4 Days 3 Nights

Day 1: This is our first day hiking the Classic Incan Trail to Machu Picchu. We had an early wake up call at 3:35am to be ready for our 4am bus pickup.
Day 2: Today was the longest and most d...

Inca Trail: Once in a Lifetime Experience

Inca Trail seemed a surprising travel destination for us. Although we are very active and fairly fit physically, we are not hikers, and never campers. The idea of sleeping in a tent on the ground w...

Photoblog: Hiking the Inca Trail

Traveling to Peru to hike the Inca Trail has hands down been my favorite trip. Two of my friends (Samantha & Reagan) and I spent several months making plans to spend spring break 2018 in Peru. ...

The Ultimate Inca Trail to Machu Picchu Hike Guide - An Alpaca Expeditions Review

So you’ve decided you want to hike the Inca Trail and see Machu Picchu. You’re excited as heck and you may have even booked your flight there but when it comes time to plan it all, you’re utt...

10 Reasons You Should Hike the Inca Trail with Alpaca Expeditions

When you first decide to hike the Inca Trail you’re going to have a lot to do and a lot of decisions to make! First and foremost, I recommend picking the tour company you’re going to go with. I...

Checkfront Travels: A Culinary Experience in Machu Picchu

Checkfront Travels is a new series on the blog where our team members tell stories about their various adventures abroad. In this article, Scott shares with you his experience trekking to Machu Pic...

A Four-Day Hike On The Inca Trail To Machu Picchu

Last week, I returned from a four-day Inca trail hike to Machu Picchu, an excursion my friend and I had been planning for over a year. Stone stair cases, high altitude passes, Incan history: The tr...

Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

If our trip to South America was a book, some sort of road trip adventure with a narrative arc, then the Inca Trail would probably be the climactic chapter. That’s the way we had both built i...

All You Need to Know About Hiking the Inca Trail

Have you heard me say enough times yet that hiking the Inca Trail is an incredible e...

Alpaca Expeditions: The Good, The Bad And the Ugly

So, you want to hike to Machu Picchu? Good choice. Taking a train or hiring a car is for bums, and you’re more interested in working out your bum instead. Hiking to Machu Picchu is the only way t...

Your Guide on Hiking Machu Picchu

As one of the Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu offers Incan ruins and unbeatable views, all set to the backdrop of the Andes Mountains with the Urubamba River tumbling below. I...

Worth The Blisters

Our wake up call was early, 3:30am. We rolled out of bed, threw the last of our gear together and headed out the door to meet Joaquin and our driver. Before long we had ascended out of Cusco and we...

Machu Picchu, Peru, Travels Inca Trail, Peru

Definitely not an easy trek at all those high elevations and all that up and down (or as our guide Yoel likes to call them “Inca Flats”). With Alpaca Expeditions, we didn’t have to worry abou...

On the Inca Trail with Chef “Super” Mario

There was a vibrant yellow tablemat that caught my eye as I entered the green dining tent. Made of alpaca fiber, it had Inca designs woven into it in red, green, and blue, which were a perfect cont...

Inca Trail: By the Senses

I turned 40 in September.  So far, forty is most certainly fabulous.  In addition to running the NYC Marathon at the beginning of November, my husband and I celebrated this milestone birthday wit...

Hiking the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu

Jackson and I had already been traveling for 2 and a half months before we arrived in Cusco, Peru. It was exciting to meet up with everyone, although immediately we encountered problems…

...

Inca Trail 2013

Last year October, I completed an adventure of a lifetime:  The Inca Trail.  When I first signed up for it (a few months beforehand) with my friends, I had already some doubts in managing it and ...

Anmol, Do You Have My Phone?

Even as the question came out of my mouth, I knew the answer. He didn’t have it. It was sitting on the roof of an outhouse all the way back up the trail we had just climbed down. And this wasn’...

Anmol, Do You Have My Phone?

Even as the question came out of my mouth, I knew the answer. He didn’t have it. It was sitting on the roof of an outhouse all the way back up the trail we had just climbed down. And this wasn’...

Day 3 Inca Trail

Today was a sheer delight, with walks through beautiful jungle, amazing mountain vistas, and more ruins. Although we were awakened at 5:30 am to frost covered ground, the dining tent was toasty war...

Cuzco & the Inca Trail

When most relationships become serious couples talk about getting married and having babies. At that stage of our relationship, the discussions were about getting married and hiking the Inca Trail ...

El Camino de Inca

After 3 long days of walking and a very early start on the fourth, the “champions team” – as we were very aptly named by our guide, Valentin from Alpaca Expeditions – wa...

The Sacred Valley: Incredible Inca Trail, Marvellous Machu Picchu and Awesome Ollantaytambo

Hiking the Inca trail is different to other treks to Machu Picchu (MP) namely because you are following almost exactly the same route the Incas walked 400 years ago on their way from Cusco to MP. D...

Alpaca Expeditions Full Review – Inca Trail Hike

Following all the advice we had been given regarding the Inca Trail, we decided to book way in advance to avoid disappointment. After much debate, the company we have finally settled on for the Inc...

In Pictures: The Inca Trail, Peru

The Inca Trail is one of the most popular hikes in the world and also a top traveller’s destination. Visitors to Peru brave the often grueling high alpine four-day trek through cloud forests, jun...

SALKANTAY TREK


inca trail to machu picchu tours | Alpaca Expeditions

The Best Alternative Trek to Machu Picchu

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  • Written by: Written by Diana & Hope

The Best Alternative Trek to Machu Picchu

That’s why I would argue that the best way to see Machu Picchu is by taking a multi-day trek there. While most opt for the Inca Trail, this overcrowded trail isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking for the best alternative trek to Machu Picchu, opt for the Salkantay Trek with Alpaca Expeditions…


A Beautiful Hike to Machu Picchu, Peru

Salkantay Trek is no longer an overlooked brother of Inca Trail (how it can even be when the National Geographic Adventure Travel Magazine named it among the 25 best treks in the world!) and definitely not only an alternative for those who don’t have enough money or who cannot plan their holiday several months in advance to make a reservation for the more traditional hike.


Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu with Alpaca Expedition

On October 2017, we visited Peru for the first time. Our time on the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu with Alpaca Expeditions opened our eyes to the vast beauty of the Andes.  We crossed the Salkantay pass at 4,600 m, walked through cloud forests, and slept in camp sites surrounded by mountains.  The experience was more than I ever expected.


Category: Salkantay and Ausangate with Alpaca Expeditions

Read a number of entries for multi-day treks! Includes video posts, pictures, and entries filled with valuable information. Thank you to contributors for sharing.


The ABCs of Salkantay

Literally: an A-Z review of Laura’s experience hiking Machu Picchu with Alpaca Expeditions. Spoiler alert… we steal the “A” slot quite well!


The Trek Less Traveled

We are safe and sound in Bolivia, after an absolutely amazing time in Peru. Almost a week ago we were on our way to begin our five-day trek to Machu Picchu. We chose the path less traveled- the Salkantay Trek vs the classic Incan Trail, and we were glad that we did. The trek, to our surprise, ended up being just


Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu with Alpaca Expeditions

This is our group that set out at 4.25am from Cusco to tackle the Salkantay Pass and onwards to Machu Picchu. Silvio, our guide, unfortunately is not in the picture but he, at times, literally dragged us up and down the mountains and to him we all owe a special thanks. Also a huge thanks to everyone at Alpaca Expeditions who were.


Salkantay Trek to Take Us to Machu Picchu

With the Inca trail passes selling out months in advance and our lack of forward planning throughout our trip, we chose the popular alternative Salkantay trek to take us to Machu Picchu. Day 1 and we were picked up at 4:30 in the morning by our guide Efra and taken on a sleepy 3-hour.


The Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

Peru is a country of rich cultural history, beautiful landscapes and friendly people. If you’re like me then your interest in visiting Peru likely stemmed from wanting to explore the Modern World Wonder of Machu Picchu.


LARES TREK


Hiking the Lares Trek to Machu Picchu

Just over a month ago I got to cross off a major item on my bucket list and one of the Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu! If you’re reading this I’d imagine you might be planning your own trip to Machu Picchu, and are wondering what’s the best way to get there. Well, the truth is getting to Machu Picchu is not so straight-forward and will require a bit of planning. But don’t worry, I’m here to guide you through it!


Written by: Donna at Life Over Stuff

Lares Trek

Henry our guide from Alpaca Expeditions meets us at our hotel for our Lares trek briefing the night before. It is a private trek with only the two of us. We are not trekking to Machu Picchu so will do the typical Lares trek in reverse. This way the trek ends at the hot springs in Lares.


Written by: Ray & Sue at Travel and Wildlife Photography

Navel of the World

Nestled between the city of Cusco and Machu Picchu, the Lares Valley is an unforgettable trek through the Peruvian Andes. Passing through small Quechua farming and weaving villages, it offers a rare and colorful insight into traditional Andean Life. Being welcomed by the friendly and curious children in the village of Huaca Wasi is an experience I will cherish.


Written by: Irena via Vimeo

Lares Trek to Machu Picchu - Is This Peruvian Hike for You?

The Lares Trek to Machu Picchu is one of the alternative hiking routes to the famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail actually books up at least six months in advance and only a certain amount of passes are available each day, therefore, the Lares is a great alternative for those who are less committed to a trek date (like ourselves, Gemma and Craig).


Written by: Gemma and Craig at Two Scots Abroad

Hiking the Lares Trek to Machu Picchu

Just over a month ago I got to cross off a major item on my bucket list and one of the Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu! If you’re reading this I’d imagine you might be planning your own trip to Machu Picchu, and are wondering what’s the best way to get there. Well, the truth is getting to Machu Picchu is not so straight-forward and will require a bit of planning. But don’t worry, I’m here to guide you through it!


Written by: Life Over Stuff

HUCHUY QOSQO


The Pinnacle of South America – Machu Picchu

Hailed as the number one must see attraction in the whole of South America, Machu Picchu was somewhere that we both were super excited about visiting. For those of you that are not too familiar with Machu Picchu (and I’m sure there are not too many of you!), it is a 15th century Inca site that…


Written by: Florence Murphy at Next Stop Who Knows

Huchuy Qosco, The Alternative Inca Trail

Doing this trail was one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life (both figuratively and literally – You try walking uphill with the altitude change!). Seeing Machu Picchu is something I’ve wanted to do for so so long, so I wanted to make sure I got as much as I could out of it.


Written by: Teffy at Sprinkle of Green

SACRED VALLEY


Sacred Valley, Peru

The Sacred Valley of the Incas is located close to Cusco making it a great sightseeing day-trip.  The Sacred Valley was part of the Inka empire and today the region still has archaeological sites at Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero and Moray. Since we were going with Alpaca Expeditions for our Inca Trail 4D/3N tour…


Written by: TravelGirl6 at Vacation Travel Log

AUSANGATE


Ausangate Trek

The Ausangate Trek is a 43 mile backpacking trip that runs through one of the most beautiful landscapes in the Andes. Read a number of entries on this experience.


Written by: Various Sources at Trail to Peak

TRIPADVISOR RECOGNITIONS


Our goal at Alpaca Expeditions is to create the best experience for all of our clients. We create journeys that are to be remembered for a lifetime. Journeys you can be proud of and can share with everybody around you.


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