5-Day Salkantay Trek to MachuPicchu with Optional Hot Spring Bath

Deception

I booked the 5 days Salkantay Trek with another company without knowing that KB Adventures would be the organizing operator. The trek in itself was amazing, the food was good and I recommend to do this tour if you don't mind if it's quite crowdy. However not with this company. They have been too many different informations for not to say wrong informations. Sadly the list is long, I am gonna pick the big ones to share with you. I was told in Cusco that I will be with a guide from Cusco to Cusco. I was also told that I would be better to buy the Machu Pichu ticket in Aguas Calientes with the guide to be in the same group at the same hour. At the third night our leading guide, Maritza, told me that it would be better for me to skip the hike to Hydroelectrika to be earlier in Aguas calientes to buy the Machu Pichu ticket. She came up with that information at 9pm when it was hardly possible to communicate with my booking agency in Cusco. Another member of our groupe got a similar situation the next day at the same hour about the guiding in Machu Pichu. I do not understand why Maritza was waiting so late with these bad news. I totally understand that it is not her fault that the agencies have a cruel lack of communication (or do not care?), but - even if it is uncomfortable for her and Fernando the second guide - it is part of her job to find solutions and stay polite. Finally I skipped that hike to be early in Aguas Calientes. She announced us an additional fee of 30 soles pp. The transfer bus was one hour late, then we had to hike on ourselves to Aguas Calientes and to buy the tickets without the guide. She made us buy tickets for 6am and the next day we woke up early to be at Machu Pichu at 6am to wait one hour for the other members of our groupe while Maritza was complaining that is was too cold. No guides with us to take the train back. Some other points were confusing to annoying. The main complaint is how the guides handled the problems. We could see that they were annoyed when it came to problem solving. They were more and more tired and less and less likeable. This is not a professional attitude. Even getting the free t-shirt became complicated. Fernando said "Just walk into the office and they will give to you." At the KB office they refused to give us the t-shirts without writing a TripAdvisor review. I told the KB woman that it would better for them if I won't do that, but she remained firm in her position.

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Just a (bad) middleman

Macchu Picchu USA is not a tour operator. Our first surprise came when we reached Cusco and tried to visit their HQ because they were not responding: it is located within a shopping center where no one heard of them. After reaching back through TripAdvisor Customer Support, we finally managed to meet « the guide » which turned out to be a glorified salesman that did not accompany us for the trip. The fake guide promised to arrange a meeting with the group before the tour left but did not deliver - cancelling 1h before. The tour did not go as described: incomplete Macchu Picchu visit, no zipline contrary to what was advertised, no handling of our luggage for the last day of walking contrary to what advised. The tour itself was great but handled by another travel agency, KB tours, which I would recommend if you travel to Cusco. When we informed Macchu Picchu USA of those issues, they proposed to arrange a free tour for us but that we had already done. When informed we already went, they stopped answering our messages. An expensive and unreliable middle man. Go directly to one of the agencies that actually walk the Macchu Picchu treks and avoid paying a hefty margin to incompetents middle man that have no clue what they’re selling.

Response from the operator: We are very surprised by your comment, we are direct operators in Cusco. We also take you through the Inca trail of Llactapata which was an extra service that we have not charged. If you check not many lead this way. We have informed you of everything that happened on the tour, in addition there was a strike on those days and we made it possible for the strike to be suspended, otherwise you would not have been able to know Salkantay, we made it possible by negotiating with the local government in Cusco .. But you can criticize and say that we did not make much effort. I think we were honest and conscientious in giving you a free tour but you didn't accept the offer. Our company is dedicated and committed to offering the best possible service and we apologize for any incident. Greetings Michael.

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Trek of a lifetime

My son was travelling for 4 months in South America and when he asked if I'd like to accompany him to trek and see Machu Pichu I jumped at the chance. The trek was superbly agonised and the food was amazing! I wouldn't say it was easy for a 54 year old but my son and the group and guide we were with kept me going. Worth every day of waking up at 4:45am with a cup of cocoa tea delivered to you! Our guide, Felix, was so knowledgeable about all the history, land and culture so we were well educated along every step of the way. We had the add-ons, with the poles, sleeping bags and the extra day hike to Rainbow Mountain. Totally recommend it to anyone that wants to do it in style and enjoy it!

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Hiking to remember!

Our guide Nilton was part of a sister company called KB Adventures. He was very enthusiastic and helpful along the entire route, took time to check on the group and ensure we were all in good stead. I thoroughly enjoyed this trek. Day 2 is by far the toughest / longest but it all evens out. We were fed well and as a plant based machine I felt very looked after and was rarely hungry - that coupled with pre bought nuts and some delicious chocolate from San Pedro market kept me fuelled up. MachuPicchu USA guide was very informative and was able to help with surplus bags and logistics whilst on the trek. Thank you for all the incredible memories!

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Time of my life -- Carlos and Huevito were fantastic, fun guides!

If you're going to do the Salkantay, I highly recommend booking through Machu Picchu Reservations and asking for Carlos and Huevito. They were both extremely knowledgeable, fun to talk to, and always looking for ways to engage everyone. I've heard some horror stories about other booking services and guides. Trust me: this was the best money I've ever spent. You won't regret it.

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