Salkantay Mountains

Salkantay is the highest summit of the Vilcabamba range, west of Cusco. Its snow and ice rise above a landscape of high passes, deep valleys and forested slopes descending toward the Urubamba. The mountain stands close to the country traversed by Inca roads between the highlands and the eastern forest. Its steep relief and changing climate mark the transition from the cold Andean heights to the warmer valleys below.