Sleep beneath moon-lit glaciers on the Salkantay trail

So you've just touched down in Cusco with grand plans to tackle the legendary Inca trail. But - doh! - no-one told you that you need to book the Inca trail months in advance and you're cursing like a trooper for having missed out on one of the highlights of South America.

But don't despair dear traveller, for an alternative Inca trail awaits in the form of the Salkantay track. It may lack some of the archaeological splendors of the classic Inca trail, but it definitely kicks high-altitude arse when it comes to dramatic scenery. 

The Salkantay trek follows an old Inca road that was - and still is - used by farmers and ordinary folk. It takes three nights and 53 kilometres to reach Aguas Calientes (the town just below Machu Picchu) and the trek traverses high-alpine passes (the loftiest point is a breathtaking 4,600 metres above sea level), skirts turquoise glacial lakes, passes through cloudforest and jungle and finally follows the train line to Aguas Calientes with the magnificent Machu Picchu peaking out from overhead.

On this challenging trail you'll pass snow-capped mountains, verdant valleys, natural hot springs, raging rivers, traditional Andean communities and sleep in flimsy tents beneath moon-illuminated glaciers. On the first day or two you'll freeze your extremities off and possibly suffer from altitude sickness (headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath, loss of appetite), but conditions get warmer and easier as you descend towards the steaming jungle.

If you go with a tour group, as most people do, a team of horses and horsemen will carry your gear, an expert guide will hold your hand through any altitude sickness and a group of cooks will whip up three delicious hot meals a day. It's hardly roughing it!

The first three nights are spent in tents, while the final night is spent in a hotel in Aguas Calientes, where you can soak in the hot springs before waking up before dawn on the fifth day to either climb the hill or catch the first bus to Machu Picchu. If you have any energy left at all, be sure to attempt the one-hour climb to Wayna Picchu - the spectacular mountain fortress which lords it over the lost city of the Incas.