Most agencies that sell the Salkantay Trek are legitimate and deliver what they promise. But demand for the route also attracts people who take advantage of travelers booking from afar, with little time and no knowledge of the local market. Scams in this sector are rarely sophisticated: they follow a few patterns that repeat season after season. If you know them, you can spot them before paying. These are the most common scams, how to identify each one, and what to do if you have already sent money.
How scams operate in trek sales
Almost all of them combine three elements: a price noticeably lower than the market rate, pressure to pay quickly, and a payment method that leaves no trace or does not allow you to file a claim afterward.
When all three appear together, the likelihood of a problem is high. One alone is not enough to rule out an offer, but it is enough to examine it more carefully.
This is the scam that affects people booking from abroad the most. It consists of copying a real agency’s website, photos, and texts, registering a similar domain, and charging for bookings that will never be operated.
How to recognize a cloned website
Check the domain letter by letter: an extra hyphen, a changed letter, or an unusual extension. See whether the website displays a physical address, a RUC, and a virtual complaints book. Copies often leave out this information or use the original agency’s details, which do not match the person charging you.
Another sign is that the entire process pushes you toward messaging. If the website has no booking system and only a button that takes you to a chat, ask why.
Fake profiles offering tours by message
On social media, recent accounts appear with photos taken from other agencies, disabled comments, and offers sent by direct message even though you did not ask for them. A legitimate agency does not need to contact you first with a last-minute discount.
If they contact you this way, look up the agency yourself, visit its official website, and message them from there. If it is real, the offer will still be available.
Street sales in the Plaza de Armas
In central Cusco, especially around the Plaza de Armas and along Procuradores and Plateros streets, there are salespeople who offer tours on commission. Many work for real agencies, and there is nothing improper about that.
The risk arises when the sale is completed on the street, in cash, without a receipt, and without knowing which agency will operate the trek. If they do not pick you up the next day, you have no one to make a claim to.
If you are interested in a street offer, ask to be taken to the agency’s office and pay there, with a receipt in the company’s name. If the salesperson cannot take you to an office, reject the offer.
Nonexistent Machu Picchu tickets
The Salkantay Trek ends at Machu Picchu, and the entry ticket is the most expensive and most limited-availability part of the package. This is where one of the most damaging scams occurs: selling a trek with entry included but never purchasing the ticket, or providing a fake document.
You find out at the sanctuary entrance, after four or five days of hiking, when there is no possible solution for that day.
To avoid this, ask the agency for the issued ticket several days in advance. It must show your name, passport number, date, time slot, and circuit. If the agency tells you that you will receive it on the route or the night before, during high season that is enough reason to insist.
Tours that change once you reach the route
This scam is more subtle. The tour takes place, but it is not the one you bought.
You paid for a small group and are added to one with twenty people. You booked a dome and sleep in a tent. The itinerary said return by train, but you walk back to Hidroeléctrica. You were promised a Spanish-speaking guide, and the group is conducted in English.
The best way to protect yourself is to have everything in writing before paying: maximum group size, accommodation for each night, return type, guide language, and inclusions. An email with these details turns a promise into a commitment you can claim.
Combining travelers from several agencies into one group is a common and legal practice. What is not acceptable is for that to change the conditions you paid for without informing you.
Safe payment methods and which ones to avoid
The payment method determines what you can do if something goes wrong. Always choose one that gives you a way to file a claim.
Recommended methods
- Credit card through the agency’s website payment gateway, because it allows you to request a chargeback from the bank.
- Payment platforms with buyer protection, using the goods or services payment option rather than the friends and family option.
- Bank transfer to an account in the same legal business name as the agency.
Methods best avoided
- Money transfers through remittance agencies in an individual’s name.
- Transfers to personal accounts that do not match the company name.
- Cryptocurrencies.
- Full cash payment on the street, without a receipt.
Paying a partial deposit to confirm the booking and the balance in Cusco is normal practice in the industry. What is not normal is being asked for the full amount urgently and through a method that leaves no trace.
Before making any payment, it is advisable to verify that the agency formally exists. We explain how in the criteria for verifying whether a Salkantay Trek agency is legal.
What to do if you have already paid and the agency disappears
Act quickly. Time matters, especially when recovering money through the banking system.
Gather the evidence
Save screenshots of the website, conversations, the account details where you paid, and the transfer or charge receipt. Do it before they delete profiles or take down the website.
Contact your bank or payment platform
If you paid by credit card, request a chargeback for services not provided. If you used a platform with buyer protection, open the dispute within the deadline set by the platform.
File a report in Cusco
If you are in Cusco, go to the Tourism Police and file a report. You can also seek guidance from iPerú, the tourist information and assistance service, which channels travelers’ complaints.
If the agency is legitimate but failed to provide the service, use the company’s complaints book and, if it does not respond, contact Indecopi.
Report the profile or website
Report the account or advertisement on the social media platform where it appeared. You will not recover your money this way, but you will help prevent other travelers from falling into the same trap.
Frequently asked questions
Is a very low price always a scam?
Not always. It may be a basic service with large groups and a return via Hidroeléctrica. But if the price is far below the market rate and includes Machu Picchu and the train, the numbers do not add up, because those two items alone already have a fixed cost.
Is it safe to book through instant messaging?
Messaging is a normal customer service channel in Peru. The problem is not the channel, but when it is the only one. Confirm that the number belongs to the agency through its official website and demand a payment receipt in the company’s name.
Can I ask for my Machu Picchu ticket before paying the balance?
Yes, and it is recommended. Many agencies purchase the ticket with the deposit and send it to you before the final payment. Having an issued ticket with your details is the best proof that the booking is real.
What should I do if the agency asks me to pay into an individual’s account?
Ask why. If the agency is small and operates as a sole proprietor with a RUC, the account may be in the holder’s name. In that case, the account name must match the RUC and the receipt they provide you.
Is booking in Cusco safer than booking online?
In Cusco, you can visit the office, which eliminates the risk of cloned websites. But during high season, you may not find availability for Machu Picchu. Booking online with an agency you have verified combines both advantages.