Salcantay

Salcantay
View from the southwest.
Highest point
Elevation	6,271 m (20,574 ft)  or 6,264 m (20,551 ft)
Prominence	2,540 metres (8,330 ft)
Listing	Ultra
Coordinates	13°20′01″S 72°32′40″W / 13.33361°S 72.54444°W / -13.33361; -72.54444Coordinates: 13°20′01″S 72°32′40″W / 13.33361°S 72.54444°W / -13.33361; -72.54444
Geography
Salcantay Peru
Location	Cusco Region, Peru
Parent range	Vilcabamba, Andes
Climbing
First ascent	August 4, 1952 by Fred D. Ayres, David Michael, Jr., W. V. Graham Matthews, George Irving Bell, Claude Kogan, M. Bernard Pierre
Easiest route	Northeast ridge: technical glacier/snow/ice climb (French grade AD)

Salcantay,Salkantay or Sallqantay (in Quechua) is the highest peak in the Vilcabamba mountain range, part of the Peruvian Andes. It is located in the Cusco Region, about 60 km (40 mi) west-northwest of the city of Cusco. It is the 38th highest peak in the Andes, and the twelfth highest in Peru. However, as a range highpoint in deeply incised terrain, it is the second most topographically prominent peak in the country, after Huascarán.

Salcantay's proximity to Machu Picchu makes trekking around it an alternative to the oversubscribed Inca Trail; this is known as the .

The name Salkantay is from sallqa, a Quechua word meaning wild, uncivilized, savage, or invincible, and was recorded as early as 1583. The name is thus often translated as "Savage Mountain".

Directly to the north of Salkantay lies Machu Picchu, which is at the end of a ridge that extends down from this mountain. Viewed from Machu Picchu's main sundial, the Southern Cross is above Salkantay's summit when at its highest point in the sky during the rainy season. The Incas associated this alignment with concepts of rain and fertility, and considered Salkantay to be one of the principal deities controlling weather and fertility in the region west of Cuzco.

Salcantay is a large, steep peak with great vertical relief, particularly above the low valleys to the north, which are tributaries of the Amazon River.

The standard route on the mountain is the Northeast ridge. Accessing the route typically involves three days of travel from Cusco. The climb involves about 1,800 m (5,900 ft) of vertical gain, on glacier, snow, ice, and some rock.

Salcantay was first climbed in 1952 by a French-American expedition comprising Fred D. Ayres, David Michael, Jr., John C. Oberlin, W. V. Graham Matthews, Austen F. Riggs, George Irving Bell, Claude Kogan, M. Bernard Pierre, and Jean Guillemin. All except Oberlin, Riggs, and Guillemin reached the summit. Two years later Fritz Kasparek fell through a cornice near the summit on the NE ridge.