As teased in the previous blog post, our next endeavour was the Salkantay trek. This five (actually four days of proper treking) day trek ends in Aguas Caliente, the town from which you go up to Machu Picchu. We started with a transport from Cusco the night before the first treking day.
Follow along through our adventure by reading what happened day by day.
Day 0 - Transport to starting point
After having completed all the last purchases we spent the morning packing our duffel bags and sorting out equipment including the storage at the hotel after the trek. I (Oli) received a good portion of eye-rolling from Anna when we realised that I forgot to bring a whole bag with a book and snacks for the storage in the new hotel. I'll (Oli) have to pick it up at the old hotel after the trek..
We both started to feel slightly nervous, since we didn't know how we'd cope with it and weren't entirely sure what to expect! We had a very good feeling with the group we met at a briefing the evening before though and this proved absolutely right.
In the afternoon of the start of the journey we met at Alpaca expedition HQ in Cusco and head out after everyone was ready. We went on the 3.5h drive which firstly consisted of good roads, but then the roads got tighter and wound through a small town called Limatambo. The bus driver expertly manouvered the small bus through tight corners, before we got on rough gravel roads. It was after another half an hour on these roads (could've easily been an hour if the driver drove at a normal pace) when we got to see the majestic mountain siblings Humantay and Salkantay (6264m). What an impressive sight, and the transition from winding pass roads to the higher mountains to the snow covered peak and glacier was delightful to see.
After the bumpy ride Anna was fighting with travel sickness while I struggled with a bit of an upset belly, not an ideal start. But upon arrival at the glass cabañas with an incredible view of the two peaks our troubles were almost forgotten.
When all the cabins were distributed and after we dropped our luggage we enjoyed our first dinner prepared by the cooking staff of our expedition group starting with popcorn. It was followed by a nice soup and all sorts of dishes. Our guide Tino explained the details about the trek and the route after dinner and with that we were excited and ready to start the trek the next day. Coca-tea wakeup at 4:30am.
Day 1
The very early start could've been better, with a semi-relaxing night's sleep due to the altitude and upset bellies we weren't on a high. But once we started walking the slow and steady uphill part we almost forgot about it. After around 1 hour we arrived at a horse farm with a tienda that was the intersection to leave the traditional Salkantay trek to see the Humantay lagoon. Hiking towards the lagoon was our first intense gain in altitude going up steep, rocky and grassy paths. We were around 4000m high, and everywhere we looked closer we could find specs of horses in the mountain slopes. Already at this altitude we had the feeling of tight oxygen, especially when going up. After 1h of hiking straight up after the intersection an impressively transparent and turquois lagoon appeared and was the first highlight of many to come.
Our expedition group was sitting on some rocks and was listening to a little info session about Inka culture by Tino, when suddenly the mountain roared and an avalanche swept down the slope on the far side of the lagoon. It was quite impressive to see, and there was this moment of hesitation where I wondered if we were at a safe distance. Quite quickly though it became clear that we were, and while the rumbling continued the snow outside the big cloud slowly came to a halt. After the brief interruption we continued after having taken some photos, and we went the same way down to the stables and then back on the classic Salkantay route.
Now we had a more steady climb over small rivers and next to llamas in front of us, where we were passed by many horses going up and down carrying loads of equipment, also some of ours. The higher we walked towards the Salkantay pass, the highest point of the trek at 4650m, the closer came the clouds that were catching up, and the weather slowly transitioned from a light drizzle to heavy rain. First time to wear the bright green ponchos!
Before reaching the pass we arrived at our lunch spot for the day called Salkantaypampa. We were treated with a warm pumpkin soup followed by trout, rice, spuds and a selection of veggies. After some coca tea that also helps against altitude sickness we went into the toughest part of the day and trek to reach the Salkantay pass, another 600m of altitude more after lunch. The strong continued rain poured upon the group of green ponchos while we gained altitude step by step. The higher we got the more it started to snow, and we had to push ourselves to reach the top. When the whole group finally reached the top the heavy snow stopped and a wonderful scenery presented itself on the other side. The sweet almond bar tasted insanely good up there. What a treat!
Going down on the other side of the mountain the weather changed quite a bit and after around 20 minutes the sun even peeked out. We saw wonderfully misty sights with some clouds covering the valley, and the spirits were high. We even saw some chinchillas (similar to rabbits) at a spot where we took a break.
The rest of the day's hike was all downhill and our goal was the Wayracmachay campsite. It went on forever but it finally appeared after a tough day of around 10h of hiking. At the campsite it got incredibly cold very quickly, I started shivering on the whole body when going into the ready made tent. Luckily they distributed warm water bottles. What a game changer! We both slept like logs that night despite the cold.
Day 2
The second hiking day was less intense, albeit similar in distance it was almost only downhill. We got up at 5.20am and after a quick breakfast started our descent.
It started on a rocky path slowly going towards jungle landscape. How fascinating it was to see the gradual transition from proper alpine rocky areas to jungly and humid forrest. Furthermore there were beautiful sights of the misty valleys below where we headed.
The rest of the day was quite uneventful but enjoyable. The ponchos came on and off a couple of times since the weather changed rapidly and often, we saw a lot of stunning butterflies and before we arrived at our night's stay we tasted a delightful Grenadilla (a fruit in the family of passion fruit but sweeter). After that we soon arrived at the promised hobbit houses whose round doors looked familiar and inviting. It is there where we had our first shower of the trek.
After another refuelling and sociable dinner we retired early to recover from the first two strenuous days.
Day 3
After a later start from the hobbit houses on day three we warmed up by a quick and steep uphill climb for four minutes followed by an hour on the road. As we came to a small town we stopped at a tienda for a first short break. While we were resting a monkey appeared and climbed around someone's garden, when suddenly it had a bottle of milk in its hands and eagerly drank it. When it downed it all it then also came over in the pursuit of more and started interacting with us. From the picture it even seemed as if Tal and the monkey got along well! Not sure what they were talking about though.. A truly entertaining situation.
After the break we continued on the road until we reached the famous Inka trail. We were lead to a coffee farm where we had an outstanding tasting and lunch where we were able to grind some coffee ourselves and enjoy the never-ending views. We also spotted a cage of guinea pigs next to coffee grinder where they happily grazed whilst being oblivous to their unfortunate future as they were located right next to the kitchen.
We had a great time relaxing and talking to the other guys before we had to get back to business - another tougher afternoon of about 4h mostly uphill was waiting. This part was like previously very scenic, we had some great valley views and saw the rain coming towards us from deeper in the valley. Some 20mins later rain caught us as we started going into high jungle. Especially the surrounding sounds changed immediately after entering it and we heard and saw an Andean Tucan couple, saw loads of strawberries and finally got the first sight of Machu Picchu from an abandoned inka sight!
From there the slippery downhill path lead through the jungle to the campsite. It was one of the most wonderful spots for camping with a breathtaking view of Machu Picchu in front and Salkantay in the back. The surrounding mountains and the evening atmosphere with the astonishing sun rays combing through the valley made for a moment to remember.
Inside the huts there was another info session about Inka culture (correctly called Enca, which means leader/king and was lost in translation) by Tino. The last night in the tent provided another good night's rest to conclude day 3.
Day 4
With the routine coca tea and incredible scenery getting up at 6am today was easy. I went out a bit earlier to take pictures towards Salkantay when I heard a chirp. At first I couldn't find the bird making the sound, but whilst scanning a tree close by another hawk-like bird stared at me only 4 m away on a branch. My ornithologist heart lept as I took a snapshot of it.
The group's morale was high once more, today only around 6h of hiking and mostly downhill/straight waited for us.
A special highlight was the chef who prepared a cake for breakfast saying "Bienvenidos a Machu Picchu" on top of it. He baked it in a pot over the fire, what a lovely gesture.
We had quite an easy walk down through the high jungle again. From time to time we were overtaken by porters who were running down carrying all the kitchen stuff at an incredible pace.
The steep part didn't last too long, and as soon as it became flatter the last portion downwards on a broader track followed. We reached a suspension bridge once down at the level of the river running through the valley along which we walked to eventually reach Aguas Caliente via Hydroelectrica.
After lunch at Hydroelectrica the last 3h of the trek were along the train tracks and twice there was a train passing whilst honking its terrifying horn.
Despite them being the last of the 70km of the trek we covered the distance quite quickly putting the reward of arriving in Aguas Caliente above our painful feet.
The density of little shops and coffee places increased until we finally arrived at the town in midst of a stunning landscape.
Upon arrival we were longing for a nice room and a hot shower. There was hot water - though only for one of us. We all went out for dinner and had a wonderful last evening together.
Day 5 - Machu Picchu
For the big day at Machu Picchu we had our private guide Raul who had been with us the whole trek as the second guide. Having 8am tickets we still tried our luck in the 7am queue upon Raul's lead, but the strict lady was making it very clear to us by saying "No papí, las entradas para las 8 están por allí".
Machu Picchu is probably the most touristic thing that either of us has ever done but despite this it was actually a great experience.
A personal highlight was learning how technically advanced the Inkas built their structures, with earthquake safe buildings and foundations that go 2 m deep including drainage layer in the terrace parts. They also have a sophisticated calendar by facing two windows to different angles in the sky. When the sun shines through it in the morning of the 21st of June it will align perfectly with the angled window - and thus indicating the Inca new year (or summer solstice). It was a great education day out with a following final lunch all together and the final goodbyes afterwards.
All in all this was so far the coolest experience of our travels for us both. We are super grateful to have come across such a great bunch of people and would recommend anyone with similar interests to do the trek.
Our group
- Grace and Emily from the UK,
- Deborah and Anderson (other keen photographer) from the States and their friends Casey and Dave from San Diego,
- Erin and her dad Alan from Sydney and Newcastle OZ,
- Tamar and Tal from Israel that are off to the Amazonas now,
- Victoria and her Mum Zayda living in Chile but originally from Venezuela,
- and our guides Tino (Faustino) and Raul Benjamin.