We made it!
For the last five days Sarah and I have been doing the Salkantay Trek, a 40-mile hike to Machu Picchu. We left at 4am on Monday and spent four days hiking to Aguas Calientes (with some fun along the way); our trip culminated with a full day at Machu Picchu on Friday.
Neither of us had ever done a trek like this and it certainly was a challenging and tiring week. That said, it was easily one of the best experience of our lives! We can’t say enough about Willie (our guide) and the whole team at Salkantay Trekking - they really made the experience as enjoyable as possible. And we had such a great set of trekking mates! John Paul, Dawn, Sarah, Amanda and Martin - you all helped make the trek memorable and fun! Hope our paths cross again on our travels!
Day 1: Cusco - Mollepata - Soraypampa (Alex)
Distance: 8.5 miles
Maximum Altitude: 13,800 feet (Umantay Lake)
The day began with our guides picking us up at Hostal Wara Wara at 4am. We made a few more stops to pick up the remaining members of our crew then drove to Mollepata, a small town where we had breakfast. From there, it was about an hour drive through the mountains to Marcocasa where we unloaded our gear from the vans and began hiking. Fortunately Willie was willing to let us start at a leisurely pace so we could adjust to the higher altitude and take some photos of amazing scenery.
Great view of Umantay Mountain in the distance. Our camp for the night was at the base of this mountain.
As we continued hiking we got a view of both Umantay (on the left) and Salkantay (on the right).
We arrived at our camp around noon and had an hour or so to relax before lunch; we were interrupted, though, by an avalanche on Umantay! Apparently this happens all the time, but we were all pretty happy that we were still far away from the mountain!
Avalanche on Umantay.
After lunch we had a two-hour siesta. We hadn’t planned on getting a nap in the afternoon, but we all passed out immediately - guess the early wake-up and hiking had caught up with us! Around 3pm we set off on another hike up to Umantay Lake. This turned out to be quite a challenge…we weren't ready for such a strenuous hike right after a nap! We eventually did made it up to the lake and we were in time to catch the sunset with the other half of our Salkantay Trekking crew.
Umantay Lake.
The hike back down to camp was much easier (thankfully!). We headed straight into the dining tent to get some tea and popcorn (the “Salkantay Happy Hour,” as Willie described it) because the temperature had dropped a lot since the sun went down. After Happy Hour it was time for dinner and then bed - tomorrow is the longest and most challenging day of the trek so we'll need to be well rested!
Day 2: Soraypampa - Salkantay Pass - Huayramachay - Chaullay (Sarah)
Distance: 13.5 miles
Maximum Altitude: 15,253 feet (Salkantay Pass)
Day two was repeatedly described as the most difficult and it did not disappoint. Today's hike included not only the greatest distance traveled, but also the most significant change in altitude and highest overall summit. I approached the day with a positive attitude and reassured myself that once we had made it to Salkantay Pass, the worst would be over.
We started with a 5am wakeup, some coca tea and a filling breakfast. After packing up everything (in the dark!) we headed up a fairly gradual incline toward Salkantay.
Looking back toward our campsite (way down by the winding path). By 8am we had already made a lot of progress!
View of Salkantay. Really glad I brought my sunglasses!
It had never occurred to me that I might not be able to complete the trek, but by mid-morning the altitude was seriously affecting my breathing ability. As I watched numerous other hikers pass on horseback (the alternative if you simply could not continue), I focused on small victories and Alex (ever the cheerleader) encouraged me to push forward. Reaching the top of Salkantay Pass felt like a huge achievement, not only for the day but for the entire trip - I now felt confident I could make it to Machu Picchu.
Posing at Salkantay Pass after I knocked my head into the sign - I was in a bit of a daze.
The view of Salkantay Mountain, the highest peak in the Cusco region, is pretty spectacular.
After reaching the highest point of our trek, we hiked another two hours downhill (mostly in the rain/snow) to Huayracmachay for lunch. A note on our food - I was expecting "camp" food like rice and beans and toast, but every meal (and snack!) was thoughtfully prepared, filling and tasty! Between three full meals a day and multiple snacks to keep our energy up, I am convinced I have never eaten more in a five day period.
The scenery continued to change as we moved further downhill and into the mountains.
After lunch we had a brief rest (I am pretty sure Alex snuck some photos of me passed out face-down on the ground) and then continued hiking for three more hours. Thankfully a lot of it was flat or downhill and the weather started to clear up.
Views as we started to approach the rainforest - pretty different from the snowcapped mountains!
We actually reached our camp for the night early, around 4pm, and collapsed on the ground to rest for a bit before "Happy Hour" and dinner. Chaullay was a much more established camp with many trekkers, a few houses, hostels and even a bar. There was also a cold shower available, which somehow Alex was able to endure. I took a hard pass on that option and decided to hold out for the hot springs tomorrow. We were in our tents by 8pm and relieved that we were warmer and able to sleep in an extra hour after a very long day.
Day 3: Chaullay - Collpapampa - La Playa - Santa Teresa (Alex)
Distance: 9.5 miles
Maximum Altitude: 9,500 feet
We woke up at 6am on Wednesday - another hour of sleep might not seem like much, but after the long day on Tuesday it felt great not to get up at 5am!
Our route took us into the rain forest today, quite a different climate than we’d gotten used to on the trek so far. We needed to hike all 9.5 miles before lunch in order to visit the hot springs in Santa Teresa in the afternoon and thankfully we made it to La Playa for lunch in about five hours.
Most of our hike today followed the Santa Teresa river.
Very nice scenery for our hike today - even though it's a big change from 24 hours ago!
After we ate lunch at La Playa, we were thankful to hear that the last half-hour of our trek to the campsite in Santa Teresa would be by bus (we were all very sore at this point!). Once we arrived, we re-packed our day bags and left right away for the hot springs - we wanted to maximize our time there before it got too cold in the late afternoon. I was expecting something like a lake with warm water, but the locals have turned the hot spring into more of a swimming pool. The water was very clean and held at a bath-like temperature - all around a very enjoyable few hours!
Not what I was expecting when I heard "hot springs" but I'll take it! (Also, they had hot outdoor showers...our first since we left!)
We returned to camp for dinner and a "normal" happy hour with some local beers. The campsite we were staying at was hosting many different trekkers and some kept the party going until late in the evening. We all went to bed around 9pm so we would be able to beat the rush to the zipline tour in the morning!
Day 4: Santa Teresa - Aguas Calientes (Sarah)
Distance: 6.5 miles
Maximum Altitude: 7,700 feet
We woke around 7am to our usual routine: coca tea, packing our things and enjoying a hearty breakfast and were excited NOT to be starting the day with more hiking (or so I thought). A van picked us up around 8am and drove us to the zipline location. I was so surprised by the 20 minute, nearly vertical hike to the first platform that I didn't even have time to be scared.
View from the first zipline.
After ziplining in Costa Rica, I felt like I was prepared for what was to come, but crossing the mountains in Peru was a completely different experience: the views were 360, the lines were higher and, most importantly, we did the "Superman!" Some of our best GoPro footage is captured in the video below.
After an exhilarating start to our day, the van drove us to Hidroelectrica, where we would begin the hike along the railroad tracks to Aguas Caliente. We stopped briefly for lunch, where I tested my basic Spanish skills and managed to obtain some hot sauce, and then continued onward toward Machu Picchu.
Not quite as sketchy as the Costa Rica / Panama border crossing, but a little wobbly.
Even though the hike was only about three hours, we were all pretty exhausted from the previous three days of trekking - my knees were sore and I had some pretty nasty blisters. While the terrain was flat, it was literally next to / on the train tracks, which was not particularly enjoyable. Having said that, the scenery was beautiful and we were able to start seeing views of Maccu Picchu.
Approaching Maccu Picchu.
Pausing in front of the mountains.
Alex may disagree but this three hour hike felt like eternity to me. Each time we checked the time or stopped for water I couldn't believe we still had more to go. Finally seeing the entrance to Macchu Picchu (and 25 minutes later) the town of Aguas Caliente was a huge victory and we wasted no time celebrating with a beer.
Aguas Caliente, the "base town" of Maccu Picchu.
Salkantay Trekking had arranged for us to have dinner at a local restaurant (with free pisco sours!) and sleep in a hostel (with hot water!) so we were pretty happy. We had a great night with the rest of our group before heading home to sleep before a 3:30am wake up call.
Day 5: Aguas Calientes - Machu Picchu - Cusco (Alex)
3:30am was almost not early enough! By the time we got to the bus line around 4:15am there were already around 100 people lined up. The scramble to get up to Machu Picchu before the crowds is a bit of an intense experience, but we managed to get a seat on the fourth bus and were among the first tourists inside. The weather was not ideal - cloudy, rainy and foggy - but it was still incredible!
View from one of the highest points in Machu Picchu - glad we were able to beat the crowd!
Though Sarah would've preferred I carry her around all day, I only had to do it for this photo.
Misty Machu Picchu.
Group photo after Willie's tour.
We walked around the ruins after saying goodbye to Willie for an hour or so. The view of the mountains never got old.
Even on a cloudy day Machu Picchu is very impressive.
Sarah was a little cold and tired so we left her with a warm coffee at the souvenir shop while some of us walked up to the Sun Gate. This is where trekkers taking the Inca Trail enter Machu Picchu. We had to wait about half an hour for a clear shot, but the view down to the city was awesome.
Looking down on Machu Picchu.
After catching a break in the clouds at the Sun Gate, it started to rain pretty steadily so we all decided to head back to town. We collected Sarah and began the long walk back - 3,000+ steps down to the river then a 30 minute walk to town. We had a celebratory drink at a local restaurant then grabbed our bags and boarded the train to Ollantaytambo (this is the only way in or out of Aguas Calientes, by the way). From there we boarded a bus back to Cusco.
The whole week was exhausting but an amazing experience! We have four more days in Cusco to see the sights before heading to Buenos Aires on Wednesday (and I think we'll have more energy starting Sunday after resting most of the day today)!