It has felt like the whole trip has led up to this point! The big 5 day 5 night trek to Machu Picchu.
We started out at the briefing in Cusco at our tour guide office, where we met most of our group and tried to work out what we’d be putting in each bag.
Day 0
We learned at the briefing that instead of being driven directly to our accommodation on day zero of the trek, we’d need to set off a bit earlier and walk the last 20 mins due to what was a pretty destructive landslide. The drive foreshadowed our rocky journey ahead, when 5 minutes in we had to stop to change a flat tyre…
Nevertheless we arrived at the glass cabins, our first night of accommodation, and soon had happy hour (tea time) then dinner. We had an early start the next morning (4.30am) so we were soon to bed for a little bit of stargazing through the glass roof and then sleep!
Day 1
The first day of walking was set to be the hardest, with a lot of distance, the highest altitude and some chunky hills.
We were woken up with coca tea at 4.30am and quickly bundled ourselves together for a hearty breakfast before beginning our walk. The sun soon came up and we were building up a sweat in our many layers as we climbed up to Humantay Lagoon. The lake was as stunning as promised and, not to brag, but we were the first ones there. So, with the lake to ourselves we watched the sun come over it and it turned a bright turqoise. After lots of photos and some snacks, we set off back down the mountain.
Once we were back down it became clear that there was a little problem, because our break was much longer than expected and there was a lot of walkie talkie action… It turns out the horsemen that were due to carry lots of stuff didn’t show up and so we couldn’t walk too far, because they needed to be ahead of us to set up lunch, and later dinner and the tents! This led to an early stop for lunch and quite a bit of waiting around, which at the time was frustrating, but gave us lots of time to bond as a group, and even with the private tour group who were on the same itinerary.
This little hiccup also meant we had to end our day’s walking a bit early and camp in a spot that neither of our guides had camped in before! This was 4480m high and pretty damn cold. Fortunately, we had tea time, hot food, and even hot water bottles to see us through the night. While it wasn’t the plan, it was pretty cool to camp so high up and right next to Salkantay mountain (but still somehow 2000m short of the summit!). With thermals, hats, hand warmers, and hot water bottles, we didn’t even get too cold. The portaloo was even quite nice too!
Day 2
We started day 2 ever so slightly later, with our coca tea wake up at 5am. This meant we saw it gradually get lighter around the mountain, and by the time we’d had breakfast the sun was out.
The highlight of this day was reaching Salkantay Pass, which is in between Salkantay and Humantay mountains. We reached this less than an hour into walking, as we were due to do it the previous day. On the way we saw wild chinchillas darting across the rocks, and once we arrived at the pass we did a ritual offering to the mountain. This is because the mountains were considered gods (‘apu’) to the Incas, in part because they deliver water through the glaciers which is of course an essential resource. It’s therefore the done thing to leave an offering (in our case three coca leaves), and make a wish for each of them, and thank Apu Salkantay.
What followed this high point was a long and rocky descent, dodging horses and trying to stay dry in what ended up being persistent rain. Cue the bright green ponchos.
Due to our slight delay, the day ended with a bus so that we could catch up and get to our accommodation before nightfall. While some stubborn people (men (Chris)) considered walking the remaining distance (another 10k), the prospect of hot showers and a jacuzzi at the hobbit houses was enough to encourage them onto the bus.
Day 3
The next day we had an even longer lie in and it felt good to be back on track. There wasn’t too much walking to do today, in theory, so we could at least take the morning fairly easy. We had a nice walk along a road in the sunshine with some great views, Chris practiced his Quechua with our guide Pillco, and we stopped to play the frog game for a bit, which involved throwing coins at a golden frog.
We carried on our walk to a coffee farm, where we did a tour. We saw the whole process from picking the beans, removing the shells, roasting them and finally grounding them. Our host Paulina then made us a coffee, although it was with the beans we roasted (read: burnt) so perhaps wasn’t the best display of their coffee. That doesn’t however mean we’re not now carrying around a kilo of coffee beans with us…
We had our lunch before beginning a 3hr ascent in the hot sun. We had a welcome pause at a beautiful viewpoint, ate our snacks and carried on. The reward for this was arriving at a big flat campsite where we could see Machu Picchu in the distance, lit up by the sun. Finally our destination was within reach! A quick descent led us to the campsite where we were sleeping, with our tents set up opposite Machu Picchu. It called for one thing, and one thing only: a bottle of wine. It was disgustingly sweet, but we shared it round and toasted to almost completing something.
The usual tea time and dinner came around and then it was bed time, but fortunately a much warmer camping experience this time!
Day 4
This was the only day I woke up before our official ‘alarm’, in order to catch sunrise over Machu Picchu. We had our tea watching it get lighter and lighter, with Salkantay mountain looking especially pretty as the sun came to shine on it.
I then somehow ended up leading the pretty rocky descent most of the way down until our first rest point. Thanks to the walking poles I only had one major stumble! We ended up at the Inca Jacuzzi (the Urubamba river), where Chris and I were the brave two to get in and bathe in the refreshing cold glacier water.
We walked through Hidroelectrica and arrived at the infamous train tracks that we would walk along for the rest of the day.
Before carrying on, we had our final lunch which was absolutely the best, with mango ceviche, potato tuna rolls, chicken skewers and fried rice. It was at this point we said thank you and goodbye to the porters and chef, who were amazing throughout. I don’t know how they do it, although our guide Saul did tell me that people who live above 4000m are officially considered superhumans. The chef especially, Teo, was an older man who every day had to carry the full kitchen equipment (c.25kg) every day, the same distance as us, while also cooking three full meals. Needless to say they got a big thank you from us, and personally I hope Teo can retire asap.
The rest of the day was a fairly flat 10km along the train tracks, and I decided to lead the charge. We built up a good momentum and it felt SO good to be walking along, rather than up or down. Us northern Europeans felt much more at home.
At the other end of this walk was our hotel in Aguas Calientes, the main hub for getting to Machu Picchu. We had a ginormous bed, a hot shower, a lie down, and somewhat fresh clothes. A restaurant dinner provided pisco sours, ceviche and quinoto al pesto. We also received our (bright green) survivor t shirts, which we were instructed to bring with us the following day.
Instead of heading back to the hotel with everyone, Chris and I went into the square to get out some cash and accidentally picking up a dessert on the way home. We got back to the hotel, got a cup of tea to take up and then snapped our key in the lock… The lady reassured us that they could get us another room, but our passports were in there and we needed them for Machu Picchu – one final hurdle! After 15 mins or so the staff did gain entry and we were under strict instructions to not lock the door again.
Day 5
The big day! Our final early start at 5am started with breakfast and then a queue for the bus up to Machu Picchu. We had early entry tickets, so needed to make sure we got on an early bus. We are led to believe that these things get quite competitive, but we were with an expert company so to be honest it all felt pretty easy. A short and winding bus ride and we were there.
There are several different routes around Machu Picchu and we were on circuit 2, which gave a good view from above as well as the chance to walk amongst the ruins. The first focus was the view, and plenty of pictures to go with it! Within the first ten minutes there had already been one proposal and the second wasn’t far behind (don’t worry, not ours).
We then proceeded to have a tour around the ruins, leaning about its agricultural, urban and religious zones. The site would have been mainly for Inca royalty and the upper classes. About 25% of the site has been restored since its rediscovery in 1912. We saw the temple of the condor, an Andean cross, plenty of niches where offerings would have been made as well as altars for human sacrifice (complete with blood drainage channels). A highlight was also spotting the campsite from the previous night in the distance!
We have seen quite a lot of Inca ruins by now, but Machu Picchu is still so striking mainly because of its setting among the mountains. It is hard to comprehend how these (small) Incan people built a whole city there with no machinery to help them.
We then made our way back down to Aguas Calientes, had a walk around and a final lunch together before getting the train to Ollantaytambo. From here it was a bus ride to Cusco and time to say our goodbyes.
R&R
After 70km on our feet, it was time for some rest and relaxation. Early on in our trip, Chris dramatically booked us into a 5 star hotel for the post-trek period. I can’t say I didn’t encourage him. He neglected to make sure that the hotel wasn’t up a giant hill, however!! We had a good couple of days rest, while also earning any dinner we got in town with a steep walk home.
This was our last stop in Peru, which has been a show stopping country!! Roll on Bolivia, where we hear civil unrest, roadblocks and protests are on the cards..!
Besos,
Florence & Chris
NB: you’ll be pleased to hear that all four ankles and feet are entirely in tact.