Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu

Things to know if you are doing the trek:

• Shop around in Cusco when you arrive. You’ll find a better deal than online.  Often you can find a good deal if you don’t mind booking last minute.
• If you do Peru Hop or Bolivia hop, you will get a discount
• YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! The more you pay, the better your guide, food and all around service will be.
• Rent sleeping bags. It’s not expensive and it’s not as cold as you think so -15 degrees C is fine! (We paid for 2 sleeping bags and 2 pairs of trekking poles at total of 90 soles for all 5 days)
• Expect to pay between $240-to upwards of $600/person

Read on for our adventure.....

Macchu Picchu, it is probably the first thing you think of when someone mentions Peru. It's one of those things you hear about and see on TV and in books and never thought you would actually get a chance to go in your lifetime. Incredibly the time had come and we were actually ready to plan for Macchu Picchu! Hannah and John were researching and so were we, in different parts of the world. We were both finding that this was going to be an expensive endeavor. We researched a few options. The most popular of course is the Inca trail. Unless you book months in advance, one is out of luck. It is more expensive anyway. The four of us decided we def wanted to trek, as that was how we all met 6 months prior in Nepal in the first place. So we researched and found another option: the Salkantay trek. It is a 5 day, 4 night trek through the mountains reaching an altitude of 4,600 meter and 3 nights in tents then ending at Macchu Picchu. Sounded perfect! We did more research and found it would be cheaper to book your tickets in Cusco when you were there.

Fast forward....we are now in Cusco. We had done Peru Hop bus and they had a travel agency associated with them, so we decided to check them out first. Turns out since we did Peru Hop they gave us a discount. What we thought would have been 300-350$\peraon turned out to be $230\person through the agency. That was a relief! Fare warning , you get what you pay for! You need to rent sleeping bags and we recommend renting hiking poles as well. But that's pretty cheap. With the trek booked, we had a day to get ready. We got our sleeping bags and hiking poles and packed. We were ready for a 4àm pick up!

 Day 1: Early morning and some hiking

As the alarm goes off way before the sun was even up, we all grunt and roll out of bed. We shuffles around and get our things together then go and wait in the cold for our guide to arrive. 4am passes, 4:15 passes, and 4:30am almost passes when finally he arrives. A 10 minute walk to the bus full of all the other gringos in our group we were to be with for the next 5 days. A few hours later we arrived in a small mountain town called Mollepata. Here we gave our bags to be loaded on the ‘horses’ to the guides, drank some coffee and ate our pre-made avo and cheese sandwiches. An hour or so later, we eventually set off with our 2 guides and 21 other people. Through the town we went, then up and around and up some more. We stopped and waited for the entire group to catch up a few times, which was a bit trying at times. We eventually made it to what looked like the top. We must have been behind schedule so instead of following the path down, the guides quickly ran us pretty much straight down the mountain. At least it landed us at our lunch spot! Most of us have been eaten alive by biting flies by then (The guides insisted they were very "strong" Peruvian mosquito's. Lunch consisted of soup for a starter, then rice and veggies with some meat and juice. We would be eating about the same thing for lunch and dinner for the next 4 days. We were all a bit tired more so due to the fact we had been up since 3:30am but luckily only had 3 hours to our camping site for the night.

We were all a bit nervous as the camping was at elevation and it was supposedly very cold.  We hiked what was supposed to take us 3 hours in 2! We turned up to pleasantly find out that our tents were all lined up in 2 rows and in a tarp enclosure.  This made a big difference and I think it was the hottest night we slept on the entire trek.  We chilled out, drank a beer and waited for dinner. We all mingled with the other members in our group and played a game of Mafia.  Dinner came, we ate, and promptly went to bed.  Our guides that day, had very little information to tell us even when we asked questions and rushed us through to get us to where we needed to be. We should have known then. But we didn’t pay that much and they did get us from point A to point B safely. You get what you pay for!

Day 2 Salkantay Pass

Another early rise and shine day as the guides and cook came around at 5:30 am knocking on our tents with a “Buenos dias!” We knew it was going to be the longest day but we were happy it was at the beginning of the trek.  Up and out and thank goodness there was coffee. It wasn’t as cold as we thought it would be so that was a plus! We ended up setting off 45 minutes later than we were originally told. Man, could have used that 45 minutes of sleep!  The day was beautiful and we were all feeling pretty good! The hike was gorgeous, it made you feel really tiny.  Three hours later we reached the ‘summit’ of the pass. It was cold, gray and snowing.  We were still happy to be up there! The hike so far had been way easier than we expected, which was awesome.  I think anything after the Annapurna circuit is relatively easy. Haha.  It was all downhill from here. We set off at a speedy pace as the next stop was lunch! It drizzled at first then it progressively started raining more and more. We were equipped with rain gear which made it slightly less miserable as it was cold as well.  The hiking wasn’t easy either, it was through mud and rocks and nonsense.  We finally made it to the lunch tent. John being number one! This is the day figured out when the guides would say, “the hike will take 4 hours til lunch and lunch at 1pm,” what it really meant was lunch isn’t til 1pm. But they will tell you it takes as many hours as it is from breakfast til the scheduled lunch time. For example, you leave at 6am and lunch is at 12pm. Even though the hike isn’t that long, they will tell you it will take 6 hours.  We

arrived in the lunch tent at around 11am.  It was cold and we were wet and the benches were uncomfortable but we made the best of it. At least there was hot drinks!  Lunch wouldn’t be ready til 1pm but they wouldn’t tell us that.  We sang songs and laughed a bit.  Lunch finally came!  A few people in our group were feeling the altitude and not feeling so well. Poor guys and gals!  After lunch was supposed to be another 4 hours.  Luckily it had just stopped raining when we set off after lunch.  The hike only took us 3 hours but get to the small town where we were camping but it felt really long. It wasn’t tough, just felt long. Hawie’s knees started to bother him as well which made it a bit tougher. It was like seeing the finish line when we finally got there! Now to find our bags that were on the horses and get our stuff set up in the tent. At first we couldn’t find our bags. After some terrible Spanish we finally found our bags…and they were pretty wet. Our bags did a good job of keeping the water out for the most part but a bunch of our stuff was quite damp. As it was still humid, and not a lot of places to hang our already other wet stuff, we just shrugged it off. Unfortunately the bottom of Hawie’s sleeping bag was damp as well. It didn’t help that it rained that night and the tents (again, you get what you pay for), were not completely waterproof. The zippers didn’t work well, if at all sometimes, and the tents were well worn. We made due, knowing the next day was an easy day.  So we thought.  We all chilled out, tried to dry out, drank a beer and waited for dinner. Card games were our saving grace this time! After dinner was bed thirty as we had another early morning!

Day 3: A long day through the jungle

This day was supposed to be easy.  As John had gotten a chest infection on day one of the hike, he was feeling the effects by now. He was a trooper and did a great job pushing through. The jungle day we thought was going to be flat. Turns out it was quite a bit of up and down, hot and humid and the guides took off like bats out of you know where.  We were all a bit tired by now.  We hadn’t really slept well in a few days and even though the hiking wasn’t that difficult, when you are hiking sometimes up to 8 hours in a day, it can wear on you.  We all trudged along and got through the hike.  It was a 6 hour hiking day.  I had stopped off to pee quickly and the guide waited to head up the back of the group, which is where we had ended up. We figured it wasn’t worth hiking fast to lunch as lunch wouldn’t be ready anyway so no need to kill ourselves to sit on hard benches for hours waiting.  Anyway, as I came down from my trek to hike off the trail to go pee, we asked the guide how much longer.  He said another 2 hours. We sighed, shook it off, and pushed forward. Not more than 5 minutes later, we reached the rest of the group who was at a resting stop.  We then asked the main guide how long til lunch. Thirty minutes, he said.  WHAT?! 2 hours and 30 minutes, bit of a discrepancy! Haha. We were happy for the news we were almost there. So we charged forward to lunch! Not only were we happy about lunch today, after lunch there we were done hiking! Done hiking AND off to the hot springs!! Lunch was really good! We had quinoa and sweet potatoes and all sorts of good stuff!!! It was much needed and appreciated after the long days we had.  After lunch, we waited until we were given the word to move.  We first all piled into this mini van bus.  As we kept all piling in, we realized there was no way we were all going to fit. The guides swore we would. In  few minutes they were proven wrong. So the remaining people we shuffled over to a station wagon taxi. I sat in the front seat with another girl in the mini van bus thing and Hawie went and sat in the front of the taxi. One guy actually rode in the trunk of the taxi. Ridiculous! At least there was room for our bags on the top and they weren't with us. Then the driver gets in, I look over to the girl sitting next to me and whisper, “he barely looks old enough to drive!” As young as he looked, he was a good driver. Thirty minutes later we arrived.  It was time to drop our bags off in our tents and off to the hot springs. When we got back in the same bus (minus a few people), we found a plug and plugged our own gringo music in.  That started a dance party in the van and the young driver to smile! Off to the hot springs! We arrived, paid, changed and got right in. Not having a shower in days, this felt great. The hot springs were more warm springs but it still was awesome.  When we were all done being warm in the warm springs, we all grabbed a beer. After a few, the van was ready to go. We hopped back in and back to base camp for dinner. Dinner wasn’t that great (surprise) but worked. Hawie and I retired early but there were other tour groups there and the place had a big bon fire and very loud music.  Needless to say, I don’t think many people slept well that night.

Day 4: A walk along the railroad tracks and then Aquas Calientes, the gateway to Machu Picchu

Hot springs down, most the walking…done, now the last push. This day is pretty uninteresting. Basically woke up (yay, last night in tents!), ate breakfast, got into a small mini bus van thing, then hiked for 3 hours along the train tracks with all of our stuff. No horses today! After three hours of hiking in the heat with all of our stuff, we arrived in Aquas Calientes. The group was split between two hostels. First thing, a shower! We all relaxed, took showers then Hawie, Simon and I went for coffee (it was raining and a bit chilly).  One of the guys on our tour had done the zip-lining that day and then a bus took him to Aquas Calientes.  As we were drinking coffee (we finally found somewhere that would make coffee as the power was out), we saw the other guy from our group across the street waiving his arms and yelling our names. Our guides didn’t tell him where the hostel was. Luckily he saw us and we took him to our hostel. Poor guy.  We had a great dinner from a set menu at a restaurant in the town. Next day was Machu Picchu.  Off to bed early as we had a 3 am wake up call waiting and 1.2 km of stairs awaiting the next morning. 

Day 5: The day we had all been waiting for…Machu Pichhu

As instructed we got up and were to follow the road down through town to the gate of Machu Pichhu.  The morning did not start off so great. Hawie woke up sick with a very sore throat. Being so early in the morning, nowhere was open.  The hostel did sell Halls but the girl refused to sell them to him. Hawie was pretty upset and angry. After the anger subsided, we set down the road in the dark only to reach the gate at the bottoms and find out it doesn’t even open til 5am! Thank you wonderful guides once again for pertinent information.  We were supposed to meet our guides at the top for a guided tour at 6 am and the hike up the billion gillion stairs was supposed to take an hour and half. Well everyone was in the same boat. We cruised up the stairs and luckily it only took us an hour. The entire group made it in time! Now for the guided tour. We had an hour and half guided tour of Machu Pichhu. Seeing the place for the first time was breath taking.  You always see it on TV and read about it in books and now we were finally here. We had plenty of time after our guided tour to cruise around and also hike Machu Pichhu Mountain.  When we booked those tickets with the travel agency, I thought it was Wannu Pichu which is the mountain directly behind Machu Picchu.  Turns out it wasn’t. But that was okay. It was a great hike up more stairs and we had great views. Hawie was felling really ill so he opted out and just hiked part way up.  Feeling the way he did, he made the right decision.  We met back up with Hawie and then Hawie and I went to the Inca bridge, hiked around some more, petted some llamas and looked for John and Hannah. We thought about taking the bus down but it was super expensive at $10/person).  I told Hawie he could take it down but he refused and instead on hiking down the many stairs we had just come up hours before. An hour and half later we reached our hostel after a long day of hiking and experiencing macho Pichhu.  It was worth it! It was an awesome day even though Hawie didn’t feel good.  We got back to our hostel around 3pm and exhausted. Unfortunately because we booked the budge tour, we had the late train at 9:50pm back to the Cusco. Luckily the hostel had couches and we were so tired, we just napped on the couches.  Then we went to dinner and by that time, it was time to get the train. The train which is super expensive was not that nice and super uncomfortable ride. We made it! Now for the bus transfer.  Our guides told us there would be a person with a sign and our names on it waiting for us when we got off the train to head to Cusco. We were skeptical.  But turns out, that was probably one of the easiest parts of the trip.  There really was a guy waiting for us with our names on a sign! So we all crammed in this mini van bus thing and off to Cusco we went.  Luckily a guy wanted to get off and woke us up.  We realized where we were in Cusco and also got off.  It was now 1:30am and thank goodness we had booked our rooms in advance at the hostel we stayed at before we left. We were all knackered! We checked in, threw our stuff down and passed out. An end to an incredible five day journey!  

A few days in Cusco

After the Ice Maiden, views of volcanoes, cathedrals, and an amazing market in Arequipa, we were off to Cusco, the Inca capital.  From Cusco, we were going to hike the Salkantay trek to Macchu Picchu. 

We arrived in Cusco in the evening, found our hostel,  ate at a little local place for next to nothing, then our heads quickly hit the pillow for lights out! The next day after getting information about the trek, getting our free T-shirts form Peru hop, John getting his zipper on his jacket repaired and a hearty cheap lunch at the market, we headed over to the Plaza De Armas for a free walking tour of Cusco. We were 20 minutes late but it was okay. We witnessed a Catholic procession and took in the sights of the beautiful square. The tour was really good for free (the guides make their money off tips so it’s not completely free but still cheap).  The last stop on the tour was a nice little bar where we got free pisco sours (the drink of Peru consisting of Pisco, lime juice, sugary stuff, and an egg white).  Life was good! The San Pedro Market in Cusco is an amazing place to get cheap food.

Hawie and I then headed off to find small backpacks.  Our day packs were too small for a week out and back.  Often you will use a place as a home base for your things and do a few days or a week away and the hostel will store your extra stuff for free then you don’t have to lug all your life around with you. We did not have packs that were big enough or sufficient enough to do so, therefore we were on a mission to find some. We found a great local place that sells and rents gear. The man who ran the place obviously had a passion for trekking and the mountains! We had a long talk about his passion, the Himalaya Mountains and his love over all for the beauty of nature.  We got a great deal on some nice packs and were quite pleased.  A few days later we booked our trek for Salkantay! We had a few days of rest in between where we applied for jobs and did some maintenance. The trek is booked, we have one more day to get all our stuff ready and at 4:30am on Sunday morning we depart!

Cusco is a beautiful!  It’s like a mix between old Europe and modern Inca culture. There are Cathedrals and woman in traditional Inca dress walking around to cobblestone streets. The atmosphere is amazing.

Housing: Atawkama Hostel Dorm 25 Soles/bed and private shared bathroom 29 Soles/person

Food: Cheap and set menus if you eat at local places. Tourist places are pretty expensive. Best food and deals are at the San Pedro Market!

Colca Canyon: 3 Day Hike

Colca Canyon

Getting there

The launch pad for Colca Canyon starts for most from Arequipa where you can either get a tour via a tour operator which is usually very expensive or you can get the local bus there. This is the option we went for. It is cheap and the busses are really nice. We worked out how to get to the bus station and booked our tickets one day in advance for 17 Soles a person. The next morning early we were of on our 6 hour bus ride to Cabanaconde. Here I have to say as well that there are different areas you can go in Colca Canyon. The local bus stops at Chivay and Cabanaconde. We of course went to

the latter seeing it is a bit less touristy and actually goes to the deepest part of the canyon. On the bus you will be approached by a person selling your permits for the Canyon. You NEED this and they do check your pass at least 3 times.  At the time it was 70 Soles per person. The view on the way is also amazing. Some good advice we got was to sit on the right side of the bus going there and man did that pay off. The place we stayed at was very affordable, 30 Soles for a private room with a bathroom (15 Soles per person). They also were not lying about the hot showers ;). If you don’t want to hike with all your stuff the place also has storage for 3 soles a day for some peace of mind. The village is small but it does give you that feeling of being in Peru. The first night we ate at Pachamama Hostel. John and Hannah our British friends got some seemingly delicious pizza with lots of veggies and Alpaca. Lindsay was not feeling well and had some fries. I had my first Alpaca on a scewer. Lindsay and I also had our first pisco sours.

The hike

Pricing:

               Permit: 70 Soles per person

               Housing : 30 Soles for a private or                                15 Soles per person for                                  any other room

               Water:  10 Soles a bottle in the                                   Canyon

               Beer:    10 Soles

               Dinner: 10 soles set menu in the                                  canyon

We decided to do the 2 night 3 day hike. Starting in Cabanaconde heading the first day to Llahuar hot springs, from Llahuar hot springs to Sangalle oasis the second day and hiking out the third day. We all thought that it would be down, straight, and then out. We were very wrong. We started hiking at around 10am. 

Day 1: The first day we hiked 5 hours. It was REALLY hot all the way down with almost no shade. We had about 12 litters of water between the four of us. Regardless to say we drank almost all of it. We made it all the way into the canyon in 4 hours only to hike another hour out the other side and down again.  The accommodation in Llahuar was 15 Soles a person. The room was a bamboo hut right next to the river with a shared bathroom. As the name indicates there were hot springs. There were three pools each of varying temperatures. Luke warm, warm, and hot (38 C degrees). We all jumped in the pools as soon as we could. We all made the mistake at the beginning of the day to wear thin socks with our boots. Halfway down we switched to flip flops so the hot springs were a great relief. Poor Hannah got off the worst with bad blisters on her feet. The place had a set menu for dinner for only 10 Soles. It was pretty good outside that there was no meat on the plate. There are some things to take note on. Beer is very expensive at 10 Soles a pop. So is water at the same price. 

Day 2:We filled our water bottles up with tap water and treated it with aquatabs. We headed off  not sure what the day will hold. Lindsay was still feeling really sick. We all thought that we will hike the day in the canyon. We were very very wrong.We had to hike almost all the way out the other side of the canyon. We hiked about 5 hours to lunch in Cosnirhua. We wanted to get lunch the town before but could not find a place. Thankfully the food was amazing. It was also a set menu for 10 soles. We pushed all the way down the canyon to Sangalle oasis after we let the food settle. We got rooms for 30 Soles a night with a shared bathroom. A set menu for 10 Soles. They told us dinner would be at 7P.M. So we waited and waited and waited. Finally the food came more than an hour late. After that we all crawled into bed wanting an early start the next day. 

 Day 3:The next morning we got an early breakfast at 6:30 for 6 Soles per person and headed up the canyon. Lindsay was very determined to get up as fast as possible to get antibiotics in town. The other two took the “slow and steady” approach like Hannah always says. Her feet were hurting pretty bad.  After a set menu for breakfast of coffee, bread, butter and jam, we set off. I don’t know how they expect one to hike on some bread and jam for 3 hours straight up hill. I think this angered Lindsay the most. ;) It was a good thing we started early so we got a lot of shade on the way up. It seemed like the never ending  journey but we pushed and made it in 3 hours to the top and the John and Hannah made it in 4. Lindsay and I rushed to town. I got an Alpaca steak and Lindsay got some fries. We waited for the bus at 2P.M. and took the long road back to Arequipa.

A Day In Arequipa

The historical center of Arequipa reminds you a lot of a European city with all the Spanish style buildings. The city also has a magnificent backdrop with mount Chachani, one of the worlds “easiest” 6000m climbs in the world and Mount Misti an active volcano almost 5900m high. The Spanish style buildings also get their white colour to the volcanic rock it is made of.

The Market

We spend a day exploring the city center. First we went and checked out the local market just a block from our hostel. The smells and energy is something to expierence. Selling anything from meats to fruits you can get anything here and at a CRAZY cheap price. You can also get some really good street food for 3 soles or less. We ended up buying most of our food for our stay in the city here. 

 

Basilica Cathedral

This huge catholic cathedral definitely shows the wealth of the Catholic Church with gold, silver, and precious gemstones inside. It is across from the city plaza where you can see people feeding pigeons and just relaxing. If you want to enter the Church you need to pay a small amount and have a guided tour with the tip being up to you. The tour takes you through the main hall where you can see the saints and apostils lining the sides of the hall with the organ at the back and a side room with a black Jesus on the cross. Then you are taken to see all the artifacts from gold chalices to the robes the priests wore. The tour seemed a bit rushed though. You are then taken to the roof where you can see most of Arequipa and the bells they used.

Juanita the Ice Maiden

This was definitely something we were all very excited to see. None of us has ever experienced anything like this before. Who is the Ice Maiden? To keep it short without going in to much detail a girl was found at the peak of a sacred mountain in Peru. Frozen for hundreds of years in perfect condition. Who was she? She was a human sacrifice given to the gods (the mountains) by the Incas. On the same mountain other children were found lower down. You can go and see her in the state she has been for hundreds of years. When you arrive you check all your stuff at the counter for there are no cameras allowed at all. Then you watch a short very interesting film on the history of the Ice Maiden after which you are taken on a guided tour to see all the artifacts found with her and the others. The tour ends with seeing her frozen in a glass box right in front of you. It is a very surreal experience

Santa Catalina Monastery

 This monastery was built in 1579 the monastery accepted only women from upper class Spanish families. Each family paid 2,400 silver coins, equivalent to about 150,000 dollars today. The monastery is huge spreading over a whole block. It has very colorful walls and you can get lost inside for hours. When you enter you are asked if you would like a guided tour. This takes about an hour and I am sure is very interesting but I decided to do it on my own. It took me about an hour and a half but I would suggest 2 – 3 hours. There is so much to see. The entrance is 35 Soles which is a bit steep but definitely worth it.