Amazingly, within hours of arriving in Cusco, I walked into our hostel's bar and ran straight into a couple of English girls we'd met on the Galapagos and seen again on the coast of Ecuador. We spent a couple of fun nights with them, and met some more interesting people in the hostel including a couple of Chilean guys who insisted we compared Chilean and Peruvian pisco (because, of course, they insisted Chilean was the original and is the best). One of them is in the Chilean ski team and we were able to get a couple of tips for skiing in Chile which is excellent, as it's something I'm really keen to fit in our trip.
It was great to catch up with the girls and hear their stories from the Machu Picchu trek that they'd just completed. In fact, their enthusiasm for the trek encouraged us to do the same one! We therefore had a hunt around for a good price and booked ourselves up for the Salkantay Trek - allegedly rated in the top 25 best treks by National Geographic. It didn't disappoint. Our group was fantastic, which I think can make all the difference on a trek. We set out very early Monday morning for 5 days and 4 nights. The hike on the first day was gentle enough although already the high altitude was apparent and we were glad to have had some acclimatisation in Arequipa. The first night we spent in a tent at 4100m - it was cold! The next day we set off early for the toughest section of the trip - up to 4600m on the Salkantay pass in the shadow of the great mountain itself (6271m). It is actually still officially unknown if anyone has ever scaled Salkantay, although there are rumours that one American man has managed it. The views from the pass were incredible and it felt great to be in the mountains again. From there however, we started descending and before we pitched camp again that evening we were in the cloud forest, and by the next day, we were into the jungle. The contrast between the different zones was fascinating and it really was strange to be almost at the snow line one day, and picking wild strawberries and avocados on the trail the next. Our final night camping was in the town of Santa Theresa, where we were finally able to soak and wash after the long days of hiking at the local hot springs, followed by a little camp fire party at the camp site. The following day, we took the option of zip-lining across the canyons which turned out to be an amazing experience! We reached speeds of up to 60km/h, taking in the incredible birds's eye views of the canyons below. We even tried out the "Spider-Man" position ( hanging upside down on the line) and the "Superman" position (flying with your arms out in front of you) holding hands on parallel lines. I have a video of the latter and hopefully I will be able to share it with some of you at some point. It was then onto the final part of the trek to Aguas Calientes, also know as Machu Picchu Peublo, the town at the foot of the famous site. We hiked along the train tracks and saw the infamous Hiram Bingham (who discovered the Incan site) train, which costs 600 dollars for a round trip from Cusco. Once we had arrived in Aguas Calientes, the realisation that the following day we were going to be in Machu Picchu hit home. The toll of the trek had taken over the previous days so completely that it was as though we'd almost forgotten out end goal!
Therefore it was with great excitement that we got up before 4am the next morning (although getting out of the first bed we had seen for 4 days was a little hard, I have to admit!) to hike up the last hour or so to the site entrance. Tanya and I were determined, and we practically ran up the steep steeps, no mean feat at altitude and in the dark! I was very proud to have beat another group of hikers we'd seen along the Salkantay trail whom we'd nicknamed the "Spandex" group for all the kit they had on - including Equipe de France sports jackets. The final physical push paid off as we were among the first people who gained access to Machu Picchu that morning which allowed us to take some amazing photos of a deserted site, with the sun just coming up over the surrounding mountains. However cheesy it might sound, it was quite emotional to have in ally made it to the iconic site, and have it for just a few minutes to ourselves and just a handful of other equally keen people.
After a brief but interesting tour of the site from our guide, we were free to spend the whole day in the ancient city. It's a fascinating place, once an important religious centre but also a place of community, trade and agriculture. They now still have a few llamas roaming around, entirely for the benefit of the tourists but along with the mountain chinchillas which can be spotted from time to time, they add to the fun of the place.
Perhaps ignoring the fact that we had been trekking 8 to 10 hours a day for the last four days, we had purchased tickets to climb up Machu Picchu Mountain, the highest mountain on the site. The hour and a half uphill climb was strenuous but 100% worth it for the view at the top. The entire city was laid out in front of us, with the other main mountain of the site, Huayna Picchu, behind it. We had a well deserved packed lunch (including the avocados we'd picked up on the trek!) at the top and soaked up the view. Finally, as the day drew to a close, we completed on last short trek up to the famous sun gate, where those on the Inca Trail come through first thing in the morning, and even had a short wander down the famous trail. Before we knew it, it was 5pm and the city was closing. By the time we'd walked back down to the village we'd been on our feet for well over 12 hours and ready for dinner, followed by a 2 hour train ride and similar length bus ride back to Cusco, and bed.
It's amazing that such a small part of out trip has taken up such a large post of this blog, however I think it reflects how incredible this trek really was. I hope you have enjoyed reading this update and keep an eye open for my next post as we head out of the Peru (how it has flown by!) into Bolivia!
Lots of love,
Emma xxx
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