EXPLORING: Cusco and Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu

Ross has now joined us so after making up for lost time by consuming too much beer and eating Anticuchos (cow heart) in Lima we started making plans for the next three weeks.



Day 31 to 34: Cusco - gateway to Machu Picchu
The day after Ross arrived in Lima we made a beeline for Cusco on what was supposed to be a 20 hour long bus ride but it turned out to be some what longer after breaking down before we had even left Lima. So, after what felt like an eternity of US action films translated into Spanish we eventually made it to the beautiful city up in the mountains.



Cusco is bigger than I had thought as it has about 40000 inhabitants of which 90% seemed to be tourists when we first arrived in the centre of the city. The first night was spent out on the town with a couple, Tuti (Brazilian/Spanish) and Amanda (Canadian), who were also couch surfing at the same house/school that we were surfing at. Oddly though we landed up spending most of the night out at the rather kitsch yet popular and equally pricey (even worse than London) Mama Africa and Zazu's night clubs!



Juan Carlos who's family helped us out in Chimbote was again putting us up with a place to stay in Cusco this time at what used to be an old kinder garden. Sadly though Juan Carlos was away so we still have not met him but his brother Julian let us in and has been looking after us. We practically have our own room, bathroom, lounge, kitchen and laundry to utilize! We owe Juan Carlos and has family big time!



Having our 'own' home in Cusco has been great and has allowed us to again explore the less touristy parts of the city while being able to hunt down the best way to hike to Machu Picchu. Basically the Inca Trail is controlled by government permits most of which the agents hold so they can name their price which is anything up to $500 for the 4 day hike. So we looked at the popular but not controlled alternative, the Salkantay trail, which can be done solo or through an agency and you guessed it we decided to go solo! No donkeys, no Sherpas, no prearranged transport, nada just us, tents, sleeping bags and 5 days worth of food and warm clothes!




Day 35 to 39: Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu
The trail we had decided to do on our own turned out to be fantastic plus we saved a fortune doing it ourselves however a donkey for the first 2 days would have been a welcome addition!

Day 1 started in Mollepata about 3hrs from Cusco so we had to be on the 5am bus to get an early start. The first day was relatively easy even with our bags fully loaded as we had not yet eaten any of the 5 days worth of food. I even had 2 loaves of bread slung over my shoulder for the first 2 days!



That night we camped in a beautiful valley below the snow capped Salkantay peak so the minute the sun went behind the mountains it became freezing cold. Not long after we had arrived at camp we had our sandwiches, took advantage of the little beer stall and headed off to bead before we froze to death with a beer in hand.





Day 2 was the longest and hardest by far. The morning started with a steep climb which made me quite jealous of CJ and Kristin, a couple from Colorado we had met at the first camp, who were also doing the hike solo but had managed to find a local man and his donkey to accompany them on their first 2 days which were known to be the toughest.



We saw CJ and Kristin quite a bit along the hike as they were one of the only others doing it solo. It was quite funny because we new we had seen them somewhere else on our trip before but couldn't place them, eventually we remembered we had seen them on a bus in Trujillo and they stood out there because they were the other only 'gringos' attempting to navigate the local transport. It turns out they are both at med-school and had got engaged in the Cordilla Blanca mountains around the same time we were hiking there! Great couple so hopefully we bump into them gain.



The rest of the day's hike was long but mostly downhill and we walked through some of the most varied vegetation from chilly dry dusty hilltops to lush tropical valleys awash with gushing rivers. That night we slept well camping on a nice cushy patch of grass with a somewhat warmer climate.









Day 3 felt like a bit of a cheat because after about 5 hours of hiking we got to a little town called La Playa where we caught a taxi to Aguas Termales hot pools where we would spend the afternoon and night. We could have hiked along the road but we would then not have had the day at the pools which was awesome! There were a number of hot pools there with pebble bottoms and hot water flowing straight out of the mountainside into the pool making for an absolutely amazing setting and a much needed hot bath! Our camping spot was right next to the pools so the the other hiking groups who were not staying by the pools were quite jealous.





That evening at the pools felt a bit like a night at Bela-Bela warm baths resort with a Lost City like setting however it was all the real deal! We met a great group of people there who were hiking with an agency, one of the few who got to stay at the pools. We swam, played a mystery game and enjoyed some beer with them well into the evening, a place you would miss on the Inca Trail, but a place I would not like to have missed out on!



Day 4 we pent most of the day walking along the railway line towards Aguas Calientes which lies in the shadow of Machu Picchuso so the views were beautiful all along the way. After hiking literally on the railway line for a couple of hours by either hopping from sleeper to sleeper or stumbling along the stones strewn between and next to the line we had had enough and were certainly ready to arrive at Aguas Calientes.





Aguas Calientes is a beautiful little town set in the most amazing valley however it has been spoilt by people haggling every passing tourist to eat at their overpriced restaurant. We of course, after having fought off many a haggler, found the bargain local place where enjoyed many a delicious meal.



The train up from Cusco carrying the less agile tourists (thus avoiding the term 'fat Americans' which seemed to be all too well thrown about by many of those who had hiked for 4 days to get there) terminated in Aguas Calientes so there were many tourists preparing for the trip up to Machu Picchu first thing in the morning. Above Machu Picchu there is a second attraction called Winay Picchu which looks back down on Machu Picchu and has great views in all directions but has a very steep climb and is limited to the first 300 people. So in order to be one of the lucky few you have to be at the gates of Machu Picchu first thing in the morning then quickly make your way across Machu Picchu to secure your place in the queue outside of the gates to Winay Picchu. However, this means you also have to have beaten the people on first 25 tourist buses up the mountainside to the gates of Machu Picchu, which are rumoured to arrive at 6am.

Day 5 we hopped out of our tents at 3:40am starting our climb at 4:00am. Mark and I were not shy to go striding past the half a dozen Frenchman who had started their journey wee bit before us but of course Ross being somewhat more polite chose to casually climb behind them, either that or he couldn't take the pace! We arrived at the gates to Machu Picchu first in 35 min after having been told it would take 2 hours to climb.



It became quite festive on the staircase outside the gates about 20 min after we arrived and at 6am the gates opened and quite annoyingly we had to quickly make our way across Machu Picchu to the gates of Winay Picchu. Mark and I were again the first to the top of Winay Picchu and Ross again arrived a little bit later after politely waiting for the the few Frenchman who'd made it past him in the mad dash across Machu Picchu.





It was amazing being at the top so early in the morning and watching the sun come over the mountain tops. Mark and I were wishing we had brought a silly hat along with us so we could leave it on the top rock telling everyone that came up for a photo that it was the sacred hat and it should be worn in all photos – man that would have made me laugh.







We spent some good time up there and we even bumped into CJ and Kristin which was good because we hadn't seen them making a move out of their tent at 4am as they had planned. Later we made our way down and back to Machu Picchu taking in the midday sun very thankful we'd done the hike up before sunrise. Something we did not know until Ross spotted it is that if you have a look at a photo taken across Machu Picchu towards the Winy Picchu and turn it on its side you will see an image of an Inca man's face!







Later that day we made our way back to Aguas Calientes for lunch before I headed off on the train back to Cusco through the Sacred Valley. Mark and Ross chose to save the $30 on the train ride by walking back up the railway line to catch a bus back to Cusco from near Aguas Termales. A route which landed up taking them 8 and a half hours to get home!

My trip back was good with great views but I landed up nodding off missing much of the Sacred Valley however I did manage to explore a bit of the Inca ruins in Ollataytombo along the way. Was good to get back to our couch surfing home with enough time to do my washing and climb into a very comfy cosy bed!





To see all the pics click here.