Postcards from Peru: Puno and Uros Islands (6)

Peru: Itinerary (1)
Peru: Lima and coastal Peru (2)
Peru: Amazon (3)
Peru: Cusco (4)
Peru: Salkantay to Machu Picchu (5)
Peru: Impressions (7)

After Cusco, we spent the last few days of our trip in and around Lake Titicaca, near the town of Puno. During this time we took a train ride in the Andes, explored the floating islands of Uros and took part in some more festivals, this time in Puno.


Cusco to Puno

Taking a train from Cusco to Puno was a last minute addition to our plan. We had read about it as being a completely different kind of experience, an 11 hour train from Cusco, through the high altitude Andes, all the way till Puno, on the banks of Lake Titicaca. So we booked it, taking the risk of spending a whole day travelling this way when we could have just taken a shorter 2-3 hours flight.

Andean highlands

Anyway, there we were, boarding the PeruRail from Cusco at 6 am in the morning. We were met by a welcome party, a group of singers and dancers at the Cusco station early in the morning. And then we spent the next 10 to 11 hours on this luxury train, passing through some captivating places. It was a slow moving old style train which travelled leisurely, first along the Urubamba river and then through the open Andean countryside. The whole train only had seating options. For the first half of the ride, we sat in the dining car, snacking and eating, and the rest of our time was spent in the “entertainment car” where the singers and dancers were. And time just flew by.

The Observatory

I also spent a lot of my journey in the last carriage of the train, the Observatory. It was an open carriage from where you could see the world passing by. We saw the city of Cusco being left behind, then greenery all around along the Urubamba river, and then miles after miles of yellow and bare mountains full of grasslands, everywhere. We passed by small towns, villages, agricultural fields with llamas and alpacas running through them, farms with cows and sheep and so on. The alpacas are so cute, they just stand and stare, especially when the train was passing by. All around us were very high peaks, far off in the distance. It was such a pleasure to just stand and feel this scenery pass by, with the sun above and the wind blowing in your face.

When I wasn’t in the Observatory, we were being entertained. There was a band who were singing local songs. And two dancers who were dancing to these local songs from Puno and Cusco. They wore colourful costumes from different parts of Peru, changing five times during the journey! Their dance moves were the same though across the dances 😂. They were so energetic and lively, they got many of the passengers to dance too. The singers brought a lot of energy to the performances too. We loved the time here, and it was a struggle to choose between the performances and the stunning scenery outside. There was also a short fashion show with the train staff wearing and displaying dresses with local work.

La Raya pass

During the long journey, we had only one stop, at the La Raya pass, at a height of 4300 metres. We got off the train for a short while, and it felt like we had stepped into a different world. All around us were the high peaks of the Andes, standing majestically. The air was fresh, and thin. And there was no one around. Except the small artisan market set up there, with the locals bringing their handicrafts for the travellers to buy. I bought a small alpaca stuffed toy. And then when the train left, we saw all the artisans pack up their things and leave. It felt like this was the only activity of the day at this stop, when the one train on this track passed through and the locals came to sell their wares.

We continued on our journey after this one brief stop. Just before Puno, we passed through one of the bigger cities of the area, Juliaca. And saw a very interesting scene unfold there - Juliaca’s very own version of Hanoi’s train street. The train passed through Juliaca’s market. And we saw that part of the market included the train route too, people were selling their fruits and vegetables on the train tracks! When the train was to pass (apparently it's the only train that goes from here), they either moved their stuff aside, or just kept it in between the tracks!

Children all around were coming out to wave to the train and its passengers. And literally the second the train passed, everyone carried on with their lives, selling fruits and vegetables from the train tracks, and so on, as if nothing had happened. It felt like the train was running through the daily lives of the residents in that city.

Very soon after we reached Puno. It had got dark by then. So we took a taxi to the dock where our hosts from Uros islands came and met us. Then all of us sat in the boat with a man and his wife, and they took us into the lake, with no light to guide us! First there were grass reeds on the sides, and then the open dark lake. For a few minutes we were wondering what we were doing! Going off with strangers into the centre of this huge deep high altitude lake, in the dark! Anyways very soon we realised it was all ok 😄.

We were staying at the Uros Titicaca, the Best Lodge. At night we didn't really realise what kind of place it was. We got off the boat, and into a cute little room overlooking the lake. It was well decorated and warm. But we were too tired to explore it much. I also felt altitude sickness that day with some mild headache (as Puno is at an even higher altitude, 3800 m compared to Cusco at 3400 m), so we slept early by 9 pm itself.


Uros Islands

In the morning it turned out that we had booked our accommodation inside Lake Titicaca - the highest commercially navigable lake in the world! The lake is huge, about 200 kms long by 80 kms wide and lies both in Peru and Bolivia. There are some 36 islands on the lake, with Isla de Sol being a popular one, which is in Bolivia. We could see snow covered mountains far off in the horizon, apparently they were in Bolivia too. The lake has a lot of significance for the Incas - apparently the first Inca appeared from the lake itself.

Now the Uros Islands are something I hadn't read about when we booked our accommodation. And we were definitely surprised 😃. They are small floating islands made by communities of Uros people who had been pushed away from land by the Incas. The Uros lived on the lake to get away from the Incas, and to continue with their own way of living. So they developed a unique technique of using reed grass to build floating islands for themselves. And they live on them!!

They have built their own island colonies with grass reeds, where the islands act as land and the lake water acts as their roads. The islands are stable, they have hospitals, schools, football grounds, everything floating around on these grass islands they build themselves! When I read about it while in our Uros Lodge, I did have a few moments worrying about what would happen if they sank with our weight 😂. Anyways clearly they dont, given all the things built on them for generations, but it was still a worry which kept creeping in my thoughts.

Our floating Uros hotel

Also, the Uros people don’t just live on the islands, but now they also run their own hotels (which are basically 2-3 rooms per “hotel”) on these islands, each hotel run by a family. The family also live on the same island, in a small hut behind these hotel rooms, and serve as hosts for their guests.

Our hotel, the Uros Titicaca, the Best Lodge was a small island (and hotel), with 3 rooms. The rooms were very comfortable, and tastefully decorated. Especially with all the local colourful handicrafts, things we had been trying to buy the last few days. The amenities were very basic though, especially the toilets. And there was no hot water! The water was heated and kept in the room if we wanted to shower. The rooms had glass walls which were great during the day when the sun was out. But they got very cold at night as temperatures dropped to -5 degrees every night! Thankfully we had heaters which made it all bearable. Still it was very cold being on the lake at night.

But being on an island had limitations. We could get off only when the owner took us out on their boats. So we were restricted to our small island the whole time. I don’t think we did enough research before booking this place to stay for 4 nights 😂! We had no clue they were so remote and basic, if we knew we wouldn’t have booked them.

Our hosts lived behind our rooms, in small huts. They also had two dogs and sheep living with them on the same island. They managed the hotel between themselves, the man and his wife; cooked for us, served us meals in our rooms, booked tours for us, took us places in their boats and helped us with any of our requests. They felt so simple and humble, as if from a different world. Communicating with them was tough though, as they knew very less English.

Sunrise in Uros

The view outside of our rooms during the day was stunning. We had floating islands with small straw huts all around, and the lake was full of traditional yellow Uros boats ferrying tourists all day long. And there were sofas and seats outside our rooms, to lounge and enjoy the view around. We woke up at 6 am the first morning as the sun came out and our room had glass all around which lighted up very early. The sunrise over the lake was calming, with the sun rays coming out and all the huts slowly turning yellow. We spent the morning enjoying the feeling of living on a lake, watching all the small and big islands floating around, with tourists coming in, in the traditional Uros boat. It was such an idyllic moment, I think back to the feeling of that time quite often.

Then we decided to get off our small island. So we booked a tour to an Uros village and then to a faraway Inca island of Taquile. So our host dropped us to an island in the village which was a larger one where multiple families lived together. (Some families prefer to build their own single family islands, some prefer to stay together in groups of a few families). There were some 140 such islands around, and this specific one had 4 families living there. They told us about how they make new islands using grass reeds, how their culture is, how the families live on the island and how the straw huts look from inside.

Floating community

The reeds are a special kind of grass available on the lake, which they tie together to build a floating base of about two metres thick. And that is the foundation of the island! It felt a bit scary to see that we (and all the buildings) are standing on just two meters of grass! Every island had its own mayor. They also used solar panels to generate energy. The women on the island were all wearing colourful clothes, similar to what we had seen the dancers wear in the train to Puno.

Then we were taken on a traditional yellow Uros boat, on a tour around the village, and shown the floating schools, health posts and other community facilities. The boats have two storeys to sit, and have animal characters, mostly cats in the front. They had been used as the main mode of transport till the modern boats came about. But now of course tourists love them. I loved them too, they were so cute.

From a central stop, we all transferred in a big group onto a big boat which was then going to take us to the island of Taquile (also known as Huillanopampa), about 1.5 hours away. The first part of the journey was through reed grass, and then suddenly the lake opened up, a huge expanse of limitless blue. It was a long drive till there, and all we could see were the snow covered peaks of mountains in Bolivia. Close to Taquile, we passed by multiple small islands.

Taquile island

And then we landed at Taquile. It is the third largest island on the lake, and has only about 2000 inhabitants. Apparently the people on this island still live like they lived in olden Inca times, following similar culture and traditions. The island is protected and the textiles made on the island are recognised and protected too because of their unique method of weaving techniques. 

Taquile

We had a wonderful time exploring the island, its natural and cultural beauty. The day was a bit organised but still quite comfortable, with enough time to explore and do things outside of the plan. We first walked up to a local market where many of the locals were gathered. They were selling their handicrafts.

The men and the women wore traditional clothes. The embroidery design there was different, the hats worn by the men were different. Apparently men on this island learnt weaving very early in life and continued doing it their whole life. We also heard that the culture followed on the island was different from others. Including that the locals here have trial marriages - they see for a while if it works, and if it doesn't, then they move on. Just like live-in relationships elsewhere.

Dancing on Taquile

The locals put up a dance show for us, and it was so enjoyable, so graceful, so simple. Men and women in traditional clothes playing music and dancing around in circles. And interestingly, all the women dancing were more than 60 years in age! I was impressed by their agility and activity levels. And of course their dresses, they were so colourful and appealing.

Taquile

After the dance and shopping we walked around the island, up to a restaurant on the other side of the island. The views all around were just stunning, the island landscape, the green and brown vegetation on the island, the blue waters of Lake Titicaca below, and clear blue skies above. It was such an amazing experience walking around in such remote and natural surroundings. There was a beach and some small hotels on the island where tourists could stay if they got special permission. The houses in the village seemed quite nice and decently modern. And the main profession in this remote island was agriculture. I also chatted with the guide who shared a lot of stories about the culture here.

At the restaurant, we had a simple local made lunch, with a very tasty chutney. And with a stunning view of the island around. And very soon, it was time to head back. We reached our Uros lodge by 4 pm itself. We saw some boats visit our island, selling vegetables, fruits, toys and other daily needs. It was quite a different experience to buy from a floating market.

Sunset in Uros

Afterwards, we just lounged outside our room watching the sun go down on the floating islands. And it was quite a stunning sight. No pictures can capture the feeling of sitting on a lake, watching the sun go down. But as soon as the sun was gone, the temperature crashed. It got cold and windy very quickly, and so we got in, had our meals and slept off as there wasn't a lot to do after sunset.

The next morning we again saw the sunrise outside our huts, it was just magical. Watching the people go about their daily business at a height of 3800 m feels so crazy. It was so idyllic, I didn't want to leave. But then we decided that we would checkout today and leave early as living on the island felt quite limiting. Fortunately, the hosts were very nice and allowed us to do that. So we packed off and said goodbye to the island and were off. The hosts dropped us till the banks of the lake, from where we took a cab to Puno town. It was nice to be back in civilisation but it also feel too normal, too everyday, not as exotic as the last two days.


Puno

We checked into a “normal” hotel in Puno, the Hacienda Puno for the next two nights. It was a hotel made of bricks, on land, and with heating, a rooftop restaurant and all the modern amenities of life 😀. And life felt so normal after the last few surreal days. It had hot water, and we took a shower with hot water - it felt so good after two days of no hot water. I think this is when I realised that my days of rustic travel are over. There are some basic necessities that I feel I now always want.

Puno cathedral

Also by that time, I think we were getting tired of all the travels from the last two weeks, and since Puno was a small-ish town, with not a lot of things to do, we finally chilled a bit for the next two days. The first day we just walked about town. First we visited the Puno cathedral and the local square. And of course a festival was going on that day 😂. We first had lunch at a beautiful Cafe, the Casa del Corregidor. Then I sat in the sun for a few hours, enjoying the Morenada festival.

Morenada festival

Apparently they were celebrating 200 years of the Morenanda dance. There were thousands of people taking part in the procession. There would be a few band members in the front wearing Spanish clothes. And some women in Spanish costumes. Then rows of men in elaborate Morenada costumes played music using chains in their hands and danced around. After them would be rows of women in bright coloured costumes walking and dancing as they moved past the central square. And like that, different schools of Morenada were walking one by one through the square. 

I think there were thousands of people taking part, it looked like the entire city was there. Either performing or watching! Apparently the origin of this dance is based on depiction of slavery. The men wear dark masks depicting the slaves who used to work in the Peruvian mines. The chains used for the music depict the chains they were bound in. I wondered how will the dance continue with the political correctedness of today? Anyways no one seemed to mind it there. I sat there for a while but then it got too hot to be out, so I went back. But the locals continued celebrating till late at night.

Sunset in Puno

At night I went out for a short walk around the cathedral. It looked pretty, inside and out. And it was crowded! After that I almost thought I would climb up the mountain behind the town, to see the Jesus statue shining up above the hill, but I didn't. It would have been tough to hike at such a high altitude anyways. The sunset outside was pretty though. We then went for dinner to Machu Picchu pizzeria which had a tasty pizza, with a Peruvian twist to it. We slept early again by 9, though the town was partying all night, celebrating the end of the Morenada festival I guess.

Artificial lagoon on Lake Titicaca

The next day, we first walked to one of the local handicraft markets, which was near the port. It was a bit of a walk away, so we got to see the parts where people lived. We walked past houses, shops, free dental camps and so on. Most of the handicraft market was closed, so we didn't find much to buy there though. Then I went for a long walk around the lake and waterfront, just taking a roundabout route to see the city.

Puno

A part of Lake Titicaca had been cordoned off to make a small artificial lagoon, It had a few boats and some activities to do. It was nothing spectacular, bur the views of town from there were charming. Then I walked through the residential areas. I saw children playing volleyball, at this high altitude, where all we could do was just walk! Then I walked into the main market street which was very active. It was full of supermarkets and big shops, all crowded in the afternoon. I walked past an indoor covered market. It was nice to for once be not in the tourist hubs of the country, and felt so slow and natural. Then I walked through some very nice colourful squares and streets with old colonial buildings. They were full of cafes and handicraft shops. We had lunch at a restaurant called Tulipanas, which felt like it had some Dutch influence. But all in all, there wasn't a lot to see, just some things to experience. 

In the afternoon, we saw Miss Congeniality at the hotel (I think I also realised it's tough to travel for 3 weeks and be constantly active, you do need to take proper breaks in between). In the evening, we went out shopping and bought cushion covers finally in the designs we wanted. It also felt by then that we knew the city, because we had walked it all and could even recognise the places we were passing by. I did feel that day, that after the Uros islands, we should have just gone to Arequipa rather than waste our days in Puno as there wasn’t much to do there. At night, we had a quiet dinner at the rooftop restaurant of our hotel and I got ready to leave the country the next day.


In this part of the trip, the train ride from Puno to Cusco had been an unmatchable experience, and I would recommend that anytime. And I enjoyed staying on the Uros islands, though it wasn't very convenient. Puno as a city though, I would avoid.


Leaving Puno and Peru

I had two flights today, one from Juliaca to Lima and then onwards from Lima to Amsterdam. I had booked the local shuttle (called the community bus) that drops off people to Juliaca airport. (I was again amazed at the tourist infrastructure setup in the country). They picked me up from the hotel and drove us to the airport. The views outside started with Lake Titicaca views but then turned inland. We passed through unpainted houses again everywhere. Juliaca felt like a big city but slow. There was not much to write about it though. Also interestingly, the airport only had flights to Lima, nowhere else.

The flight to Lima was short. At Lima, I had a long layover, so I took a risk and took a cab to one of the closer neighbourhoods, Callao. I went to a restaurant on the waterfront, El Mirador. I had my last ceviche of the trip, while enjoying a good view overlooking the sea. The restaurant was right next to the Peru Naval School, so I could also see naval cadets training on the waterfront.

Callao waterfront

After lunch, I walked along the Callao waterfront. The beach was a pebble beach, and all along the water were palm trees, and large colourful seaside mansions behind them. It was a very scenic promenade, and so calming as there were very few people there. It was clearly a posh part of town, and I saw a different side to the city. Thinking to myself again, the rich in every country have the same life, clean, luxurious and grand. Only the not so rich have different lives in different countries.

Anyways, after this pitstop, I took the long flight back from Lima to Amsterdam, leaving behind this country so different from where I live. And thinking back of all the highlights of the trip, the Amazon, the Salkantay hike and the Uros islands. What an experience! And I can’t wait to be back!

Postcards from Peru: Impressions (7)

Peru: Itinerary (1)
Peru: Lima and coastal Peru (2)
Peru: Amazon (3)
Peru: Cusco (4)
Peru: Salkantay to Machu Picchu (5)
Peru: Around Puno (6)

As I left Peru, my mind was full of thoughts and ruminations (and whenever I think back of my time there, the same thoughts crowd my brain). It's a fabulous country, with loads of diversity - coastal regions, deserts, dense forests, high peaks, mountain ranges, high altitude lakes and so on. There is a huge range of activities to do depending on your tastes. And I absolutely loved my time here, exploring this unique country and all it has to offer. My favourite experiences on the trip were visiting the Chuncho Macaw Clay Lick in the Amazon, hiking the Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu, partaking in the Cusco festivals, passing through the mind-blowingly stunning Andean terrain on the train from Cusco to Puno and staying on the remarkable floating islands of Uros. I left the country only wishing I could have spent more time here, in the Amazon forest and the Sacred Valley around Cusco.

Art work

I loved the people here, so simple, so humble, so friendly, so colourful, and I was amazed by their love for festivals! I liked how much humility they show while living such tough lives, at such high altitudes and with limited modernity in their lives. A bit of commercialism has crept in but not too much yet. I was also impressed by how slowly but surely the Peruvians (especially the Quechuans) are trying to bring some of their Andean and Incan heritage back, with their clothes, dances, festivals and all.  

The handicrafts in Peru were outstanding. The colours, the types of weaves, the luxuriously warm alpaca wool, wow! I bought so much from there - two alpaca shawls, a throw, a red alpaca poncho in local weave, a red alpaca sweater with local designs, a toy alpaca, four traditional weave cushion covers, a local weave headband, a machu picchu t-shirt, a red alpaca local weave hoodie, charapita sauce, painted slippers, and of course, hiking stuff for Salkantay. I don't think I would have collectively shopped so much in all my trips in the last decade even 😁.

Overall, the country is quite underdeveloped but tourism wise it's okay. Still sometimes, surprises happen or one encounters some chaos. I also wished sometimes we could have seen the country by ourselves, without depending on organised tours. As sometimes the tours felt too focused on superficial tourism, without giving one time to smell the roses on the way.

The country felt quite poor to me and seeing how (relatively) happily people went about their lives, it made me realise we have so much more comfort living in Europe. And we should try not to forget that too often 😊.


Am sharing here some random titbits, observations and impressions I had during my time in Peru. These are just some of the experiences I had noticed and jotted down, they definitely don’t capture all that I saw and experienced.


Peruvian history and culture

• Peru is quite a huge country, something we don’t realise from looking at the world map. It’s actually three times the size of Spain! Its population however is quite concentrated, with 12 of the 34 million Peruvian people living in and around Lima (about 30% of the country’s population)
• There have been many civilisations in Peru. Along the coast, there were the Paracas, Nazca and Chicha, while the Wari and Inca flourished in the mountains. Even now, more is being discovered including prehistoric cities and fossils from many civilisations (such as a lost city in Lake Titicaca) 
• The country has had many outside influences, especially visible in its food. Of course there is the Spanish effect. But the coastal parts also had massive Japanese and Chinese influences on their food. Ceviche, one of the most popular Peruvian dishes has major Japanese influence (Also, apparently it is only supposed to be eaten in the afternoon, not at night, something I didn’t even know earlier)
• The Peruvian flag was inspired by the colours in a flamingo’s wings, a bird quite common in this region
• One of the big draw that attracted the Spanish to Peru and the Incas was the vast quantities of gold they had. Apparently the source of this gold is still unknown as there are only small mines and traces of gold particles in the rivers, but no major source has been discovered yet to explain the massive quantities of gold the Incas possessed (I was told this by a guide, not sure if it's true or not but definitely makes for a mysterious tale)
• Earthquakes are quite common along the Peruvian coast. Peru suffered from a huge earthquake in 2007, which significantly altered parts of its landscape, especially near the Pisco and Ica regions 
• Overall the country felt quite underdeveloped. So many of the houses on the outskirts of Lima and other cities are just unpainted. But you can see plenty of rich people too, so the inequality strikes one quite strongly
• I found the people extremely friendly, and also naive and simple, especially in the mountains. People are shorter there, and move and speak slowly (to conserve oxygen, I guess). The Quechua women speak so slowly and sweetly, it’s a joy to hear them speak. A lot of them are seen wearing traditional dresses and selling handicrafts on the streets in Cusco. They also have their pet alpacas with them and offer photos to tourists with them 
• Overall, Peru felt like a safe place for women to be alone and walk around without fear, given how many women I saw doing that
• There were also a lot of police people walking around in all the cities we went to. Probably for the tourists? 
• There were also so many dogs everywhere in the cities. They were quite cute too 

Tourism tips

• Overall, the tourism experience in the country was great. There are tours available for everything, with a fully functioning system running behind it. The guides here speak in English and Spanish almost simultaneously 
• Though things are not always perfectly organised. It’s good in one way, as there is more flexibility and customisation possible. But coming from Europe, some of the disorganisation irritated me a bit. A lot of information isn't available clearly on websites. And one figures out some things only after arriving there. In fact, that is the best way to explore overall. So it helped that we hadn’t booked too many things beforehand. Once there and after understanding the lay of the land, we had more flexibility to go with the flow rather than have to go with our pre-booked plans
• Also I must say, even though they have many organised tours, they were all flexible enough. And did not feel as restrictive as the tours in Vietnam. I actually did not mind them much. Other than one thing of course!! Waking up early in the morning every day was just too much for me. I think most tours start at some insane hour of 4 or 5 or 6am at the latest. That I definitely minded 😃
• Hotels could go either way. Most of them were good and convenient, well set up with tourism in mind. However, we did have some crazy experiences where we stayed. Our ecolodge in the Amazon had open bathrooms and no facilities for when it gets cold! Our floating lodge in Uros had very limited bathroom facilities. And the El Balcon hotel though more expensive was not even close to as good as the Tika Wasi Casa hotel. So it's still a gamble how your hotel experience turns out to be
• Also I think money has changed the ways of the people here already. I could see a lot of commercialism in the behaviour of many of the people involved in tourism activities, which clashed with the simplicity of others. Some people definitely behaved more greedily than others, trying to rip you off. This difference was too visible. Also everyone in the travel industry expects tips from travellers, everywhere! That is definitely a sign of increasing commercialism
• The weather in Cusco shifted between extremes every day! It would be 23 degrees and sunny during the day, and drop to low single digits at night. This was quite difficult to get used to. And even if we didn't need it all, we had to carry a lot of warm layers in our bags all day, just in case we needed them! 
• We took medicines made of natural herbs to acclimatise to the high altitude, as well as ate coca candies regularly, when in Cusco. We also drank coca leaves with hot water every few hours in a day. Am not sure if they work, but they definitely worked as a placebo
• Peruvians love their hammocks, they are everywhere. At camps, coffee plantations, houses, restaurants, hotels, and so on. And I think tourists love them too. After the long days of walking we did to get to Machu Picchu, they were always welcome. And I was always in one whenever and wherever I found one 😃
• Many ATMs charge $5-10 fees for cash withdrawal. In fact, we found it much cheaper to exchange Euros in shops in Cusco - they gave a better rate than the prevailing exchange rate even and definitely better than credit cards
• The check-in at Latam airlines which we used for domestic flights is quite digital. With self service baggage tags and self service check-ins. I was pleasantly surprised by it 

Food in Peru

• Peruvians love their food. And it varies by geography. The food on the coast is completely different from the one in the mountains which is different from the one in the forest - they almost feel like completely different cuisines. And you can start chatting with any of the locals who would happily tell you how their food is different. Apparently, Lima is home to many world famous restaurants as well as apparently the most expensive restaurant in the world! I don't think I have enough knowledge or space to do justice to the uniqueness of Peruvian food
• They also grow some 250 varieties of corn and 3000 types of potatoes in Peru. I saw some of them in the local markets, but of course not all of them! Also a lot of their food is made up of quinoa, potato and avocado, most of which trace their origins to the Andes. In terms of drinks, my favourite was the chicha morada, a purple drink made with purple corn. And the other new drinks were the chicha, a yellow coloured drink and the chilkano, a local alcoholic cocktail
• Peru also has many fruits which I had never tasted before. The list was long, but I tried the following, all which I liked
• Chirimoya
• Lucuma
• Aguaymanto
• Camu camu
• Tuna (not the fish)
• In terms of chillies also, the variety there was unexpected. My friend shared a list for us to start with
• Ají limo (Used as base of ceviche)
• Ají amarillo 
• Ají panca (Used mostly for cooking)
• Rocoto 
• Uchucuta
• Charapita (Found in the Amazon)
• Ají de cococona (Found in the Amazon)
• Pipi de mono (Found in the Amazon)
• The coca plant is the lifeline in the Andes. The locals eat and drink it all the time. And we also used the herbal altitude medicines, as well as coca candies the entire time we were there. Guess they may have helped us with dealing with altitude sickness, who knows

As I said before, I totally loved the country. And can’t wait to be back. I would love to stay a month in Cusco at some point in life, let’s see if it happens.

Postcards from Peru: Salkantay trail to Machu Picchu (5)

Peru: Itinerary (1)
Peru: Lima and coastal Peru (2)
Peru: Amazon (3)
Peru: Cusco (4)
Peru: Around Puno (6)
Peru: Impressions (7)

Machu Picchu is an ancient Inca town which was abandoned when the empire fell and hence was forgotten when the Spanish conquered and dismantled their towns and cities. It was rediscovered in 1911 by an American explorer Hiram Bingham. And since it hadn't been found by the Spanish conquistadors during their conquests, it managed to retain its original architecture and structure. Though because of years of neglect, it had gradually fallen into ruin. Since its discovery, it has become a very popular place to visit, especially after being designated a UNESCO world heritage site. Also I think Machu Picchu has managed to put Peru on many tourist maps, as once people come here, they end up exploring other parts of the country too. 

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is located in a remote part of the Andes, and there is no road leading up to it yet. One can either take a train from Cusco, Ollantaytambo or Hydroelectric to the village of Aguas Calientes also known as Machu Picchu village and then hike or take a bus up to see the ruins. Or the more adventurous visitors can hike through the mountains to get to Aguas Calientes. The main hiking trail known as Inca trail passes through many other Incan ruins. In recent times, this route has seen a lot of overcrowding, so it is highly regulated now, with a limited number of hikers allowed per day to go on this trail. Therefore, it's critical to book your spot many months in advance.

Salkantay trail

But since this trail has limits now, many other hiking routes have opened up to allow the late bookers to visit Machu Picchu. The Salkantay route is one of them, for hikers booking last minute, like us 😃. The Salkantay trail takes 4 days to get from the village of Challacancha to Aguas Calientes, allowing a visit to the ruins of Machu Picchu on the 5th day. It was quite a strenuous trek, as we were mostly above 3000 m for the first three days of the hike, where the air is thin and even walking is tough. Hiking at high altitude is tougher than usual. And we were walking 20+ kms in a day, ascending 700-800 meters everyday. 

The trek was mindblowing though - walking beside magnificent peaks, stunning dense forests, rushing rivers and lush green valleys. It was quite rewarding to experience these remote locations and walk through such strenuous conditions to finally reach our destination, the stunning ruins of Machu Picchu! It was totally worth it. And the Salkantay trail was another high point of the trip for me, perhaps even more than Machu Picchu 😂.


Hike overview

Day 1: Walk 13 kms from Challacancha to Soraypampa, with total ascent of 700 metres during the day (From 3600 m, going up to 4200 m and then back to 3900 m)
Day 2: Walk 22 kms from Soraypampa to Challhuay, with total ascent of 800 metres during the day (from 3900 m, going up to 4600 m at the Salkantay Pass, and then down to 2900 m)
Day 3: Walk 22 kms from Challhuay to Lucmabamba and then to Aguas Calientes, with total ascent of 500 metres (from 2900 m, descending to 1800 m and then climbing back to 2050 m)
Day 4: Rest day in Aguas Calientes
Day 5: Walk 14 kms from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu and back, with total ascent of 450 metres (from 2050 m, climbing up to 2500 m and then back to Aguas Calientes)


Before the hike

We had booked our hike with a tour operator. And they had asked us to come to their office in Cusco for a briefing the evening before the start of the hike (things in Peru seemed pretty chill and last minute that way). But when we went to their office, we realised that things were a mess. We were going to be in a group where the other hikers were doing a 4 day hike, while we were on a 5 day hike. So it was not clear how they would be organising it. Also they told us that our Machu Picchu tickets hadn't been booked, which they had earlier confirmed had already been booked! And they hadn't booked a hotel for us in Aguas Calientes even though we had asked them to. Lastly they told us they cannot carry our bags for us even though it was agreed before. They did solve all these things as the trek progressed, but it did feel like a mess before we started, causing some nervousness for sure.


Day 1: Challacancha to Soraypampa

We left early from Cusco, around 430 am (again!). There were five of us on the hike, plus our guide, Rolando. We first travelled in a van for 3 hours to get to Challacancha from where the trail started. The initial part of the ride was very foggy, though it cleared a bit later. It was a nice bus ride, through some small villages from Anta province on the way. They looked very different from Cusco. The people were mostly Quechua, a lot of them were wearing traditional clothes. There were loads of maize fields, plus some avocado and potato plantations on the way. We stopped for a meal at Mollepata where we had a very tasty local meal prepared at the restaurant, it was a filling and healthy start to the day.

Starting at Challacancha

The van dropped us at Challacancha and we started walking around 10 am with our guide. While the cook was going to turn up with our luggage directly at that night’s campsite. Today was a relatively non challenging walk, we walked about 2-3 hours climbing up and then down the mountains, along the Limatambo river in the valley. The entire route was through green mountains and deep valleys, with some sweeping views of faraway mountains and some villages visible far off. The vegetation was mostly large shrubs. We were walking all along on old Inca canal for most of the way, while a new one was being built (it's worth reading about the intricate Inca canal systems present 100s of years ago). It was during this walk that I started clicking photos of different kinds of flowers I noticed growing wild on the side. They were all so bright, in all colours - yellow, orange, purple and so on - and each so unique and fascinating, I ended up photographing more than 50 such flowers on the hike.

View from Soraypampa campsite

We were staying at a campsite at Soraypampa. It was a delightful location - with views of llamas and alpacas in the mountains in front, snow covered peaks around and clear skies above. There was a road access up to this spot, so there were many tourists who had taken transport to drive till here to walk up to the Humantay lake. There was a car park nearby. Plus loads of horses, as the next day’s trail could only be done on foot or horseback. So the horses were used to carry the camping gear further. 

There were a few hostels and shops at this location too plus some 4-5 families who lived here and managed all the shops and hostels. Apparently it's also possible to do the hike without a guide. And some people do that, sleeping in these hostels on the way.

Our tents

When we reached the campsite, we rested a bit, and our tents had already been set up. (I had no energy to help in setting up the tents for sure!). The campsite was in the open, with a mountain in front on which llamas, alpacas and horses were grazing and running around, just like that. It was quite meditative to just see the animals running around with so much glee on the mountain in front, while I rested my feet in the tent.  

We had lunch prepared by our chef. The food everyday was amazing - a wide spread of food cooked fresh daily, very tasty and beautifully presented. It was always a pleasure to eat such well made food after the long walks daily. And of course, we drank a lot of coca tea the whole time.

Walking to Humantay lake

After leaving our stuff, we went for a short hike up to Humantay lake, a nearby location at a much higher altitude. It is a very short hike, going up from 3900 to 4300 m with an extremely steep incline, and helps to acclimatise to hiking up to higher altitudes. The path was quite rocky but stunning. We saw an avalanche happen in front of us on the mountain on the other side (thankfully!). This was a tough hike for sure, as the air was getting thinner. I had to stop a few times on the way to the lake to breathe. I definitely felt the impact of the thinning air, and experienced a bit of heaviness and light headedness on the way. 

Humantay Lake

But the lake was stunning and worth all the effort. It looked picture perfect, just like a painting. With emerald green waters in front of some mesmerising peaks. And the reflections of the snow covered mountains on the lake made it even more magical. I wanted to stay there for a while but we had to reach our campsite before sunset as the sun sets early here, between 5-6 pm. So we headed back, too soon for me. While coming back, we saw some local deer walking around. We also saw some people breathing oxygen from tanks, which felt a bit unnerving.

The peaks at night

By the time we reached our campsite, it was dark. And we could see the mountain peaks shining, due to the snow on top and the big shiny stars up above. It was a surreal sight, we could have enjoyed it more if we weren't freezing by then already 😆. The weather all day had been hot and sunny. But as the sun started going down, the temperature started dropping. And while walking down, it dropped from 20+ to single digits! But we were well prepared thankfully.

At the campsite, we had dinner, and again, it was such an amazing spread. There were 3 courses, and we ate so much. It had been a tough day and we had walked about 13 kms over 5-6 hours, with breaks of course. So we stuffed ourselves, as we deserved it.

After dinner, when we looked up, we could see so many stars in the sky and the Milky Way too. The sky was magnificent that night. The stars were shining so much, they looked like balls rather than dots as they appear like in cities. We could have sat hours admiring the sky except we could not. It got so cold (it was -5 degrees at night), and we were so tired, that we got into our tents by 8 pm itself (!) and tried to sleep, to be ready for the difficult day the next day. We slept in the tents with extra warm sleeping bags. And even with the sleeping bags, we had to cover ourselves with multiple layers of warm clothes. At night, when my friend got out to go to the toilet, she found the sky to be even more stunning, and asked me to come out and look. But it was so cold, I let it pass. Sometimes, you just have to choose rest over stunning sights 😆.


Day 2: Soraypampa to Challhuay

Today was the toughest day of this whole trek. But it was also the most memorable and breathtaking day of the trail. We walked past towering snow covered peaks, valleys, rivers, lakes, the Salkantay pass and cloud covered forests, finally camping at Challhuay. We had to hike up to the Salkantay pass at 4600 m where we got a view of the Salkantay peak. In total, we hiked for 12 hours, walking 22 kms, mostly at high altitude, going up from 3900 m to 4600 m to the Salkantay pass and then coming down to 2900 m.

Along the streams

We woke up at 5 am and left early as usual around 630 am. We started hiking up to the Salkantay peak. It is about 6 kms till there, and we took about 3 hours on the way. The mountains were covered with dried shrubs. We walked past a river and some small streams along the route. The whole walk was filled with picturesque views, hidden lakes, small local huts and so much fresh mountain air, it was amazing. 

Along the streams

This day was more crowded than till now. Today, there were many horses (and horse shit) too, as this part of the trail could only be covered by foot or horseback. The cooks were carrying the tents, food supplies etc. on horseback to the next campsite. After a point, the trail split in two, one for the horses and one for the people.

The path to the peak was extremely steep. And the guides walked so much faster than the rest of us, it was quite humbling. We passed by a small gorgeous lake. It had an emerald colour and was reflecting all the nature around. 

At the Abra Salkantay pass, we saw snow covered peaks all around, even though it was so sunny. The height there was 4600 m and the peak was towering above us at 6271 m. The pass was full of people, as everyone took a break there.  

Salkantay Peak

It was also quite difficult to breathe and walk at the pass, we had to take a break in between photographs too 😂. We ate some snacks and drinks, and rested while enjoying the majestic panorama of the peaks around. They felt so grand, so majestic. There were also rock cairns kept all around by the locals to pray to the Salkantay mountain. The peak has a place in local legends and beliefs too. And I could feel it, the place just felt so surreal. It's a feeling I will remember for a long time. Just sitting there and looking all around you felt so powerful, yet so small. It was just fabulous to be there. I didn't want to leave yet, but we had to soon start our descent down.  

At Salkantay pass

The path down was picturesque too, and easier, but long. The next 6 kms was mostly downhill and took us about 3 hours. We walked through river valleys with the hillsides dotted with wild flowers. And one could see till very far. The feeling of being there felt so freeing, I kept stopping quite often taking photos and enjoying the surroundings. I really wish we had more time to take in these mesmerising surroundings. 

We passed by some people, doing the trail by themselves, without a guide! That was brave. We also ran into some people who we had met or seen earlier on the trip. It looks like everyone goes to the same spots when in Peru, so you keep running into the same people multiple times. 

Our meals

We had our next break at Huayracmachay where our cook had already prepared a huge spread of food for us to eat. After a very brief stop, we started walking on towards our next campsite. We walked for another 10 kms, all of which was downhill but the paths were very steep and it took us 4 hours to get to our night camp at Challhuay.

Tents along the trail

It was a long walk but the vegetation changed to green forests, so it got more interesting to look around. There were loads of flowers on this walk, and it was so rewarding to see all of them. The clouds were inside the forest and that felt magical. Though, the path was rocky and steep, and that was not so fun to walk. We did see some people with small shops in the mountains on this part of the trek. So it looks like it was not as remote, as some people did live here too. 

Flowers on the way

During these walks, our guide also told us stories about the Inca, their beliefs, their worldview, and so on. The Incas believed in three worlds, all depicted by an animal – the upper world of the gods, represented by the condor; the middle world of the living, represented by the puma; and the underworld of the dead, represented by the snake. He also spoke about the civilisations that came before the Incas – the Paracas, known to be great doctors, the Nazca, known as great astronomers; and the Tiwanaku, who were great architects. And apparently, the first Inca king, Pachacuti had united the empire into what they called the “Four Regions of the Sun.” 

We did the last part of the walk, in the dark, with phone light! And reached our camp only after 630 pm. I think that was brave too 😆. Thankfully the campsite today was more like a hostel than a campsite. The weather was warmer here as the height was lower. There were buildings there along with a shop where we could buy different things. Also, there was a road to this camp, so it felt like we had returned to civilisation. 

We were going to sleep in huts that night rather than just tents. And we got to take a hot shower too! It was so so welcome. We even got access to the internet for part of the night (though I didn't use it still). There were many people staying there overnight, so it was more active and buzzing. The sky was cloudy today though, so we did not get the clear-sky stars we had seen previously, when it was too cold to enjoy them. And anyways, we were so tired, we didn't do much in the evening and crashed very soon.


Day 3: Challhuay to Aguas Calientes

Our huts at Challhuay

When we woke up in the morning, we finally saw our camp and it was stunning. Up on the mountain above the Salkantay river with a beautiful bridge next to it. And all the red huts lined up along the mountain. I could have sat here for hours, being in the surroundings and just being.  

Anyways, we did not have that luxury. There had also been a change in our hiking plans. We were initially going to do the whole 4 day trek to get to Aguas Calientes, but because of some booking issues, we had to change our plans. So this day we did part of the hike, skipped a part and then walked the last part, to get to Aguas Calientes a day earlier. And so we had to start early again.

Merging rivers

Today was a (relatively) easy day but a very long one still. We walked past very diverse areas today, forests, plantations, train stations and so on, it was an interesting day overall. We woke up at 5 am and left around 630 am from our campsite. We first walked through some villages and then hiked down to the spot where the rivers merged to become the Salkantay river. We walked along it, on trails in the forests.

Resting on a hammock

We then stopped at the Colpapampa camp in the middle of the mountains where people were playing football. It was such a beautiful location, with a shop, a campsite and some huts around. It was so nice to sit there on a hammock and rest in the sun (well for the 15 mins we got to rest 😁).

Along the river

Then we continued walking along the river, walking by loads of fruit orchards. We saw some small villages, mostly on the opposite side of the river. We also passed by remote huts in the hills here, where one family lived with some small fields on the mountainside. And they all definitely had dogs, we could hear them till far. We wondered why people choose to live this life, away from everyone. It did feel like a very tough and isolated life.

We continued our walk through the jungle, most of it through muddy paths, sometimes going up and sometimes down. We had to cross some areas with landslides where part of the land had slid down to the river. We also passed by a few waterfalls in the forests.

Dancing Lady Orchids

The route was lined with flowers, and some really exotic ones like the “dancing lady orchid” - that was my favourite. We also saw some huge Bromeliads plants on the trees, these are are colourful parasitic plants growing on top of trees. We walked by many fruit trees on the way - strawberry shrubs, granadia/ passionfruit etc.. Our guide sometimes helped us pluck some, which we would eat on the way. It was sunny and humid the whole day, but thankfully it was fine to walk as it was shady under the trees as the forests were quite dense.

After crossing the river, we got to the other side where there was a road. It was lined with farm houses with families living there, who had plantations on the hills, of bananas, granadia and avocado. There were enough rest stops here for hikers to stop and rest near shops and huts, and get some snacks for the break.

Then we reached Churubamba. I sat in a hammock for a while, resting. We had walked about 10 kms over 4.5 hours on this stretch. As we had cut short our trek by a day, at this point, we were met by a van and driven to Hydroelectric, with a break at a coffee plantation for lunch.

The van drove us to the next spot. And we drove through many villages, including one called La Playa which was on the river and had many plantations on the mountains. It was interesting to see how people just choose to live remotely like this.

We then stopped at a coffee plantation at Lucmabamba. This was supposed to be our campsite for the night if we hadn't cut short our hike by a day. And instead of taking the van till here, we would have walked the last bit too. It was a stunning location, with a river below and green forested mountains all around. We had lunch here, enjoying the views surrounding us. It also had a hammock 🥰 which I used again. We could also slowly see ourselves returning to civilisation, step by step, given there were buildings and roads in this part of the trek.

From Lucmabamba, we would have walked up to Llaqtapta which is an Inca site, and then walked via Hydroelectric, till Aguas Calientes. But because we had cut short the hike, we got into another van from here which took us to the Hydroelectric, a town where a hydroelectric plant is being constructed. It is also a railhead and had trains connecting it to Aguas Calientes. So essentially, we skipped the walk from Churubamba to Hydroelectric, and covered that in a van.

Along the tracks

The van till Hydroelectric drove us amid plantations on very bumpy roads. It was quite a rough ride to get there. Hydroelectric also looked like a busy place and was lined with restaurants along the rail line. When we reached, we stopped at a local restaurant, the Restaurante Baylon and had snacks while waiting for our train. It also had a hammock (oh how much I welcomed them!).  

Our luggage was loaded on one of the trains leaving Hydroelectric while we started hiking again around 3 pm, walking for about 3 kms and reaching Aguas Calientes (also known as Machu Picchu village) around 6 pm. This part of the hike was easier, as it was flat and mostly along the train tracks and the Urubamba river. But it was still tiring after the last two strenuous days of hiking.

Cafes along the way

We walked along the train tracks, and passed by so many cute cafes on the way, with nice scenic spots for eating and drinking next to the river. But we kept walking, past some very pretty flowers, past Inca terraces, past old trees and past the Machu Picchu hill. It was a fun walk, with so much to explore and see.

And then we reached Aguas Calientes, a town which appears out of nowhere! With its twinkling lights, it was so welcome. It was a small cute little town, full of shops and hotels. It has a river running through it. And is all along the hill, so picturesque. It was also very active as it was full of people, and many activities. And at Aguas Calientes, we again ran into the same people who we had passed by during the hike 😂.  As it is the base for anyone looking to visit Machu Picchu. 

We could barely walk after but somehow went for a local Peruvian dinner at Green House restaurant. And even though the food was good, I was missing our hike meals - we always had a huge variety of 5-6 tasty dishes for every meal. And after such tough days, we relished them more than normal. Our cook Theo’s cooking was outstanding, and I missed it a lot as we had finished our trail by now.

We were staying at a hotel for the next two nights, the Intiwatana El Tambo. It was quite a nice and comfortable place. And we finally felt like we had come back to civilisation. We got wifi, beds, mattresses, a shower, a proper toilet - and it felt amazing. We also crashed by 9 pm given how tired we were.


Day 4: Aguas Calientes

After three days of hiking in the Andean highlands, we finally got a day to relax. The only plan of the day was to buy the Machu Picchu tickets, and the rest was just rest. Though even that was not as easy. Because of course, we had to wake up early, again!

Everyday 1,000 tickets are released for Machu Picchu for tourists wanting to visit the ruins the next day. This is in addition to whoever has booked tickets online a few months in advance. The booking is a two step process. In the morning you have to get in queue to get a token number. And then in the evening one can buy the actual tickets based on the token number. Also, there are different types of tickets available based on which sections of the ruins one wants to visit and which (if any) of the hikes one wants to do to the peaks around the ruins.

We woke up at 6 am to go to the municipal office and stand in queue to buy tickets for the next day. There were already many people in the line, even though the office opens only at 630 am. And we ran into all the same people in the line as the last few days 😂. In the morning, we got a token with a priority number based on our position in the queue.

Aguas Calientes

After that, I went back to the hotel to catch up on sleep 😁. The rest of the day, we just walked around town just like that. It was warm and sunny, and such a beautiful location surrounded by mountains on all sides. The town had a river running through it, and many small picturesque bridges over it. A lot of the streets were named after Inca rulers, and there were loads of statues and plaques all around to memorialise them. There were many football grounds with kids playing around all day. Football is definitely quite popular in South America. Overall the town was not too crowded, as apparently this wasn't peak season yet.

There were hundreds of hotels and restaurants around. We shopped a bit, as there were loads of handicraft shops around. We had lunch at Pueblo Viejo lounge with a street artist playing Inca music using panflutes at the same time. There were also hot springs in town, and we wanted to go there. But we were so tired, we just couldn't make it. In the afternoon, we went again to the office to buy the tickets. And we got them!

After that I wanted to walk around more but was too tired to do too much of it. We had dinner again at Green House. And just spent the day hoping our feet would stop hurting and be ready for the remaining hike the next day.


Day 5: Finally, the destination, Machu Picchu

Start of the hike

On day 5 of the trail, we finally reached our destination, though not that fast still. From Aguas Calientes, one can either take a 30 mins bus ride up to the mountains where the Machu Pichchu ruins lay hidden. Or one can hike up to reach there. Given that we had hiked all the way to get here, we thought, might as well do it for one more day. So we set off early in the morning (again!), at 6 am, to walk up 9 kms, ascending 400 metres more, to get a peek of these famous ruins, Machu Picchu.

Up to Machu Pichhu

The hike up though not that tough felt so because of the last few days of walking. Most of the path is made of stone steps now. And every few meters, we would cross the winding road where buses were taking the other tourists very conveniently up the peak. The path was surrounded by trees all around. As it was very sunny that day, even though the trees around us gave us some shade, it still felt like a tough hike. It took me about 2.5 hours to reach the top.

Once on top, it felt like I had come to a mela, given the thousands of visitors hanging around the entrance. But everything was being managed very well. We already had our tickets, and so entered along our chosen path. And the next few hours were surreal.

Machu Picchu

Walking through this town made of stones, which have survived almost six centuries as well as the Spanish conquest. We walked for two hours through the terraced farms, huts, schools, temples, a palace, granaries, and so on that had been lost for centuries. We just kept walking through the paths that were constructed centuries ago. We saw the canal system that had been constructed. And the terraced farms where all the farming would have happened. We spent some time admiring the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Condor, the main square and the house of the Inca. They were a pleasure to walk through, admiring their architecture. I was impressed with how the walls had been built such that they lasted so long. I also loved the central square, a lush green against the brown of the rocks. I just couldn't stop photographing the place, but nothing can capture what I really felt being in a place so unique, so fascinating, so magnificent.

The main square

It must have been an impressive sight if any of us had turned up here when it was a functioning town, with people moving around, going around their daily lives. It was also so surreal given the picturesque location of the ruins, hidden among such high peaks. There were three main peaks around, the Huayna Picchu, the Machu Picchu Mountain, and the Putucusi. Surrounding the town, all around were huge lush green mountains. They had stood guardians to this citadel, hidden it for centuries so it would not be destroyed or plundered. And been silent spectators to the rise, abandonment and re-discovery of this place.

Walls of Machu Picchu

As we walked through the ruins, our guide, Rolando, told us more about the Inca empire and the purpose of Machu Picchu, and how it was rediscovered. By an 8 year old boy, who brought a Yale archaeologist along with him to these ruins. They were rediscovered in 1911, abandoned and fully covered with thick growth of plants covering all the ruins. It took many years to excavate Machu Picchu. It was opened formally to the public only in 1948 and became a major tourist centre only after the 1970s. A lot of what was found in Machu Picchu was taken away to Yale University with a promise to return it back. Only about 40% of those antiquities have been returned till date.

Llamas

I must say, I enjoyed the visit to Machu Picchu. But having seen photographs of the place for ages, it did not feel as new as I would have liked. It almost felt like I had been there before, just had forgotten how it felt to actually be there. Something I feel we all are losing about the experience of travel after the advent (and over exposure) to travel on social media.  

After spending a few hours on top, I then walked down back to Aguas Calientes. And it was really tough. Anyways, we made it. And after a quick lunch in town, we headed back to Cusco. We first took a PeruRail train to Ollantaytambo and then went by van to Cusco. The station at Aguas Calientes was very small, as only trains from Ollantaytambo came there. It was a short 2 hour journey to get there.

And the train though comfortable, was so so slow, it moved at a leisurely pace along the valley. We went along the Urubamba river, through high mountain peaks, deep valleys, gushing rivers, agricultural fields and so many stunning landscapes. There were terraced fields in the mountains. And so many cacti. We also passed by some small villages on the way. After the strenuous few days, I actually enjoyed just sitting comfortably and enjoying the views outside.

When approaching Ollantaytambo, we could see many of the Inca ruins and terrace fields on the hills far off. Ollantaytambo had been a major centre of the Inca empire in the Sacred Valley but now was a small town, the gateway to Machu Picchu. We did not get to spend too much time there, though I wish we had. We then got onto our van and were off on a long drive back to Cusco. Tired but very happy to have finished the trail.


I absolutely enjoyed the Salkantay trail, being in remote nature and away from everything felt so refreshing. I just wish I had got more time to walk at my own pace, enjoying all the sights and smells on the way. But still, it had been just so absolutely wonderful to be there.