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.