Cusco to Salkantay to Machu Picchu

It has been a while, we went through pretty much all of our time in Peru without blogging, but we were really just savoring the flavors and letting them mature into the full experience so that we could share it with you. If you didn't catch Emily's previous blog about our trip through the central highlands to Cusco, you can find it right below this one and it contains key documentation about our cultural acquaintance with a beautiful part of Peru - Including cooking classes!

After crossing through these small highland communities of central Peru where were we were often the only whities we would see all day, we arrived on a Saturday to Cusco. Cusco by contrast has more tourists than anywhere else I have seen in Latin America. Luckily this once ancient center of the Inca empire which was later overridden by colonial architecture is also one of the most beautiful cities I have seen as well. The plaza and cobblestone streets provide endless potential for wandering. Its easy to get an awesome view by climbing up a stone staircased alley, (slowly though, Cusco is at 10,800 ft. so breathing can be hard) especially nice around happy hour which is where we are headed shortly.

Cusco By Night

After a couple of days of looking around we took a walk to a few different ruins that are located just outside the city. Like I said, Cusco was once the capital of the Inca empire and although I'm sure they tried, the Spanish were not able to destroy everything. There are still amazing ruins such as Saqsaywaman and the Temple of the Sun which are easily accessible and very impressive. The stonework at Saqsaywaman in particular was larger than life and boggled the mind to consider how it was accomplished.

Saqsaywaman

The next day we spent dealing with our biggest task at hand, trying to figure out how to see the world famous Machu Picchu. After getting recommendations from friends (thank you all) and making office visits to many different agencies we finally decided on the 5 day and 4 night Salkantay route to Machu Picchu through the agency Andina Travel with whom we had an excellent experience and would definitely recommend to fellow travelers. The Salkantay route is an alternative to the classic Inca Trail, which is very popular and needs to be booked in advance due to limited permits. Our group included the two of us plus three other tourists, one guide, two cooks, three porters/horse drivers and a bunch of horses who kindly carried our things. A very cozy group.

The Cow is not in our group

We set out on June 4th which was as nice a birthday present as I could have hoped for. After a delicious lunch in the green foothills of the Vilcabamba Mountains we set out towards the mighty Salkantay, the highest peak in the range at 20,500 feet. That first day was fairly mild as far as walking goes, we climbed from 12,500 feet for about three hours to 14,500 feet where we camped between two glaciers. It was incredible, beautiful, freezing cold, hard to breathe etc. At night we could hear the avalanches coming down the glaciers of the Salkantay as we hopelessly tried to get some sleep.

Camp

Day two we walked for about 8 hours. First task in the morning was to get over the pass of just over 15,000 feet. This took us about 40 minutes during which we were constantly trying to catch our breath. The setting at the top of the world and the absence of anyone else around us made it worth it. This is the highest I have ever been in my life, no pun intended. After the pass we descended slowly into the cloud forrest. That night we all relished in the relative warm tempurature, we ate a lot and we slept enough to compensate for the sleep we missed shivering and gasping for air the night before. It was glorious.

The Pass

Day three was about 5 hours through more cloud forest until we reached "La Playa" where most groups that are doing this trail camp together. A good place to drink beer, relax, and hang out by the river which, ironically, did not have a playa. Day 4 was probably the hardest yet. We walked for about 7 hours and while we were not at high altitude any longer we literally went straight up a mountain and then straight down the other side. Luckily the previous 3 days had prepared us physically and the views were breathtaking. My favorite part of this day was the dip in the river after getting down the other side. The water came from the glaciers and provided an un-equaled refreshment. Whenever I find myself fatigued I must remember the feeling of dipping my body into an ice cold mountain stream. That same night we arrived at Aguas Calientes and got ready for our trip the next day to Machu Picchu.

Emily Surveys the Valley

The thing to do with the Picchu is get up before dawn and be on one of the first busses which start at 5:30 am. So this is what we did. We got up to the the main event in time to see the sunrise on a clear day with just a few clouds hanging in the valley to make it look like the post cards we had seen so many times but at the same time way larger than life. Our tour guide gave us a two hour tour explaining the hot spots of the city and then let us loose. We decided to opt for climbing the Montaña Machu Picchu instead of the famous Waynu Picchu which is regulated to 500 tourists per day in two, two hour bursts. By contrast, the Montaña Machu Picchu was practically empty, we only passed a few people during our climb up the nearly verticle and ancient staircase. At the top, we decided the view was worth every step as we dangled our legs for a half hour in silence above the wonders below. After returning to the bottom we checked out the Inca Bridge, an insane path that the Incas carved into the face of a giant rock wall and then it was time to say goodbye to the resident Llamas and depart from the city of stone terraces.

Llamas at the Picchu

We are now in our third country, Bolivia, delighted by the differences that can be seen in all aspects of life just by taking a 3 hour bus across the border.

On June 11th Emily and I celebrated the halfway point of our trip and the one year countdown until the day we tie the knot.

Steep Stairs of Mount Machu Picchu with the city down below