Day 2: Salkantay Trek

Itinerary: Ascent to the highest point, salkantay pass at 4700m, descent to chawwllay and bus drive to Lucmabamba

Today the hardest day awaits us, including 22km hike within 8h. The day began at 5am with a coca leaf tea that was brought to our bed. After some proper breakfast, the ascent to the salcantay pass began - the trek’s highest point at 4'700 meters above sea level. The uphill walk from the camp to the pass took us around 3h, including one very steep part called the Gringo Killer 😂. The main challenge really was the altitude, as breathing is way harder. We all managed to hike up. 🤟The weather was quite cold and rainy but we enjoyed being on the peak nevertheless. 🏔

Afterwards we hiked downhill for about 2h  to the lunch spot at Wayracmachay. From there, the last but quite steep descent of about 3h from the Andes to the Amazon region began.

Upon arrival at Chawwllay we had a quick break and then the bus took us to the second camp site of the day in Lucmabamba, where we spent the night in cute glass bubbles.Read more