Cycling the Abra Malaga Pass

The country of Peru is roughly cut down the middle by the mighty Andes mountain range. To the east is the hot and wet jungles of the Amazon region and to the west are the dry highlands that formed the major part of the Incan Empire. The Abra Malaga Pass at 4500 m is one of the major connecting points between these two disparate regions.

Our major task for today was to cycle the Abra Malaga Pass. I guess if I was 20 years younger, 20 kg lighter and 20 IQ points more stupid, I could have tried to peddle up this mighty mountain, however our plan was to do the reverse. It is still something of a mental and physical challenge.

After spending the first hour of the day climbing the amazing stone terraces above Ollantaytambo, we then boarded the bus for the 2 hour drive to the pass. Although the weather in Ollantaytambo was already quite warm, at the pass itself it was absolutely freezing. We all donned thermals, jackets, vests, scarves and anything else we could find.

There is no much at the pass apart from an interesting little church. There was also the twisted ruins of a vehicle which had presumably missed one of the many precipitous switchbacks on the road. Since this is such a strategic connecting point between Cusco and the Amazon there were also a steady stream of buses and trucks making their way over the pass.

After a photo at the summit we were off. Many hearts were in a state of panic at the thought of the vertiginous descent that lay ahead, but to my delight, every one in the team decided to go ahead. Soon we were snaking our way down the road, taking care to make sure the speed was kept under control.

I had not gone far before I realised that all was not well with my bike. Each time the front wheel rotated, the handlebars bumped alarmingly. This was the tyre that had been repaired the previous day and obviously it had not been replaced correctly.At first I thought I should just grin and bare it, however I worried about the safety if the tyre came off the rim. I called ahead for the team to stop. The guides tinkered with the bike for some time but could not fix the problem. That meant I had to complete the rest of the 38 km descent with a front wheel that was vibrating alarmingly. Oh well, it certainly added to the excitement.

I won't try to describe the scenery, other than to say it was absolutely spectacular. Some things can never be described, they just have to be experienced. I can assure you that everyone made it safely to the bottom of the mountain at Ollantaytambo and the exhilaration that we all felt was amazing.

Tomorrow we begin the 4 day trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, meaning that we will be out of all contact until we get back to Cusco in 5 day's time.Read more