IV. SA Peru/W1b2a, 5d: Salkantay Machu E

Su, 26.03. 1st day: Cusco-Mollepata-Challacancha-Soraypampa
-->Montaña + Lago Humantay 4,200m
-->3,350m-2,900m-3,600m-3,912m
-->13km/6h

Yeah, that day was the beginning of my so long awaited Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu :)))
As usual, I don't want to do it the normal lazy touristy way by just taking a bus or train to visit the most famous Inka Site - I want to hike there and really challenge myself to earn it ;)
Most people come to Cusco to do the so famous 4d Inka Trail. However, there are several reasons why I did not want to do it: First, because everbody wants to do it which makes it way too touristy and crowded; secondly, because it is said that the porters and donkeys are really bad treated/paid which I did not want to support; third it is with a min of $800 pretty expensive and 3x the price for whatever reason; then cause you need to organise/book it well in advance which I did not like as I did not know when I would be in Cusco and finally as it is not as long, high and demanding.
Salkantay, on the contrary, is a much longer, more spectacular and more difficult approach to Machu Picchu with the highest point at 4,700m, a pass near the mountain Salkantay (6,271m = Sauvage Mountain) with then descending in subtropic valleys.

On that day we already had to get up around 4am to be picked up from the hostel at 4:30am. After getting to know our group and the other travellers we first had a 2,5-3h drive to Mollepata where we enjoyed a really yummy tasty breakfast including coca tea, toast with dulce de leche and jam, fresh fruits and cereals plus an amazing cheese and ham omelette.
After another 1h drive via Cruzpata and Sayllapata to Challacancha we finally had our first 35m hike from 3,600m up to Canal Inca at 3,700m.
There our guide Amel provided us with a lot of first information about the Inka such as: 'Inka' = Emperor's King and 'Quecha' = Inka Empore, Patchacute being the 9th and most important one. Towantisuyo = Inka Empire = Quecha civilization, 3/4mio people with Cusco being the centre and capital. Again, the Inka Trail is a huge connection of paths, the coca leaves always play a big role and are only chewed and continued in the highlands of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and north of Chile. As they are also used to produce cocaine it is not allowed to bring them on planes or out of the countries.
By the way, Salkantay Mountain is with 6,272m the 2nd highest mountain in Cusco region, after Ausangate with 6,350m - Wascarang is with 6,768m the highest mountain in Peru.
On our awesome first hike we practiced how to walk and especially breathe when hiking in the altitude. It was a pretty steep hike but then went flat until we reached our first campsite located in Soraypampa at 3,910m and directly located below a glacier. We had some tents within a big tent, there was a small shop selling at incredibly skyrocketed prices (2l bottle of water for 12S/3,50€) and enjoyed a really yummy lunch.
After that we had our exercise for the 2nd and apparently most exhausting day with an amazing steep hike through pretty muddy grasslands to the glacier and lagoon. It was such a nice landscape there, a pretty cool and colourful lake surrounded by highlands with the glacier in the background and being reflected in the water. Again, I was quite lucky and did not have any issues with the altitude. However, it was raining quite heavily and even hailed on the way back, worth using the Poncho ;)
After a short tea and snack time with crackers and popcorn we had an awesome fish dinner with vegetables and potatoes cake before hitting bed and a pretty cold night around 7:30pm.

Mo, 27.03. 2nd day: Soraypampa-Salkantay Pass-Huayrapunku-Chawllay
-->Montaña Salkantay highest Point 4,630m
-->3,912m-3,600m-4,630m-2,900m
-->22km/9h
Yeah, 5am mate tea wake up call - that's how you start a demanding trekking day :P It got even better with having awesome banana pancakes and keke bread cake for breakfast.
The hike itself was pretty cool and not too bad or hard, in my opinion even a bit easier than the day before. But there were unfortunately some people struggling with the altitude sickness and constant rain made the trek quite slippery. The hardest part was uphill before reaching the highest point at an altitude of 4,840m - with the altitude you can really only walk in grandma speed :P At this point it was also pretty cold and windy - I literally put on all my jumpers and jackets, enjoyed the beautiful scenery with the glacier and took some random pictures ;)
Again, the cooks did a great job: the meals were always very tasty, local and with a lot of variation (though the boys always panicked and complained that it wasn't enough but they just eat too much). That day it was so cold during lunch that we could see our own breathes and were more than happy to always getting tea as well. Also the camping was quite luxurious as the tents were always already prepared by the porters and ready to use when we arrived with tents within a big tent and really thick mattresses.
After the highest point and the highlands the landscape changed dramatically and we were walking through really cool but wet rainforest, always followed by nasty mosquities but it was a nice walk and rather flat and downhill. The poncho was also a good investment as it started to rain every now and often. The plants we saw were also pretty amazing and in total we had a descent from almost 1,800m that day before finally arriving at our lodge after almost 10h walking which was then merished by another typical and awesome dinner ;)

Tu, 28.03. 3rd day: Chawllay-Collpapampa-Playa Sahuayacco-Santa Teresa
-->2,900m-2,850m-2,064m-1,550m
-->16km/5h
That morning we were again spoilt and had an amazing omelette with cooked potatoes, hot chocolate and porridge for breakfast - perfect start for another 5h hike through rainforest and another descent of almost 1,400m. Oh poor knees - I'd rather walk 5x up than downhill, especially as it was raining again and thus pretty muddy and slippery :P
The landscape was pretty similar though we had a lot of rivers and thus also river crossings that day. For lunch the cookers gave their best and served us amazingly nice with fruit and veg in animal shapes decorated, typical Peruan food such as the so common Quinoa soup, Ceviche (raw fish), tortilla de papa (potatoe cake), chicken, sweet and normal potatoes, beans etc - just look at the food collage, it was so yummy :)
After that we had another 3h hike to the small and cute little town Santa Teresa where I enjoyed a cool walk and some nice talks with some local people and where prices for water were kind of back to normal (before it was 12 or 10S for 2,5l; the normal price is 3S, 6S max - oh yes, water is more expensive than fuel here, that's why I also like to call it 'the white gold').
Dinner was again pretty good, this time with an own creation of spaghetti-type cake and even a small slice of pizza. There was also a small bar/pub so that we enjoyed a really nice and relaxing evening.

We, 29.03. 4th day: Santa Teresa-Hidroelectrica-Aguas Calientes
-->1,550m-1,890m-2,050m
-->19km/6h
On Wednesday morning our awesome cooks prepared our last meal, another awesome breakfast with pancake and dulce de leche.
That day we first walked roughly 3h from Santa Teresa to Hidroelectrica which is basically just a street with stands and some touri restaurants. The walk itself was again uphill but along a river and pretty nice mountain scenery giving us a first glimpse or impression of what Machu Picchu would look like. Lunch was also there in a restaurant and I chose a tasty chicken with a lot of picante ;)
We then started our 3h hike along the so famous railway where you need to jump aside every now and often to let the train pass. That was btw the first touristy part with many people along the way - the first 3 days it was only our group on the trek and you could really walk free and without crowds of tourists blocking the way.
Aguas Calientes itself is - I am sorry to be that honest but some things can't be changed - a pretty ugly, dirty, touristy, overly crowded and incredibly overly priced town usually not really worth a visit. However, it is the getaway and necessary place to go to Machu Picchu and has the train station to go back to Ollantaytambo and then Cusco. We arrived around 5, checked in to our $20 (!) accommodation which was ice cold, humid and full of mould and then went to another touri restaurant for dinner - but it was quite tasty with palta a la reina (avocado salad) and pollo (chicken).
We had again a pretty early night and went to bed around 7 to be able to get up at 4am in the morning and be finally ready for a while day in Machu Picchu :)

Th, 30.03. 5th day: Machu Picchu
As already said, we had to get up at 4am to leave the hotel at 4:15. The reason for that was that the entrance gate to hike up the 3,000 steps to Maccu Picchu site opens at 5 and from Aguas Calientes to that Point it is a 30min walk plus there are so many tourists that you prefer being there earlier to avoid the crowds and big lines (you could for sure also take a bus up there but that's so touristy and unimaginable after doing the Salkantay plus for sure very expensive :P). That being said we arrived around 4:40 and the line was already quite long. After a passport and entrance fee control at 5am we could finally start hiking up the 3,000 stairs. They say you need around 1h but me and 2 other girls were again a lot quicker, overtaking the crowds and especially fit looking guys, running up the stairs out of our excitement to finally see Machu Picchu and made it within only 40m - my first breakfast of banana, crackers, chocolate bar and juice was definitively already burned by that time so I had my second one and got changed. The site itself then opened around 6am and we were so lucky to be that early as there were hardly any crowds yet. Moreover, the weather in the early morning was the best that day so that we could at least get a good view of MP without too many people in it.
From 6-8 we then had a detailed tour through the site including a lot of information: Machu Picchu at an altitude of 2,400m is the most famous Inka citadel, a ruin among ruins that was lost to the world and only discovered in 1911. It is a UNESCO world heritage site which also explains why it is not allowed to build any lifts and to have a total air protection. There were emerald terraces, steep peaks, Andean ridges and it survived 6 centuries of earthquakes, foreign invasion and howling weather. Only 400p were living there and as there was still a lot of material around it is believed that it was never finished. It is like a Mekka, really important and sacred. We then saw the Main Square, the Temple of 3 Windows standing for the 3 important animals Condor, Puma and Snake. The frog was also important as it announced the rain that makes the plants grow, similar to the monkey announcing the rain in the jungle. Orchid and coca are the most important plants. The 4 sacred rocks were like mountain or guinea pig shaped. We got an explanation about the compass, sun clock, condor temple and were again informed about the difficult communication style by running - the way Cusco to Lima alone were 4-5d.
MP was all about passport controls, steps and stairs and thus almost more exhausting than the Salkantay :P After our guided tour I climbed up Maccu Picchu Mountain - another 100m altitude or roughly 5,000 stairs. There is also the option to visit Wayna Picchu Mountain but that one is not as high and not as exhausting to climb. Unfortunately, it was quite foggy and cloudy so that we could hardly see anything but it was still nice and somehow more mystical. Again, I was quicker and only needed 75 io 90m but 55m back as it was pretty slippery and not that easy with the poncho.
After that I went to 'El Puente', the Inka Bridge, a nice walk along pretty incredibly deep valleys to see how the Inka used to build a bridge before climbing all the way up to the world famous 'Intipunko', the Sungate - which wasn't as sunny that day but still pretty impressive.
Before leaving the site around 5 I made sure that I got the famous Machu Picchu stamp in my passport and then walked all the 3,000 steps plus half an hour back to Aguas Calientes - in the now pouring rain, had a shower, dinner and directly went to bed ;)

Fr, 31.03. 6th day: Aguas Calientes-Ollaytamtambo-Cusco
So glad that I booked an extra night in Aguas Calientes - I finally slept a bit longer (until 7/8), had breakfast and took a relaxing 10:30am morning train ride back to Ollantaytambo and then from there a private transport back to Cusco.
The train ride itself was a really nice experience with comfortable white leather seats, panorama windows through nice rainforest landscape and we even got a hot drink (Inka tea with eucalypto, muña, coca) with a small chocolate and dried fruits with nuts :)Read more