Machu Picchu

The day had finally arrived to visit Machu Picchu. We woke up at 4 a.m., left the hostel in Aguas Calientes at 4:20 a.m., and arrived at the gates just before 5 a.m.

At the gates before sunrise

We met up with a few more friends from the trek while we waited for the gates to open. As you can see, it was raining so I had to sport my rain jacket over our backpack. No one could pull off that humpback better than me!

Walking on up

After the gates, we climbed step after step for about an hour to get to the entrance. My legs were suffering from the past four days, but I pushed through. We had to be careful though as the steps were a bit slippery. 

Exhausted

Machu Picchu at 6 a.m.

Unfortunately, lots of fog was present when we first spotted the iconic ruins. 

Obligatory Machu Picchu pic

It slowly burned off over the day and was clear when we left seven hours later.

Perfectly manicured 

Much larger than I expected

A bunny squirrel?

There are different types of walls throughout the site, but this one was by far the most impressive. The stones are perfectly fitted and very smooth. This type of architecture was most likely reserved for the highest class. 

Look at that construction

Leo showing us the Inca cross

Llamas! 

Phill cannot get enough of these guys

While it was hard to peel Phill away from the llamas, we needed to get to Machu Picchu Mountain before 11 a.m. Then you have to be out by 2 p.m. and we wanted to have time to enjoy the view from the top. Considering it would take 1.5 hours to reach the peak, we needed to get moving. While I was very sore, going up was not as difficult as I thought it would be. The hardest part for me was that at times the steps were narrow, steep and right on the edge of the cliff!

30 more minutes until we reached the entrance to the mountain

More steps

View a quarter of the way up

We were walking along that river just yesterday!

That lady ahead of me is showing me up

It felt like the steps would never end

Finally!

What a view

At the top with our new friend Katie

The fog sure did roll in quick

After enjoying the view from the very top, and chowing down on Inca Corn and Mike & Ikes, we made our way down relatively quickly, in about 45 minutes. Once back to Machu Picchu, the weather had finally cleared up, but the crowds were everywhere!

It was time to say goodbye

Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, Days 3 & 4

[ day 3 ]

With another early start at 5 a.m., we quickly drank our coca tea, packed up the tent, and sat down for a breakfast of bread, omelettes, and oatmeal. The pain from the first two days was beginning to catch up to us as the foot blisters started to set in. The mules that had carried our tents and supplies would turn around at this point, and additional transport would take the gear to our next site. The third day we would follow the river just over 10 miles until we reached the small village of Santa Teresa. There, we would have the chance to soak our muscles in the hot springs just outside town. The walk through the jungle was amazing since just a day before we were trekking through snow and rain in a mountainous landscape. We set out by 6 a.m. fully covered in bug spray and sunscreen.

The bridge that used dirt as its glue

Looking back at our camp

Amazing views of the valley soon after leaving camp

Salkantay Shanta

Three waterfalls

The jungle

Shanta navigating the steep terrain

Roadblock

With my lucky England shorts anything is possible

Interesting flora on the trail

The first course at lunch

The hot springs felt amazing

Our group getting wild by the campfire

[ day 4 ]

Day four started just like the rest, except for feeling a little tired from the campfire the night before. We shook it off with some coca tea and hot breakfast. The plan for the day was different for each person in the group. Some would go zip-lining, others would take the bus with the zip liners, and the rest of us would hike. Shanta and I wanted to hike the entire route so we opted to forgo the ziplines. We were all going to meet up at the midway point at the hydroelectric plant and hike to the base of Machu Picchu at Aguas Calientes. The twelve miles of hiking was well worth it. The views were amazing, and with a smaller group of hikers it allowed us to move at a quicker pace. 

                                                                                                                 

The last of the hikers
Waterfall that cuts through the center of the mountain
Quicksand, my deepest childhood fear
Another amazing waterfall
We lost Shanta
Getting closer to our goal
This picture does not do justice to the scale of this rock face

After our small group made it to the hydroelectric plant, we waited over an hour for the rest of the group to meet up. Shanta and I decided to buy a lunch while we waited for the group to bring our second helping of food. After the group caught up and we had our food, we set out with our main packs for the final push to Aguas Calientes. It was a fairly easy walk, however the weight of the packs did not make it a breeze.

Setting off again after lunch
Look at that smile
One of the options to get to Machu Picchu, sit on a train
Guardian of the train tracks
We made it to Aguas, all that was left was Machu Picchu

Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, Days 1 & 2

When we arrived in Cusco, we started planning out how we would get to Machu Picchu. We settled on the Salkantay trek which has recently become a popular alternative to the Inca Trail. Five days of hiking over 50 miles past snow capped mountains and through waterfalls in the deep jungle seemed like the perfect fit for us. We would hike to Salkantay mountain on the first day and ascend it on the second. By the third day we would be deep in the jungle. The goal on day four is to make it to the base of Machu Picchu, to a town called Aguas Calientes. Our fifth day would be spent at Machu Picchu and we would return to Cusco late that night. It turned out be much easier said than done.

[ day 1 ]

We started the first day at 3:30 a.m. with a two-hour bus ride to the small village of Mollepata. There were about 20 other hikers in our group and all looked to be somewhat around our age. Once we arrived in Mollepata, we had a quick breakfast and got our first chance to chat with the other hikers. Out of 20 hikers, there was only one other American besides Shanta and myself. There were hikers from India, England, France, Holland, Canada, Australia, Spain, Israel and Turkey. At breakfast, we could already tell the group was going to get along very well.

The group

Around 6:30 a.m., we took the group pic and headed off to tackle the 11.5 miles for day one. The first few hours were blisteringly hot as we climbed steep trails towards our first rest spot. Luckily we had plenty of water to keep us going.

First rest stop

 You can see the lake on my back after three hours of hiking

Looking back towards our starting point in the valley

Around 12 p.m., we reached our highest point for day one and began our descent towards our lunch spot with views of Salkantay in the distance.

Salkantay on the far left

Determined 

Lunch: simple, and never enough food 

This bag of coca leaves was our lifesaver for the entire trip. You take a small bunch, chew them in the back of your mouth, and in minutes you'll feel a wave of energy. They also help with altitude sickness which many of our fellow hikers struggled with the first day.

Coca leaves

Not the most trustworthy bridge

Camp for the first night was at the base of the mountain

Our tents with protection from the howling wind

Ready for bed with freezing temperatures in the tent

[ day 2 ]

The second day started with the cooks shaking each person's tent at 5 a.m. We were then greeted with hot cups of coca tea waiting at the tent entrance. Thankfully, the first movement of my legs didn't show any signs of tremendous soreness. We had a quick breakfast of bread, jam, and pancakes, and were briefed on what to expect for day two. This day was supposed to be the hardest of the trip as we made the final ascent up Salkantay and down the other side into the jungle for a total of 12 miles. We started off just after 6 a.m. and headed up the mountain. 

Packing up but still freezing

Starting the hike again

Camp is deep in the valley below us

Making our way to the top through thick fog

We made it

Freezing at the top

Offerings to the mountain

On the way down

Ron and I

As the landscape turned to jungle

Following the river to camp two

Made it to the camp by 3 p.m. and fell asleep by 9 p.m.

The next day would be another early start at 5 a.m.