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Published: October 27th 2008
Andean Children
Voted best photo of the trek!Being woken up at the break of dawn to spectacular views of the Andean mountains. Your back hurts from sleeping on a ground mat in freezing conditions. You drink water from the rivers and breath in the ice cold air. The poorest Andean children come from miles around just to meet the strange gringos crossing their land. The altitude sickness takes over and you feel the pain in your lungs. The blisters on your feet make you feel like you can´t go on. Suddenly you are motivated by another member of the expedition. The views are breathtaking as you march on through stunning valleys and over endless snow capped mountains. Eventually the end goal is in sight - you find the lost city of Machu Picchu.
Back in Cusco I spent a few days researching the different treks to Machu Picchu. Everyone I had spoken to was doing the Inca Trail, Salcantay or Jungle Trek. I wanted something a little different, away from the crowds that would allow me to trek through villages while meeting traditional Andean people that had not become commercialised by tourism, and that's exactly what I found - The Lares Trek!
The night before the
Andean Child
Dressed in traditional village colours trek I met the expedition group for a briefing at the ´Peru Trek´office. There was nine hikers, four horsemen, one cook and two guides. We were given a small duffel bag and told not to exceed 6kg. Unfortunately the sleeping bag alone weighed 2kg and took up two thirds of the bag. That left me with very little room to store my clothes, toiletries, medical supplies, and hiking equipment. I soon realised I would be hiking and sleeping in the same clothes for the next 4 days - how would I ever survive!
The Lares Trek
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On day one we were collected from the hostel and driven through the Sacred Valley. We passed through a small town called Pisac and stopped at the market in Calca. There I bought sweets for the children, a dozen energy bars and a large bag of coca leaves to help combat altitude sickness. The market was pretty grim, I remember hoping our cook was not going to buy the meat that had been left out in the sun covered in flies. While wondering the market, for a moment I actually felt like I was back in India!
We eventually arrived
Amazing View Of The Andes
Ok.. where is the nearest pub? in the town of Quisiarani (3700m). The mules were loaded with our duffel bags, gas canisters, oxygen, tents, and cooking equipment. We all had a quick snack (banana and orange juice) before setting off on a steep hike up our first mountain. Within the first twenty minutes I was exhausted, I think we all realised hiking at altitude isn't going to be easy. Luckily the expedition team pulled together as we motivated one another up the steep mountain passes and into the middle of nowhere.
Along the way we observed small Andean communities high up in the mountains. We were surrounded by spectacular landscapes together with herds of Lamas and Alpaca´s. Occasionally we would pass brightly coloured lakes, waterfalls and fast flowing streams. The views were stunning, I couldn't see another person in sight. No cars or chaos, just complete silence with the exception of the occasional bird.
Heading west up a small valley we eventually arrived at a large blue lake at the head of the valley. From there we began a steep zigzag ascent up a narrow mountain edge trail to the top of the first pass known as Abra Huillquijasa (4200m). Below lied a series
Future Footie Star?
All this kid wanted to do was play football with everyone that passed of stunning turquoise lakes. We eventually hiked down the other side of the mountain and had lunch besides the lakes.
While on the trek the horsemen would often race past the hikers carrying all of our belongings. I was amazed while struggling to carry my day bag, I guess they are used to the altitude! I would often find myself struggling for breath while they passed us with big smiles on their faces.
During lunch, the cook would collect the water from the lake. He would wash the pots and make coca tea for everyone in the expedition. Apparently coca (Cocaine leaf) tea helps with altitude sickness. I was not sure how healthy it would be drinking water from the lake, but I went with the flow... Besides we had no choice, I couldn't carry 4 days worth of water on my back. Luckily I didn't get sick, although it is always a concern, especially when you are 4 days hike from civilisation.
After lunch we continued the hike down the other side of the mountain and into Cuncani (3750m). When we arrived our camp had already been set up by the horsemen. We had dinner and
Our Fallen Hero!
One of our crew members that died on the trek! began to freeze as the cold set in. The view of the stars was spectacular. Everyone was in their sleeping bags by 8:00pm. We were all exhausted after spending 5 hours hiking 12km over the Andean mountain ranges. Apparently the first day is the hardest since your body must adjust to altitude. I found the entire trek challenging.
On day two we hit the trail around 7:00am. We walked slightly down hill for the first 2 hours into the Chancachaca valley (3600m) and then up for about 2 hours to the small village of Huacawasi (3700m). Many of the houses that we passed were built from stone and had thatched roofs. They had no water or electricity. Their living conditions appeared to be incredibly basic. The people of this village produced beautiful coloured textiles. We were chased through the town by colourful children shouting olla! olla! While tugging on our backpacks. We stopped for lunch near the village and were surrounded by lots of curious Andean children that almost cost me my entire stash of candy.
We continued the climb for another 2 hours to the top of Ipsayccasa Pass (4500m). This was the highest pass along the
Help - I Cant See!
Alpaca or Llama I still can´t tell the difference! trek providing stunning panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. During the climb one of the mules fell and died along the trail. I believe it was a heart attack caused by exhaustion. It was pretty gruesome, although I guess its just a sad fact of life in the harsh Andean mountains. I could understand why it happened, it was an exhausting climb.
After taking in the stunning views of the Andes we gently descended for about an hour until we reached our second nights camp site besides the beautiful Ipsaycocha lake. We were extremely lucky to see Andean Geese hunting fish in the lakes. Everyone hit the sleeping bags by 9:00pm. We were all exhausted after another day hiking 15km in 6 hours over rough Andean terrain.
Trying to navigate the toilet tent in the middle of the night was an unforgettable experience. You open the tent to find a shallow hole dug into the ground. You have to hover while hopeing your not standing in anyone else's ... Its freezing cold and there is nothing to hold on to! The thought of those toilet tents are something I will never forget... One of the worst... Equivalent to
The Night Sky
It was freezing cold but the view was amazing some of the toilets I stumbled across in India. The smell was horrendous!
That night I could see every star in the sky, it was breathtaking. Unfortunately clear skies meant the temperature bottomed out into freezing cold conditions. I kept swearing all night while trying not to shiver into a coma. As the clear skies turned into a frosty morning I can only describe it as one of the worst nights sleep I can remember. I couldn't feel my hands or feet!
I awoke on the third day to discover my tent was covered in ice!. We quickly packed and hit the trail for our final days hike. After breakfast we walked gently down hill through a wide open valley for about 3 hours until we arrived at the village of Patacancha. The people from this area were known as "Huayruros". We were again surrounded by curios children pulling on our backpacks. Occasionally some of the children knew the word for candy! Their faces lit up when I pulled out my supply of sweets.
We eventually walked down into the valley of Willoq and began to see signs of civilisation. Or transport was waiting for us at
A House With A View!
Traditional Andean house in the mountains the end of the trek to take us down into the Inca town of Ollantaytambo where we had a meal in a restaurant before catching the train into Aguas Celientes for a proper nights sleep within a nice posh hotel. I was exhausted, today we walked 12km in 6 hours!
Machu Picchu
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I was a woken at 4am with a Loud banging at the door. The race was on, we had to get to the top of Machu Picchu before the crowds. Everyone rushed around in an excited panic. We all marched through the town of Aguas Calientes most of us limping because of the blisters on our feet. I was still half asleep and feeling slightly sick. I had started flue symptoms from that freezing night on the trek. I was determined not to let anything spoil this once in a life time opportunity. Besides we were about to see the ultimate reward of our trek.. The lost city of Machu Picchu.
We waited in line at the bus station. The nine of us managed to get on the third bus up to Machu Picchu. We left a long queue of hikers behind. The bus
A Little Bit Shy
Whats this strange gringo doing taking photos! journey took about half an hour before Machu Picchu was in sight high up in the clouds. It looked stunning, everyone began to talk excitedly.
As we approached the entrance, we were all asked for out tickets. I had used my fake Bangkok student card to purchase my ticket. When they checked my ID the security guard waved his gun around in the air and started shouting "fake Id, fake Id". The little shit took my student card from me and would not let me in!.. He wrote the words "FAKE" across my ticket. He let me stand there in anticipation for about 20 minutes before giving me the option of paying for my ticket again. Luckily it was only 70 Soles which is about 14 pounds. I believe they know backpackers carry fake student cards and have found a good way of making a bit of cash on the side. Little Shit!
Eventually we all managed to get into Machu Picchu. We walked around the ruins and managed to appreciate the mystical appearance of Machu Picchu in the morning fog. We queued for additional tickets to climb Wayna Picchu and had about an hour before the crowds
The Expedition Team
Porters, Horse Men, Cooks, Guides, Trekers and a random andean child began to appear, by which time I was off on a 45 minute hike up to the Sun Gate. The views were spectacular.
More photos of the trek are available on www.dazcrawford.smugmug.com
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Hal Kaye
non-member comment
Fantastic blog
Hey Dazza, Great blog mate, love to get them and read all thatyou have done. You have been on one amazing trip man I'm so jelous to be stuch here in old Blighty. One question how the hell have you funded this, it must have cost a fortune??? Take Care and keep blogging. Hal