Blogs from Salkantay Trail, Cusco, Peru, South America
Cuzco to Machu Picchu via Mountain Lodges
Published: January 15th 2012South America » Peru » Cusco » Salkantay Trail
January 14th 2012
Dear All: Before our final entry about the trek, we must tell one funny story: On Friday, December 30th, we hired a taxi driver from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm to take us to various ruins around Cuzco. It was immediately apparent that he did not speak one word of English and, initially, we were disappointed. However, about 30 minutes into the ride, Lauren and Kate decided it was a great thing, because it made us use every Spanish word we could. The challenge turned out to be fun and effective! Toward the end of the day, as we were re-entering Cuzco, countless dogs would race into the road. Kate pieced together a sentence in Spanish that said, “In the United States, it is a law that dogs have…” We could not think of the word ... read more
October 2nd 2011
Machu Picchu (en de trail er naar toe) dreigt slachtoffer te worden van zijn eigen succes : van over de hele wereld stromen de toeristen toe om deze mysterieuze stad te bewonderen. De Peruaanse overheid heeft daarom een maximum quota opgelegd van 400 mensen per dag voor de trail. Toen we 5 maanden geleden probeerden een plaatsje te boeken, bleek de trail al volzet te zijn. We hebben dan gekozen voor een alternatieve route via de Salkantay-pas (pas hier vernamen we dat dat ook de zwaarste route is...). 1 dag op voorhand komt onze gids naar onze hostal om de trekking te bespreken, erg professioneel ! We gaan een vijfdaagse trekking doen : over de Salkantay bergpas van 4.600 meter hoogte ! En met uiteindelijk doel : de verborgen INCA stad MACHU PICCHU !! De gids ... read more
October 1st 2011
Our trek started with a very early morning and a cold shower (just in the hostal) then a spectacular drive to the trail head with Mark the Texan, our guide Fredy and our two cooks. Although the last two hours were rather hairy on a very narrow road and a big drop down to the bottom of the valley. The first part of the trail was easy, just a gentle up. The steep up that followed was a whole different kettle of fish, especially with altitude and lack of fitness induced by a dissertation. We had lunch and stopped for the day in a sheltered valley which turned out to be our campsite. We had amazing views of Salkantay mountain which is really close, really high and covered in glaciers. Just looking at it makes you ... read more
June 7th 2011
The Salkantay Trail serves as an alternate to the Inca Trail. The traditional Inca Trail was sold out until September. Unlike the Inca Trail, the Salkantay requires you to enter Machu Picchu from the main gate as opposed to the Inca Trail which brings you straight into the park via the Sun Gate. The Salkantay Trail deserves an entry of its own so I will use the Machu Picchu experience for a entry of its own also. We began at 4:45 AM with a pickup from the hostel and then hopped on a van for a 2 and a half hour busride. An hour or so was on a dirt road with drop offs that would certainly cause death should you fall off. Only a few times did that seem possible but it was a terrifying ... read more
Trekking onwards to machu picchu via the Salkantay Trail
Published: June 5th 2011South America » Peru » Cusco » Salkantay TrailJune 5th 2011
I apologize for the delayed blog, I went from doing not much in cusco other than spanish classes and hiking to being overwhelmed with an intense amount of travelling, photos, hostels and broken computers... Every hostel has had about 4 computers, 3 of which never work, and 1 which we are allowed to use for 15 min if the connection is held. Here is a photo site i will attempt to put all my photos on + facebook: http://s1094.photobucket.com/albums/i448/tlgallin/ Right now, me and Vanessa are in La Paz, Bolivia after a crazy 3 -4 days of busing from Cusco. The border to enter bolivia from peru had been blocked by locals throwing large heavy objects into the streets. Buses couldn´t drive through, and even if they could they were risking intense damage to their vehicles. The ... read more
"There and Back Again" - The last trek...for now
Published: December 22nd 2010South America » Peru » Cusco » Salkantay Trail
December 22nd 2010
(apologies for the delay in getting this out, the cold Indiana weather has slowed my blood down) Trek numero uno completed and under the belt I arrived back from the Colca Canyon trip with enough time to shower off the dust and reorganize the backpack before heading off for another bus station and another overnight bus. I was excited to see Scott and Britany and I'm not sure if it was that excitement or the squirming, squealing, smelling restless 10 year old kid squirming, squealing, and smelling next to me which contributed to a restless nights sleep on the semi-cama bus, hmm, just not sure what it was. Regardless, I arrived to Cuzco around 7 in the morning a little groggy and made my way to the hostal Home Sweet Home. (Gotta nice ring to ... read more
December 11th 2010
Our adventure to Machu Picchu ! . By taxi packed with 8 bodies, a truck conducted by a priest who knows how to take every curve with grace, a pully train rattling down the jungle rails, a army jeep full of a Quechua speaking family of 10 stopping in the middle of their constant jokes to pick avocados in the road, and by our very own feet, we arrived in Machu Picchu in a record two days (when the trail typically takes 6 days). We were chased by bulls on a thin mountain trail, and never has my adrenaline been so effective as we scaled the steep wall with our heavy backpacks. We carried all of our gear straight up the mountain without the typical relief of mules, and never has my legs trembled with fatigue. ... read more
Trek to Machu Picchu and Update
Published: August 16th 2010South America » Peru » Cusco » Salkantay Trail
August 15th 2010
Hey Everyone, I am terrible at keeping up with this travel blog thing. I guess I will start with an update of what I am doing now. I got a job teaching English at a school called Santa Margarita. I am teaching English to first grade and a couple classes to kinder and prekinder. I really like my job. The kids are great. It is kinda hard sometimes though because there are 33 kids in each class and they don't speak much English. I have been teaching at this school since February and my contract goes until December. I have not decided yet if I want to stay another year, come home, or go somewhere else. I go back and forth a lot. After a lot of time and money I finally got my work visa ... read more
June 30th 2010
The allure of hiking the Inca Trail from Cusco to Machu Picchu is undeniable, but to dodge many of its inherent problems -- the crowds, the commercialization, the months of planning, the steep steps, etc. -- the Salkantay trek is a wonderful alternative. In fact, in talking to some who have done both, many consider this trek to be equal or even better, for well under half the price of the Inca Trail. The one thing that it lacks is (other than on the 4th day, when you are on part of an Inca Trail) is the mystique of being on the Inca Trail. Some who actually did the typical trail say that the night before Machu Picchu -- having other ruins all to your group -- is actually better than the main event. The hike ... read more
June 25th 2010
This is going to be a long one... DAY 1 So to start our trek we get picked up at our hotel at 4:45ish after little sleep and a breakfast of cake (win). Then the bus sits in various squares (one being 2 metres from our hotel) and we don't end up leaving cusco until 6:30. Fantastic! The journey out is 3 hours long with various stops due to road repairs, I spent most of this sleeping/attempting sleep so can't say much else except that apparently it shouldn't take that long. On this bus ride we also find that the guide (Fernando Fernandes!?) we met at the agency is thankfully our guide so we at least know that he speaks good English, but that everything else promised is a massive lie (although this was realised later) ... read more
