Salkantay Trekking our way to Macchu Picchu

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Cusco is one of the top cultural cities of Peru filled with quirky shops, huge markets selling everything from wellies (which we bought) right down to deconstructed cows heads and plenty of opportunities to get your photo taken with a lamb or alpaca. This wasn't our main reason for coming though, the main reason was to eventually work our way to Macchu Picchu via the Salkantay trek.

Coming from Colca Canyon we had already done a good few days walking and we were now ready for some more. Our first day in Cusco though was utilised by booking the trip and also finding some very good places to eat and drink. So we'd booked our trip with Viajes Cusco, in the Eco Packers hostel and eaten and full English breakfast at a small place called Jacks (very good) and finished off the day with a fine pint of Old Speckled Hen at an English pub. Whilst in the pub too we had chance to catch up with the folks at home which made for a pretty good day,one that felt more English than any of the others I can remember.

We also had another day in Cusco, this time to explore the city a little bit. We filled the day easily looking around all the different alleyways that the place has on offer. It was a very easy going sort of day, the middle of it was occupied by a meeting with one of the bosses of the volunteer programme we are going into the jungle with, lasting a couple of hours and then the rest of the day withered away. We were killing time.

3am the next morning and we were awake, ready for the 3 hour bus journey to the start point of the Salkantay trek. Rather than being picked up by the tour operator, who we had briefly met the night before, we were escorted by foot to the main plaza and from there onto the bus where we met the rest of the group. The 10 minutes waiting for the bus was filled with small bits of talk, with the majority of us dying to go back to sleep, at least for a few hours. Once we'd all jumped aboard the bus and we had been going a few minutes the next thing we knew was that it was 6.30am and we were in the small town of Mollapata about to have breakfast. Seeing as the breakfast wasn't included in the price we did what we do best and try to skimp our way through. I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu and Laura, seeing as she can't eat bread, went to the market in search of some fruit. We weren't as full as we would have liked to have been however we had no time left to eat and it was trek time.

The first thing that we had was a briefing from the two tour guides, Leo and Climako that consisted of a very basic talk about the up and coming day. Following that we all introduced ourselves to the 19 person strong group and then we eventually set off. We were making our way to the first campsite 20km away in Soraypampa that would take us the remainder of the day to accomplish. After 6 hours of walking and umpteen stops we had made it to lunch time. It was safe to say that we were hungry. Prior to having the food, we had expected nothing more than potatoes and rice but once the food came those anxieties were pushed to the side. We were banqueting on a 4 course lunch, starting with avocado, then a soup of vegetables, followed by llama and rice and finally a cup of coca tea. If things were to continue this way we wouldn't be losing an weight on the trip. All the while when we were eating our lunch, something was eating us.....sand flies (the worst sort of biting fly that we first experienced in New Zealand. With lunch over and our legs almost bleeding we took a quick siesta to let he food settle and then 20 minutes later we were on the road again, not before a good dousing of DEET.

The mornings walk had mainly been on a dirt road but the second half of the day things got more interesting. We were off the gravel and onto a proper track into the mountains. The scenery got better and better as we ascended into the peaks, and the greenery that we started off with was slowly turning into snow capped summits. Later into the afternoon the scenery took a more familiar turn, looking now rather like the Lake District with boulder dashed fields and valleys all around. It was stunning.

By the time we approached the camp it was getting on towards 4pm and we were all sweat ridden. We had, unknowingly, been walking at quite a pace which meant we got to the camp a little sooner leaving us with more time to do as we pleased. Throughout the day we had been getting to know all the characters in the group, which we had a huge mix of, and yet everyone had bonded pretty tightly already. We headed down to the river bottom to check out the small stream and the gentle waterfalls around it, took some photos in the moonlight and then made our way back towards the camp.

It wasn't your run of the mill camp, we were camping in our individual tents inside a big tarpolined shed that provided a little shelter from the elements should anything turn nasty. Altitude wise this was our highest camp at 3 900m or nearly 12 000ft, so things were going to get cold in the evening.

But back inside the shelter the chefs brought out a load of tea and masses of popcorn and biscuits just to bide us over until dinner. Things were getting good. By the time tea and biscuits were over, dinner had started to make its way out. Chicken casserole, rice and a load of other things I can't remember, but I do remember that it was incredibly good. With dinner out of the way we had the rest of the night to ourselves and luckily for us a couple of people had brought a little tipple for the group. We played a load of dice drinking games until what seemed like 1am but in reality was 9pm. All in all a very good first day.

From the start these were going to be long days. The first morning it was 3am start and the second was a 5am start. But the guides and cooks had taken this into consideration and rather than waking us up army style we were awoken by the sweet words of "tea". We dragged ourselves from our sleeping bags, some having more sleep than others, all the way to the table for breakfast. A very typical breakfast of bread and jam and for Laura a couple of pancakes and we were ready to go again. It was 6am once we set off for what was to be the toughest days walking.

The aim of the day was to climb up almost 800m and then drop back down over 2km to the second campsite. The morning, or majority of the morning, was dedicated to the climb up the mountain pass to the highest point at 4 650m. It took us just over 3 hours to get there and by the end of it we were ready for the downhill. Looming up in front of us the whole morning was the Salkantay mountain at over 6000m, a beast that no man has yet summited for clear reasons. On each side are huge lose snow faces that are constantly falling away through avalanches, and despite the knowledge of this people still try to get up it, always unsuccessfully. When the highest point came we had a ceremony lead by Leo, explaining the sacred purposes behind the mountains and also gave us a reason for carrying a small stone each up the 800m ascent. The stones were suppose to be a gesture and under the stones we each placed 3 coca leaves, for other sacred reasons. Once we'd all set down our stones we then constructed the biggest stone Jenga on the peak, a very proud moment.

With the ceremony over and the cold kicking in we made our way for a couple of hours down the valley. Again the scenery similar to that of the lakes only with huge snowy mountains in the background. It was another 2 hour walk before we made it to the lunch spot, nestled at the top of a hill besides a river. Further into the valley were massive clouds all starting to make their way up the valley and forming some incredible scenes. Lunch again didn't disappoint, it was another 4 courses which they finished off with a chocolate mouse dessert. Awesome. But our second days siesta wasn't as lethargic as the previous day, it was then when we learnt of a Hackeysack (at least that's how I think it is spelt), a game that uses a small bag of beans with the objective of keeping it in the air as long as possible using only your feet. Its similar to keepyuppy, only a more hippyish and technical version.

Afternoon number two. We had done the hard bit in the morning and now it was time to easily meander our way down to camp two. It was time to go from 4000m to just under 3000m. And so off we went, spirits high after food and the afternoon sailed by. We started out in the mountains and finished in the jungle, hot and slightly humid. It was almost crazy to think only a few hours prior to arriving at camp 2 we had been layered up in coats and buffs and now we'd stripped back the layers to shorts and a T-shirt (at least when walking). We were at camp 2, that was rigged out with a hot shower and a makeshift bar. The bar took a fair bit of money and the showers were almost left neglected, and something going by the name of San pedro came out. Its essentially ground dried cactus that has a hallucinogenic effect that you have to mix with a drink in order to get it down. Its not my thing but I don't mind watching the effects it has. It was disappointing, nothing happened that I could see until they all went to bed that night. Apparently there were some pretty vivid dreams going on and not a lot of sleep. I'm glad its not my thing!

We're now into day 3 with over half of the trek done. Of the 75km we've covered 42 of them already so today's going to be an easy one. Breakfast was at a leisurely 7am and we didn't set off until 7.30 that morning. It was a 14km day that follows a river down to a very small town. The walking was straight forward and the views were very much water orientated with the odd cow here and there. We'd stopped a fair few times along the way to collect some fruit or grab a twix from the pathside vendors, whom made the most out of us all. It wasn't the most exciting morning of the trip but the afternoon to come was what we were all waiting for.

Having sweated a lot in the last 3 days and not yet having showered it was about time to freshen up but not in any old bathtub. It was time for the hot springs. There was no better way, at that moment in time, of spending £5 than on the thermal hot springs. There were 3 of them in total, all different in temperature, all the size of a swimming pool and completely (apart from the building of the pool) natural. So for the next 2 hours we dipped in and out of hot water, mixed it up with a refreshing cold shower under a waterfall and then hopping back in. We felt by the end, once again, humanly clean even though we had to put our stinking clothes back on!

Freshened up we drove back to camp 3, situated in a small town, and it was the most lively of the 3 nights accommodation. Once we had had our award winning 3 course meal they got a fire going, put some music on and even graced us with a disco light. The beer was relatively cheap and bottles of wine even cheaper so finding a way to occupy ourselves that evening was easy, even if it was only until 10pm by which time we couldn't keep our eyes open. Day 3 was a good'un.

We were into the last days walking before the highlight of Macchu Picchu. It wasn't tipped to be the best day but the guides and chefs had ways of making a poor days walking into a good day. So how do they do that? Well they do it through cake at 8am in the morning, just before we were about to leave the breakfast table out pops this huge cake, all decorated in icing and ready to be eaten. It got us all in good spirits and also guaranteed the chef a better tip that morning when he left us.

With the cake in our stomachs we set off on round 4 of the walking. As promised it wasn't the best day by any means, walking for the first half day solely on roads but passing by active mines and hydroelectric power stations which were the highlight of it. The second half was dominated by train tracks running besides the river and into the jungle. The pace was quick and with the added weight of all our baggage it made the afternoon 12km drag by. 3 hours later we made it into Aguas Calientes, the town filled with tourists who opted out of a serious walk to the ruins and instead don a pair of Khaki trousers, a north face shirt and a massive hat to look like an explorer. We all know you didn't make the walk!

For the price we had paid, around $200, we expected all to be crammed into a small dorm room. This surprisingly wasn't the case and far from it. We were staying in a good 3 star hotel with our own bedroom, bathroom and TV. I've no idea how the money goes this far. Showered and cleaned we wandered into the town to track down a beer or two with the guys. And because of the huge amount of tourists there are a huge amount of bars all competing for custom, of which we exploited. A few drinks down and it was time for tea, again no idea how the money goes this far, where we could chose from a menu!!!! and get a soup as well. Winner. That was the end of another days adventure and in the morning, bright and early we are heading up the mountain to Macchu Picchu.

Off goes the alarm at a depressing time of 4am, which is when the thought crossed the both of our minds 'should we turn it off, go back to sleep and head to Macchu Picchu later?', good job it was only a passing thought. We all met downstairs for a quick bite to eat and then it was out of the door at 4.20 and we were on our way, very giddily.

The first checkpoint is at the bottom of the mountain which doesn't open until 5am. We were there just before with enough time to get into the start of the line. Our guides had said to us this is the only part that is like a race, where everyone rushes to the top and for me I saw this as a challenge. When 5am came and everyone started heading through the gates we were in the middle of the queue which meant walking swiftly was the game of the day. From the checkpoint I was another 2800 steps to the main entrance of the ruins. Game on. Regretfully I left Laura half way up the hill which retrospectively wasn't a good move but I was determined to be one of the first in, in order to see it with no one else around. I shot up in 30 minutes only to find one guy stood at the gates in front of me, I'd have preferred 10 rather than 1 but oh well. Laura wasn't far behind but I was in a spot of trouble for leaving her behind, I think I managed to climb out of the hole by bumping her up the queue.

At 6am the gates opened and we were among the first 3 into the Incan city of Macchu Picchu. We made our way quickly up to the guard house where you can look down over the breathtaking ruins. As we approached the guardhouse it was easy to see that we had arrived on a good day, there wasn't a single cloud covering the ruins as there very frequently are. Slowly but surely the sun rose, by which time we had probably taken over a hundred photos, and the ruins came to life. From where we were stood we looked across at the Huayna Picchu mountain and behind us stood the Macchu Picchu mountain, and around them other huge mountains. No matter how many times we had seen pictures of it, being there was 1000%!b(MISSING)etter. We stayed there and watched the sun ride for half an hour and then it was onto the tour.

Leo, one of our guides, led the tour and we could see from the start how passionate he was about the place. For him this was Mecca. Often he got annoyed with himself because he didn't feel his English (which he only learnt 2 months ago) was good enough to correctly describe the place and instead would talk in Spanish hoping we would understand. We stayed with him for a couple of hours before saying goodbye, leaving us with the rest if the day to explore the ancient city.

Our fist task of the morning was a toilet and coffee stop, if we were to keep on going for the rest of the day we needed a pick me up, wether that be psychological or physiological. Anyway a short coffee break turned into a 2 hour marathon of coffee, brownie and some very unusual toilet occurrences. When a man usually goes to the toilet there is no need to wait for either the loo or the urinal and the women are always the ones waiting. This time there was a role reversal going on, the men's queue was 20 strong and the women were in and out quickly. It became a good topic of conversation in the line, of which all the guys agreed that its better the other way around!

With coffee and toilet breaks over we nipped back into the ruins, grabbed a stamp for our passports to say that we had been to Macchu Picchu (very cool indeed) and then began the walk on our own up to the start of the Macchu Picchu mountain. Macchu Picchu mountain is a 600m climb from the ruins consisting of thousands of steep, steep steps and after running the earlier hill we nearly gave in on this one. At the very bottom of the mountain we met another couple of travellers who were debating whether or not to go up, but with a gentle bit of persuasion our 2 became 4. And a little way further we caught up with another couple from our group, Rule and Liv so the team got bigger. The climb though was tough to say the least and the steps were more like ladders, it was incredibly steep. Up and up and up this hill went, one of the guys we were with at the start called it a day and headed back down but the remaining 5 trudged on. Along the way we saw a number of people on their way down all telling us that it was 40 minutes to the top, 1 hour the next person and 1.5 hours the person after that. When we eventually reached the top it had taken us an hour and a half in total. However it was worth every one of the inca steps up there for the view of Macchu Picchu and also of the surrounding mountains. The ruins were stood 600m below us and the other mountains towered over this one. I'd say that the Macchu Picchu mountain is better than its sister mountain, Huayanu Picchu.

We took a load of photos up there, had a snack and then started to descend back down. This took less than a third of the time going up but once at the bottom our knees had got the shakes, time for a wee rest.

Laura and I aren't too good at the old sit back and do nothing routine, so after a 5-10 minute breather we made our way back down to the cafe for some water before heading back into the ruins to meet the guys. That took us a whopping 30 minutes so when we made it back to them they were half asleep, and so a wake up call was needed. We couldn't spend our time at Macchu Picchu sleeping.

The rest of the afternoon we explored the whole of the ruins, taking in the incredible scenery, looking at all the different sections of the city from the observatory to the sun temple and finally seeing some of the living quarters. For the size of it its hard to believe nearly 800 people lived here. We must have spent a good few hours looking around it all when we finally decided to wander back to the town.

Our legs were sore on the way down and with sand between my toes the last leg was painful but we made it there. We haggled away at a good price for dinner, getting a massive pizza each, nachos and 2 big beers to share for just over £5, less than half the original price. Once dinner and drinks were finished we waddled back to the hostel, grabbed our things and headed off to the train. 2 hours on a train later and we were in another town where our connecting bus picked us up and drove us all the way back to Cusco. We landed in at 1am and by 1.15am we were tucked up in bed stinking out the room with our below average hygiene levels, we'll shower in the morning.

The next 3 days in Cusco were dedicated to a bit of R&R. The first day we changed hostels, went for an awesome breakfast at Jacks with all the Super Hikers (the nickname Leo had for us), then it was coffee and cake at Cafe Ramona which was a restored old VW campervan that one of the Aussie couples bought. They work of the basis of tips rather than sales giving out free coffee,a very cool van indeed. With the coffee down we sauntered around the markets, had ourselves a smoothie and bought some nuts, other than that we did very little except grab a couple of pints and a shepards pie at a Irish Pub.

Our second day was even more relaxed than the first, again starting off with an early breakfast at Jacks to say goodbye to a few more of the guys. It was then back to the hostel for a shower and a freshen up before going to watch the FA Cup final in an English pub. I barely watch any of it and instead spent most of the time trying to fix my SD card with all the photos on it. Just what you want to happen near the end of the trip. The memory card wouldn't fix so it had to be left and we ended up watching the final quarter of the game. It was goodbye to another one of the team. The afternoon was an easygoer, buying some wellies for the jungle and reading a book for the rest of it.

The final day in Cusco started off in the same way as the others did, a breakfast at Jacks only not with a Super Hiker but Rich who we met in Patagonia and also who is coincidentally coming into the jungle too. Things took a turn for the worst after breaky, I got some pretty serious stomach cramping going on which left me bed ridden all day and relying on Coca tea to give some relief. Laura took the opportunity to go shopping for all things food related and came back a few hours later. The cramps eased up and then started again to the extent sickness was the only relief. It was an early night with the hope that it would disappear by the morning and we fell asleep to the noise of a local Mother's Day concert. This concert in turn kept us awake on and off until 3am!! Cheers Cusco.

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