The Inca trail is indeed very expensive (around 500$ per person) because it restricts to 200 the number of people per day walking it.
Like we did in Torres del Paine, we negotiate a "full autonomy" format, implying that we carry our tent and food for the five days and only use the guide services.
This multi day trek called Salkantay (6271m a.s.l.) is a well-known alternative to the classic Inca trail.
Day1: We are picked up early morning by a van and head to the start place. At the start we can see that most of the people (actually all of them) only carry a day pack; the rest is on donkeys together with the food to be prepared and cooked by the guide.
Beautiful sun. Blue sky. But heavy backpack. Our camelbacks are full. We can go. Top.
The first day is a long up-hill only trek on single trails, dirt roads, and through fields. Landscape is typical from Swiss Alps but the higher we go the more rocky it starts to be and the more exhausting it is...hem bags' weight does not help ;)
Somehow we have more loads than for Torres del Paine... less planning and more fancy food... Francois even has two big corns waiting to be boiled and 1l yoghurt; not sure how optimal are these latter ones?
We arrive at the base camp at 3900m and put our tent inside a big shelter made of plastic blue cover. At night temperature can drop up to -10c.
We are very happy to get rid of some kilos by eating the heaviest food as well as other useless items taken for nothing.
We go to bed early (21-22:00) as Day 2 is longer, higher and steeper than Day 1, totalling 22km compared to the 18km of Day 1.
Day2:With a lighter backpack (3kg less), we start trekking early morning at 7am.
Anecdote: After 30min walk up-hill, Weronika realises that her sunglasses are not in her pocket anymore... hem..
So we return without our big backpacks though, hoping to find the glasses as close as possible from where we started walking back.
Bad luck or good luck, we find the glasses just 200m after the base camp after a 4-eye desperate search. So happy though.. For once it is happy end. After losing 2x30min, we continue trekking up-hill.
So we return without our big backpacks though, hoping to find the glasses as close as possible from where we started walking back.
Bad luck or good luck, we find the glasses just 200m after the base camp after a 4-eye desperate search. So happy though.. For once it is happy end. After losing 2x30min, we continue trekking up-hill.
The last bit is a long steep straight trail until the top. After the top it is only down-hill to the second base camp.
The oxygen is rare and we have to break very frequently. Mountain landscapes are terrific and weather is so much prone to photography.
We finally reach the village where we can fit our tent on the first floor thereby avoiding rain and humidity... youpiii !
Day3:The third day, we woke up early and walk on the flat for 15km along a dirt road; we must say this part felt like relaxing after the two first demanding days, although not as much exciting.
The mountains behind are where we come from; the small village you can see is where our base camp was located.
Day4:In the morning, we have the option to do some "zip lining" adding more sensations and adrenaline to our hiking day.
The challenging up-side down position is called "Spiderman" position !
The afternoon of the fourth day is a 15km trek along a railway and large river, between flat and slightly up-hill. This is the last long trekking day heading to Machu Picchu.
It is raining and we hope that our next and final day visiting Machu Picchu will be better.
We stop quite early in the afternoon at the checkpoint near a bridge in an empty municipal camping.
To spend the time, we are enjoying a well-deserved beer with some crisps on the terrasse of a small café with view on the noisy river (or shall I rather say a big torrent).
Day5:The last and fifth day is dedicated to the final ascension and visiting the Machu Picchu ruins.
At 5am we meet at the checkpoint our trekking buddies who slept at the hotel in Aqua Caliente while we were camping.
At 5am we meet at the checkpoint our trekking buddies who slept at the hotel in Aqua Caliente while we were camping.
Then it is 2000 stairs to climb feasible in about one hour. After lots of sweat, we reach Machu Picchu entrance in 36min (stopwatch on).
Anecdote: as read on forum, it is advised to take a spare tshirt in the bag and change at the top to feel dry. Very wise advice as my shirt was completely soared.
We visit Machu Picchu by being the first to enter in the mystic city. The view and the construction techniques are incredible.
Anecdote: Francois' wet shirt was hanging in the net of his day pack and unfortunately dropped somewhere in the city. We return and try to find it even by asking the numerous guards equipped with walkie-talkies... but nothing. Again a Kraffterie and a loss for Francois Krafft :(
We leave Machu Picchu with our camera and head full of souvenirs. We trek back to Hydro Electrica where we take a van to bring us back to Cusco. Here we go for a 6h journey through the Andean passes.
We arrive in Cusco late evening and we are knackered, but satisfied to finish in style the series of treks in Latin America.
Please note that the Salkantay trail celebration dinner on the picture below happens the next evening...ehhe hence fresher face... as well as clothes ;-)
Flight Cusco - Lima - Quito 2774km, 6hrs