If there’s one thing Peru is famous for, it’s Machu Picchu. Most people probably don’t know much about Peru, but they have heard of Machu Picchu.
While the 4 day Inca Trail Trek is the more popular one for tourists around the world, the 5 day Salkantay Trek is more popular for backpackers because it’s cheaper and doesn’t require booking 6 months in advance (although read my Cusco Part I blog post for more info on my Machu Picchu scare as getting an entrance ticket to the site does require at least a few weeks beforehand). I booked with KB Adventures and the trek only cost $250 for 5 days and includes the guide, lodging, food (meals at camp, not snack/drink purchases along the way), entrance to Machu Picchu, train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo, and bus from Ollantaytambo to Cusco.
Getting In
It was about a 2 hour bus ride to get to the starting point of the Salkantay Trek at Mollepata. The pick up was at 6am so I slept for most of the bus ride until we got to our breakfast spot. The bus had multiple different groups on it so it wasn’t until the breakfast table that we got to meet the other people we’d be hiking with. After breakfast it was about a 20 minute ride and then it was time to start the trek.
The Group
Our jungle group wasn’t too exciting which served its purpose for that trip, but we had an incredible group for Salkantay and I’m so glad that Matt got to experience this type of group chemistry for the trek. Everyone clicked in the group and there was a lot of shared laughs, stories, and experiences. Fun, interesting people with good diversity of backgrounds and that were easy to talk to. The group bond was strong from the first day and continued throughout the entire trek.
We had the interesting couple pairing of Daniel from England and Carmen from Mexico who met at university in England. Then there was a couple from Uruguay, Falcunda and Alesandro, as well as another guy from Uruguay, Mateo. First time interacting with Uruguayans and really like them. We all got along great and this gave me motivation to spend a week or two in Uruguay later in my trip now that I have some local connections. There was a French couple Ali and Nicolas who kept a bit more to themselves. She was social but he didn’t know English too well. There was Augie, the classic friendly midwestern American who was from Pittsburgh but lived in New York. Me, Matt, Augie, and Mateo became the 4 guys that were always in the front of the pack. Then we had Isa, a girl whose lives in LA for awhile but is originally from the Philippines. And finally, last but not least, was our tour guide Rueben who was an absolutely hilarious character. He had a bit of a belly and looked like he was in his late 40s yet somehow was only 36. He’d been a guide for nearly half his life and was at the end of this career path.
We had to come up with a group name and at first we went by Sexy Reuben in honor of our guide. We briefly changed it to ice bears because the first campsite had accidentally translated cervezas heladas to ice bear and we found it funny but it didn’t have quite as good of a ring as Sexy Rueben so we switched back.
The Food
Every meal on the trek was absolutely incredible and they gave such huge portions. Similar to the jungle tour, every meal contained a juice, soup, and 4 giant platters of food (well actually 8 on this one as each side of the table had 4). Usually it would be a veggie, some type of Peruvian potato (there are over 3800 in the country), rice, and a meat or fish. The chefs really crushed it in the kitchen and we never left a meal hungry which is so important when hiking long distances and burning lots of calories.
We would also do snack time around 5-5:30 whenever finished hiking which consisted of popcorn, animal crackers, and tea. Every morning we were woken up at 5:30am with a cup of coca tea. It was the perfect way to start a long hiking day.
All along the trail when we stopped to take breaks, there are stands that sell snacks and drinks. Some of them even have avocado toast for $1 or other sandwiches. It was really convenient to know you didn’t have to go too far before the next stand. This is why doing Salkantay without a guide really wouldn’t be that hard. You don’t need to pack in all your food because there’s so many options along the trek. And then each campground we stayed at also sold snacks, waters and gatorades, beers, etc. so you could stock up on a daily basis.
We no longer had our private chefs for the fourth day of the hike. We ate at a restaurant by the start of the hidroeléctrica that really wasn’t very good. Then that night we had our last dinner together as a group where I ate a delicious alpaca entree.
On the final day before hiking up to Machu Picchu, Matt and I had some delicious street ribs. They were pricey by Peruvian standards but damn tasty.
The Lodging
We really lived a pretty luxurious life on the trail for both food and lodging. All the lodging was 2 person accommodations so it was nice to have Matt along for the trip to guarantee I had a good roommate. And it surprisingly never got that cold at night.
The first night’s campsite was in Soraypampa and we slept in little miniature houses with a glass part in the rooftop for star gazing. We were in the valley with between the giant mountain peaks. This might have been the most beautiful campsite of them all.
The second night our campsite was in Colpapampa and we slept in dome shaped eco huts. This area was actually a little town and the people that owned the property put the eco huts in their backyard. The surrounding landscape for this campsite was also incredibly beautiful. The property had showers where it was free for a cold shower and 10 soles ($2.50) for a hot shower. I was fine with a cold shower after the hiking. Plus I heard mixed reviews on how hot the shower actually got.
The third night our campsite was called Sahuayacu Plaza and we slept in an elevated and covered triangle and dome shaped tent. The views weren’t as nice here but the property itself might have been the nicest one.
The fourth night we stayed at a hotel in Aguas Calientes and the rooms were actually pretty nice.
The Trek (48.6 miles, 13268 feet elevation gain, 17000 feet elevation loss, point to point)
I did one long AllTrails recording because so the stats per day might be a bit of an estimate (my longest trek by mileage to date). And unfortunately AllTrails only calculates elevation gain and not loss so I always have to guess a bit on that one. It makes sense if it’s a loop or in and out but when doing a point to point like this hike then it’d be nice to see elevation loss calculated.
Day 1 (7.2 miles, 2200 feet elevation gain, 1200 feet elevation loss, point to point)
There is no more magical feeling than hiking in the Andes. And I’m so glad that I get to share this experience Matt, someone I’ve hiked quite a bit with in the Rockies including my first 14er. It was a beautiful bluebird day with the sun blazing so we couldn’t ask for a better start to the trek. The trail started with a slight uphill and you could tell a lot of the group wasn’t acclimatized as they struggled with what I thought was a very easy start.
Rueben stopped a few times a long the way to give an explanation of the mountains (Salkantay and Humantay), the land, and the plants (muño and lupina). After the brief uphill, the trail was pretty much flat the rest of the way to our first campsite. I had a solid conversation with Mateo in Spanish. He did a good job speaking slowly and making it easy to chat with him. Without much effort the hike had gorgeous landscapes views with Humantay glacier in the backdrop and eventually Salkantay mountain. Man I just love hiking in the Andes, it is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world.
After a delicious opening lunch where everyone in the group was starting to get to know each other better, we had a brief digestion period before the real challenge of the day. It was a 1.25 mile steep uphill stretch to get to Humantay Lake, which sat around 14,000 feet high. The nice thing was we could leave our bags at the campsite and really only need to bring water, a spare jacket, and sunscreen. Matt and I headed up before the rest of the group since this part of the trail was a go on your time type of affair. This was a good readjustment to steep, high altitude climbing. I was not in my Huaraz shape anymore but still scampered up the mountain. I briefly waited on Matt a few times before saying fuck it and just zipping to the top myself. He was still acclimating but seemed to be doing a lot better than our Pisac hike earlier in the week.
Once at the top, Humantay lake was a stunning blue color at the top with the Humantay glacier in the backdrop. It was the type of view you could stare at for hours and never grow tired of it. Some guy proposed to his lady in front of the lake. It was a classy spot to do it. Less crowded than Machu Picchu and he didn’t have to eagerly await the response during a 5 day trek. Matt and I walked to the very top above the lake reaching 14,052 feet and had stunning panoramic views. We walked along the ridge line and soaked in the valley and lakes views. The landscape was absolutely stunning and this was certainly the highlight of day one. We went back down to the lake and met up with the rest of our group to hike down with the crew.
It turns out our fearless leader sexy Rueben didn’t even go to the lake. Oh well we didn’t really need him. We grabbed our celebratory post hike ice bear (beer). Then it was snack and tea time and dinner followed not too long after. Everyone went to bed just after 8:00 in anticipation for the long day ahead.
Day 2 (13.3 miles, 2800 feet elevation gain, 6000 feet elevation loss, point to point)
Just like every morning, we were woken up at 5:30 with a coca tea at our door. After our 6am breakfast we got started on the hardest day of the trek because we go to the highest point and it’s super long. We started out in the valley surrounded by giant mountains and it reminded me of Santa Cruz trek except this time I had good weather. The uphill to start the day was tough on breathing as we surpassed 14K feet of elevation.
Then we snaked uphill into an intense set of switchbacks, which is known as the gringo killer according to Ruben. It was a challenging incline and definitely had me a bit short of breath and got the heart racing. I took a few quick stops along the way, but mostly powered through at my rapid pace. I’ve learned that I just need to keep going even when the breathing gets tough and use the brief pauses to catch my breath. Mateo and I were leading the pack way ahead of the rest of the group with Matt and Augie a little behind us.
We weren’t done yet; there was another slow, steep uphill to Salkantay Pass. One breath at a time up was the focus of this section as we reached 15,203 feet once at the top of the mountain pass. There was stunning 360 views of the surrounding landscape for what made one of the most picturesque moments of my time in Peru. I was so grateful to finally have some good weather during a trek; there was barely any clouds in the sky. Perfect view of both Salkantay and Humantay mountains plus all sorts of other mountains looming in the distance.
The good thing about being the fastest in the group is you have more time to enjoy the views from the top. We had a photo op getting some good group and individual photos, then Ruben explained some of the history behind the mountain. Salkantay is an incredibly hard mountain to climb with a savage reputation for people disappearing or dying while trying to summit the peak. Salkantay comes from the word sallqa in Quechua which translates to wild, uncivilized, savage or invincible.
Then it was a long downhill section on crushed rocks, which was a total knee burner. Matt and I powered ahead of the group and were chatting about Lynx (his new start up) and software development things. It was nice to see my brain still remembers a lot about that world and can still talk intelligently about it. It did make me realize that I miss it a bit. Obviously I’d so much rather be traveling the world but there was something nice about using my brain to think in a software mindset again. There’s a possibility that I go work with him on this Lynx project when I return to America so it was good shop talk.
That day we had our most beautiful lunch spot with perfect views of both Salkantay and Humantay mountains from down in the valley. I could have lied there all day and stared at those mountains. We did have a solid 30-40 minutes of chilling before lunch and another 30 after. It seemed like the whole group could have easily taken a nap on the grass.
Afterwards was another 3-4 hours of nonstop downhill as we worked our way down the other side of the mountain pass. As we got further along the trail we had started to enter the high jungle. It was crazy how the vegetation and landscape shifted from rocky and mountainous to green and jungly. Augie and Mateo walked with Matt and I in the beginning and the 4 of us had some solid convos. But by the end it was back to Matt and I in the front chatting amongst ourselves. Finally the rest of the group caught up and Rueben led us to the night 2 campsite.
We had nice little domes to sleep in that night. After such a long day of hiking, we did a much needed group stretch led by Alesandro and Mateo. I took a free cold shower before snack time and had a few post hike beers. Ruben had been talking about Inca tequila and finally that evening after dinner he gave us a coke bottle full of it. Inca tequila tasted like some sort of bathtub white rum. It wasn’t very good but I’ve also had worse. We ended up taking 2 group shots together. Everyone was a little loose after a few Inca tequila shots and beers and that evening we had some solid chats. Alan, a German guy from one of the other groups, was jealous of our group’s chemistry so he decided to hang out with us. From then on in the trek he would always gravitate toward our group.
Day 3 (5.5 miles, 400 feet elevation gain, 2500 feet elevation loss, point to point)
This was the shortest and easiest day and we hiked together as a group for most of the day. It started out with what Rueben called “Inca flat,” which just like Colombia flat, is a lot of small ups and downs. There was a few small steep uphill sections but it was mostly downhill. A good portion of the day was flat as we worked our way on the ridge line next to the Salkantay River.
The hike along the river was super beautiful and peaceful and it was actually a shame that we were already done hiking by about 11. Instead of hiking all the way to the campsite, we got onto the road and took a short bus ride. I think it’s because there was a few people doing the trek in 4 days (the French couple and Isa in our group) and so they still had a long afternoon ahead of them. It was only 11am but Rueben busted out another coke bottle of Inca tequila on the bus. God I love this guy. It was a vibe setter for the day. It was only a 10-15 minute bus ride but we ended up passing around two coke bottles of Inca tequila during the ride.
We get to camp and Isa buys a bottle of rum because now the day party had started. We were ripping shots with lunch which is when it really started elevating. Of course Rueben was joining in with us. Somehow Isa left to hike that afternoon. Not sure how because we were drinking pretty heavily at lunch.
We hung out at camp for a few hours before heading to hot springs around 2:30. Every time any of us would buy a beer, Rueben would also give us a small cup of Inca tequila. This guy is crazy! We took a 40 minute van ride there and I was already drunk at this point after the party late morning/early afternoon we had. They were super nice hot springs with big pools. All the other groups doing Salkantay trek were there too. Everyone else also seemed like they had been drinking throughout the afternoon. Who knew day 3 of Salkantay trek was such a party?! Matt bought another bottle of rum and even though we weren’t supposed to drink by the hot springs he jumped in with it. Of course he got yelled at. The ending of the hot springs is a bit blurry but I ended up getting so many bug bites. None of us had put on bug spray while we were there and even if we had it probably would have washed off in the hot springs. Needless to say everyone got super bitten. It ended up being the most bug bites I’d ever gotten, which was miserable a few days later. Dinner is a haze and I woke up in middle of night not even using my sleeping bag or remembering going to bed. Oops. Definitely didn’t expect to party this hard in the middle of a 5 day trek.
Day 4 (15.5 miles, 3800 feet elevation gain, 3500 feet elevation loss, point to point)
It was a rude awakening for the typical 5:30 wake up with coca tea. I was paying for the debauchery from the day before. And I realized how many damn bug bites I had; my entire body was covered.
Eating breakfast helped but it wasn’t enough to prevent me from having a rough morning. The day began flat along the road for 30 minutes then it was nonstop uphill for 3 hours. It was beautiful but given my hangover I was struggling to enjoy that aspect, just trying to survive. In spite of feeling like absolute shit, I was still toward the front of the group; although Mateo and Augie were the true leaders this day. It was a tough uphill stretch for day 4 even if feeling 100% let alone after the day we had before. All that being said I still made my way up the mountain. I wish I could have enjoyed it more because the hike itself was the type of uphill I normally love but it took the entire 3.5 hours to kick my hangover. The beauty of hiking is that eventually you do start to feel better, and I finally was when we finished the uphill.
Once at the top, we had incredible views off in the distance including our first spotting of Machu Picchu from afar. We could also see Salkantay and Humantay mountains and it was crazy to think how far we’d come in just a few days. Rueben provided some more stories and info about Machu Picchu as we stared at the famous Incan site off in the distance. We were so close yet still so far.
Then it was a steep downhill all the way to the river. An absolute knee killer. Me and the Uruguay couple did that stretch together trying to keep a quick pace to avoid too much knee problems but it was unavoidable. We did our best to run down when we could and it was crazy how much elevation we lost over the course of the next 45 minutes.
Then we waited on the group and all walked together another 15 minutes to have lunch at a restaurant that wasn’t too great. I was also too exhausted to even eat much. I survived my hungover morning but still wasn’t feeling amazing. And at this point my knees were hurting after multiple days in a row of downhill and that last super steep stretch.
After lunch and chilling for 30 minutes, I thought we were taking the hydroelectric to Aguas Calientes but instead we were just walking along the railway. Supposedly it was only 11 km but it ended up being way more than that. It was flat the entire way along the railway but at this point in the trek and after the party day it was long and arduous. The views weren’t too special either so it was quite rough. It felt like it would never end. Me, Matt, Augie, and Mateo did this stretch together with minimal conversation as everyone was exhausted at this point.
Even when we got closer to Aguas Calientes it was like where the fuck is this place. Of course we had to walk uphill to get into town, and then our hotel ended up being all the way at the top of the hill. To add one less kick in the groin, mine and Matt’s room was on the 6th floor with no elevator. Everything hurt at this point. It was so nice to take a real shower and have a hotel bed to lie on. Me, Matt, Augie, and Mateo went out for beers and pizza to celebrate. Aguas Calientes is a pretty town on the river but it’s also very touristy so all the food and drinks are overpriced compared to the rest of Peru. Not super surprising since it’s the entry point to Machu Picchu, but still not a town I would spend more than one night in.
Then we had our last group dinner together which was quite sad. Some of the group would enter together tomorrow but not all of us. The way Machu Picchu ticketing works is weird with all the different circuit entrances and mountain tickets. Read my Cusco Part I article for more on the stress of getting Matt and I an entrance ticket but we were doing it unguided the next day at 2pm. It would have been nice to have Rueben give his last spiels because this is where he would really shine. Also it would have been good to complete the main event of the trek with the group but oh well such is life. I had another dank alpaca for dinner and Rueben coming in the clutch once again got us a round of this delicious hot Pisco drink. He explained what to do tomorrow and gave Matt and I our Machu Picchu and train tickets. After dinner we had one more beer on the rooftop of the hotel then said our goodbyes to the group.
Day 5 (7.0 miles, 2000 feet elevation gain and loss, in and out)
Matt and I didn’t have Machu Picchu until 2pm unfortunately and no guide so we had some time to kill in the morning. At least we had a guaranteed spot because the line every morning to get tickets in Aguas Calientes was ridiculous.
A quick history lesson on Machu Picchu. No one knows the true purpose of Machu Picchu although it is believed to have been a royal estate or sacred religious site for Inca leaders in the 15th or 16th century. For hundreds of years, until the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham stumbled upon it in 1911, the abandoned citadel’s existence was a secret known only to peasants living in the region. Bingham was looking for another Incan stronghold called Vilcabamba when he accidentally discovered Machu Picchu. The site stretches over an impressive 5-mile distance, featuring more than 3,000 stone steps that link its many different levels. Today, hundreds of thousands of people tramp through Machu Picchu every year and is South America’s most famous ruins.
It was nice to be able to sleep in and not have another early morning starting at 4:30-5. But we still woke up early around 7:30 because our internal clock was used to it. At least we didn’t have to rush out of bed and could eat the free breakfast. The hotel check out wasn’t until 10 but for some reason we decided to start walking around town at 9. Aguas Calientes is a pretty town, but there really isn’t much to do, so we got some coffee and street food to kill time. The ribs we got on the street were actually delicious.
We walked from town to the entrance at the bottom of the hill and tried to enter at 11:30 but it was too early. The hike up is only supposed to be about an hour but it was worth a shot. They let us enter at 12:00 and said to go slow. The hike was straight up steps in the heat. It was hard for day 5 plus at that time of day. Matt was dying. At least it was mostly through the forest and shaded by the trees. It was certainly the least exciting hike of the 5 days.
We got up at 1, and they had a strict no entrance policy until the time on our ticket of 2pm. I could see why they wouldn’t let us in an hour early, but the fact they wouldn’t let us in when we tried a second time 10 minutes before seemed a bit extreme. We sat around waiting while guides tried to sell us on a tour. At this point we just wanted to wander around on our own. If the tour isn’t from Rueben then we don’t want it.
Finally 2pm rolled around and we waited in line again for about 10 minutes before entering. By the entrance there was so many tour groups to push through. They were all walking so slowly up the steps and constantly stopping to catch their breath. Clearly these people hadn’t been hiking for multiple days to get here, they could barely make it the small staircases.
But once I got past the initial crowds by the entrance and could finally see Machu Picchu city all stress vanished. It was such a magnificent site that words really can’t describe. It’s crazy how complete and intact it looks. After all these years and this high up in the mountains, it’s still in perfect condition. It really is such a beautiful work of engineering and the fact that it was done so many centuries ago. I mean how did they even move those insanely large stones this high in the mountain to create such a pristine city. The Incans really were something else. The walls, terraces, stairways, and ramps blend in perfectly with the nature behind them. The display of stonework in the city is absolutely incredible along with the sophisticated terrace system used for agriculture. The stones were somehow cut to fit together without a mortar.
We got our initial glances of the city from up high but decided to walk toward the Inca Bridge. It wasn’t part of our circuit ticket but we just paid the guy a few bucks and he let us go through. It was a slightly sketchy walk with steep drop offs. No wonder they made us sign in at the counter with an entry and exit time. It was less than a 10 minute walk to where you can view the bridge. It was absolutely insane to think people used to walk across it, and even crazier to think about where they walked afterwards. I wonder how many Incans fell crossing that bridge.
It started to lightly drizzle as we walked back to the main area of Machu Picchu city. Luckily it didn’t last long and the grey clouds actually added an even more mysterious feeling to the city. Plus we still had clear enough views of what was in front of us.
The city has this incredibly powerful energy to it and is absolutely beautiful with the mountain backdrops. But the crowds make it feel like Disney Land. People were stopping every 2 seconds to take photos. Not that I’m going to act high and mighty (although I kind of am), but we worked our asses off spending 5 days to trek here going over a mountain pass 15K+ feet high and hiking more than 40 miles; exhausted, sore, bug bitten, and accomplished. Whereas most people just got straight off the bus from Aguas Calientes to the entrance at the top ready to take their latest Instagram photo. Oh well such is life. We definitely earned it more than them, but then again everyone deserves to visit this gem of a place no matter how they get there. I think the 2pm entry time is probably filled with more tourists than the early times which have more trekkers. Although I don’t actually know that. I’m sure Machu Picchu is just always crowded no matter what.
We walked down into the actual city and it was so amazing to walk the streets of Machu Picchu. It’s a really big city and fun to stroll through at a leisurely pace. Of course without a guide we didn’t really know exactly what we were looking at but it was still such a cool experience. Huayna Picchu mountain in the backdrop is beautiful and it seems like a crazy steep hike to get to the top. Those people who did Salkantay Trek and finished by also hiking that mountain peak are quite impressive. I think my legs might have been able to power through one last steep stretch and pull it off but there’s no way that Matt could have.
The whole thing was a very magical experience. I get the hype of Machu Picchu. It really is the type of place you have to see to believe. Not only is the city an architectural and engineering work of art, but the views of the mountains are incredible and the energy you feel here is unparalleled. I wish it was slightly less crowded but it’s that popular for a reason. So glad to hike 5 days to get here. This was the best prize at the end of a long hike that you could ask for.
After a few hours of roaming the city, Matt and I started the hike back down. About halfway down the steps it started to rain on us so we picked up the pace. Then as we almost reached the entrance at the bottom of the hill, it just started absolutely dumping rain. Luckily we were able to wait it out underneath the roof the ticket check building. The hard ran continued for another solid 20 minutes as it even started to hail. Wow we got so lucky this didn’t happen a few hours before. It would have been so shitty if we had been at the top of Machu Picchu when it was raining this hard. I doubt you could see much of anything at this point. Although it probably would clear out the crowds…
Finally after a little over 20 minutes the rain was lighter and we continued the walk back to Aguas Calientes. Our clothes were absolutely soaked by the time we got back into town, so we stopped at the first bar we saw and drank a few hot pisco cocktails to warm us up. We still had a few hours to kill before our train at 9:30. We got an overpriced dinner that really wasn’t very good. Matt tried cuy for the first time and it was such a tiny portion. Since we still had time, we then went for a second shitty dinner for him where he ordered another bad pizza. Aguas calientes is expensive and doesn’t have great food. We couldn’t wait to get out of here. The train ride really wasn’t very comfortable as we had to share leg space with the people across from us and there wasn’t much room to put your bag anywhere. It was an impressive shit show getting off the train in Ollantaytambo and getting the bus. People were standing there with clipboards calling names and funneling you into different buses. It was actually very efficient all things considered. When it was all said and done we didn’t end up getting back into Cusco until nearly 2 in the morning. What a long fucking day. Overall it was an absolutely incredible trek that I cannot recommend enough. Each of the 5 days had different landscapes that were all beautiful throughout the trek. You traverse over 40 miles of the Andes with Machu Picchu being the prize at the end. Can’t beat that! It’s crazy how much ground we covered in those first 4 days when you look at a map. I didn’t think it was too hard although the length really got to me by the 4th day. The partying the night before didn’t help either, but my legs were really feeling it that day. It is certainly doable without a guide although it was nice to have all the campsites planned and the incredible meals. The price was low enough to make it worthwhile. I would certainly do it again sometime in the future, or I would also love to see what the Inca Trail is all about. Rueben said there is a way to combine the first few days of Salkantay with the Inca Trail. Now that would be the ultimate!