Yesterday I finished the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu. Our route was filled with hills, diverse landscapes, and gorgeous views. This was no doubt one of the best experience I have ever had.

The Group

Day 1: 7.5 miles hiked; 307 floors climbed

My alarm went off at 3:30 on Thursday morning, though I had already been awake for fifteen minutes. I was excited to get going. The van picked me up right on time: 4:10am. After attempting to shut our eyes for a couple of hours, we arrived at the starting point of our five-day trek.

Our group decided to start the walk backwards. We thought we were pretty funny. After being told we should name ourselves, the seven of us decided on “Back to the Picchu.” It should be noted that “Picchu” (which means mountain) is pronounced “peek-chu” instead of “pee-chu”–the latter actually means “penis.” While back to the pee-chu might be a fine name for some other group, we settled on peek-chu.

After a couple of hours, we reached our campsite for the night. Not too bad.

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After a monstrous lunch (oversized and delicious meals were a recurring theme throughout the trek), we made our way up a very steep hill (also a recurring theme) to find Humantay Lake.

Deciding that more hills sounded like a good idea, Ingmar, Will, and I decided to continue the climb to a higher vantage point. I evidently took the wrong way and ended up having to climb with my hands. After a couple of sketchy minutes, I reached the top.

The sun started to go down and we were offered gorgeous views.

After an hour or two, it was time to head back to camp.

After a sumptuous dinner, we started to get ready for bed. The air was frigid, but the stars were brilliant.

Day 2: 14 miles hiked; 271 floors climbed

The scheduled wake-up time was 5am for the rest of the hike, though our glorious guide Vigner greeted us with hot coca tea to help ease the transition.

After simultaneously eating breakfast and cursing the cold, we began our hike up to Salkantay Pass.

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After an uphill battle, we reached 4650 meters and were rewarded with more coca tea.

It was quite cold up there, but the views were amazing and we had accomplished the most difficult portion of the trek (or so we were told).

We next descended through a cloud forest and were engulfed by fog.

We kept going down, down, down, and eventually found trees again. Will, Ingmar, and I decided to take a jog so we could get to camp faster. Only Will was able to pass the contingent of mules which was ahead of us, so he was the clear winner. Camp the second night included a shower–this was much needed as you could likely smell our group from a mile away.

Day 3: 11 miles hiked; 206 floors climbed

Vigner (our guide) told us that day three was flat. I suppose flat was a relative term. We made our way through lush landscapes. It should be noted that we successfully negotiated a 5:15am wake-up time on the third day, evidently the first such concession Vigner has made. Back to the Picchu was comprised of expert negotiators.

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Our trail saw frequent rivers and waterfalls. The temperature began to climb as we reached lower and lower altitudes.

By lunchtime, we reached a coffee farm. We were shown the steps of taking raw coffee fruit and processing it all the way to the finished drink. Each of us took a turn helping out with the various stages. We were rewarded with a taste of the fruits our labor.

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The experience has motivated Ravé to take the lead in starting a coffee business. It also motivated him to drink about 20 cups of coffee over the next 48 hours. Following the coffee experience, we had our largest lunch yet. Afterwards, we took a van on a road full of bumps to enjoy some local hot springs. The warm water felt fantastic, as did the periodic ventures into the cold waterfall. It was a nice break from the constant slog (which we would resume the next day).

Day 4: 16 miles hiked; 268 floors climbed

I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of rain. We had been lucky with the weather so far, but it appeared our luck had run out. However, the weather gods smiled upon us and decided to cease the precipitation right as we set off for the day. Another day of constant hills awaited us.

After the hills finally stopped, we walked along train tracks for the final couple of hours. I got some solid advice on Spain from Ravé, who had lived there for four years. I’ll likely be making my way over sometime next year.

After reaching Aguas Calientes (the town adjacent to Machu Picchu), we were rewarded with two amazing treats: (i) a real shower and (ii) a real bed. It was magnificent. After dinner, I got in bed at 8:30 to prepare for the final day.

Day 5: 13 miles walked; 406 floors climbed

The alarm went off at 3:40am. Waking up pre-sunset was now a routine. Will and I left the hostel at 4am to meet Renée and Ingmar (on their honeymoon) at the gate to the Machu Picchu stairs. We had elected to climb.

At 5am the gate opened and we were off. It was completely dark and I raced up using only my phone’s flashlight. The stairs were steep. I managed to get lost for a little bit, but luckily Renée alerted me to the proper course. After 31 minutes I had accomplished my goal: I was the first person up the stairs to Machu Picchu. It was exhausting. Back to the Picchu proved very adept at climbing the stairs. Will was fourth, Ingmar fifth, and Renée sixth (the first woman to the top).

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At 6am we were the first people let into Machu Picchu. The magic reverberated throughout the morning sky.

It was fantastic to get there before everyone else. It was just us and the llamas.

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After Vigner educated us and gave a tour of the city, Kate, Rachel, and I set off to climb Machu Picchu mountain. We were under the impression that this would be nothing extreme. After all, we had finished the hardest part of the trek. We were sorely mistaken (pardon the pun).

We began our ascent just after 8am. Pure steps. Tall steps; narrow steps; unending steps. After an hour and fifteen minutes of…steps, we finally reached the top. Kate and Rachel were kind enough to offer me some water at the top, or else I likely would have perished.

After a careful descent, we finally got back down to Machu Picchu, maneuvered our way through the hordes of tourists which were now present, and returned to Aguas Calientes. After an incredible five days of hiking, we decided beers were in order. Back to the Picchu had accomplished its task.

Tour Guide

Our tour guide, Vigner, was fantastic. A solid mix of information and entertainment. I would recommend him for any tour if you find your way down to Peru. You can find him here.