Peru - Living in the Clouds
The Inca Empire was the most successful and sophisticated civilization in pre-Columbian America. They were responsible for the construction of Machu Picchu - one of the wonders of the world, and held power over a territory that extended beyond modern-day Peru. I’ve seen beautiful pictures of the Peruvian Andes growing up, and learned about the fascinating history of its people. It was time for me to see it with my own eyes.
I found that there are several ways to get to Machu Picchu, and just like everything else in life, the different paths carry a range of difficulty levels with respective rewards. There are many companies that offer excursions to the ancient city with options ranging from long multi-day hikes, to rides that get you directly to the gate. I was drawn to visit Peru to experience one of the world’s most sought-after and legendary treks - the Salkantay Trail to Machu Picchu.
The Trek
Day One - Arrival, Huamantay Lake, Camping
The first day threw us right into the fray. After a quick stop in a nearby village to stock up on basic supplies, we were dropped off close to the foot of a hike that leads to Humantay Lake.
The drop-off point’s elevation was roughly 4000m above sea level, and I definitely felt the pain and impact of the thin air given that it was only our second day in Peru, and my body hadn’t fully acclimatized yet. I made a number of mistakes that made my first day harder than it could have been. First, I tried to match my pace to that of others and to what I was used to in Prairie attitude. Second, my backpack was heavier than it needed to be. We were given the option to leave our big backpacks in storage, bring the small ones with us, and to store up to 5 kilograms of items in a duffle bag that the horses would carry. We packed the duffle bags as much as we could, but chose to bring the big backpacks with us thinking that the option for extra storage would be useful. It really wasn’t. And third, I was humbled by my lack of fitness. I adjusted my pace for the rest of the trek, and took note of the latter two learning points to keep in mind for the future. I embraced the challenge, and the view at the top of the hike was well worth it. Humantay Lake was beautiful, and we stayed up for roughly thirty minutes to explore the area. After the scenic break we made our way back down, and set course to our first campsite that was close by. The company we trekked with offered two convenient and important features - food and shelter. The food that was cooked for us every day was exceptional, and we stayed in a comfortable tent-style cabin the first night. We were fortunate to have a fun group of fellow travellers that were easy to connect with from the very first day. After having dinner I enjoyed the surrounding views, and relaxed with my companions until it was time to get some rest.
Day Two - Gringo Killer, Salkantay Trek, Jungle
Our Peruvian alarm clock went off at 5:00AM. “Coca teaaa, coca teaaaaa, wake uuuuuup” our guide was knocking on our door with three cups in hand and a big pitcher of hot coca tea to start the day.
The big day! We were promised from the very beginning that our second day would be the biggest. It would include what the locals call “The Gringo Killer”, a few dozen kilometres of hiking, and the climb to the base of Salkantay mountain - 4600m above sea level. We packed up after a quick meal, and the journey began. Our first stretch was a light hike over even terrain that brought us to the base of The Gringo Killer - a winding and steep path that leads to the highest point of our trek. I implemented my learning from the previous day by keeping a light and steady pace up the painful zig-zag. I made a small rule for myself that turned out to be very important: No stopping, even if it means you just take the smallest steps. As soon as I would get close to what seemed like the end of the climb, a new zig-zag would appear where small silhouettes of other hikers were visible in the distance. This process repeated itself over and over again until I finally reached the top.
When I made it up, I was rewarded by a beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. Once everyone in our group made it up and took some pictures, our guide Tony took us through a local ritual to pay respect to Pachamama and the mountains. At this point, we were roughly a third of the way to our final camp site, which meant we had over four hours of downhill terrain ahead of us with a planned stop for lunch. Just as we were done with the ritual, a light mist turned to rain and didn’t stop for the rest of the day until we reached the camp site.
The rain didn’t extinguish our spirit, and we were met by a change of scenery the moment we reached lower altitude. Grass-covered valleys turned to a dense jungle, mosquitos began to buzz, and waterfalls appeared around every other the corner. We made two or three stops along the way to rally the group, and our stop for lunch warmed us up. Even though I invested in good rain gear, it was no match for the weather and eventually everything I wore got soaked. We reached our destination (a small farming village named Florentino) just as the sun began to set. This campsite had showers, a little store, and a few areas to hang out as a group. In a short time, we learned that a 1L bottle of beer cost 15 Sol (Roughly $5), and our Kiwi comrades wasted no time to get the celebration of our conquest of the Salknatay hike going. We had dinner, shared some drinks, and seemingly began to part ways for the night. Just as I was getting settled in to my sleeping bag, a clamour of voices and sounds came from the kitchen. One of my companions went to check the noise, and discovered that our Kiwi friends were pouring rum in to the cups of the cooks and support staff. Their night ranged on. It seemed like the language barrier got thinner as the night went on and words turned in to indecipherable sounds. It was hilarious.
Day Three - Santa Teresa, Party Night, Valley Hike
Like clockwork, a rooster crowed around 5:00AM just before our guide Milton came to us with our morning dose of coca tea.
The third day was relatively simple. We only had three key things on the agenda; cover roughly sixteen kilometres over a four to five hour period on a clear and scenic down-hill road; enjoy the Santa Teresa hot springs; and party. We had a quick meal and geared up to begin walking towards our pick-up point. The rain went away, and the sun began to shine roughly half-way through our hike. We made a stop at a small local checkpoint that sold snacks, fresh fruit, and coffee. Their avocado sandwiches were popular at a mere price of 5 Sol (Roughly $1), and our guide got us a basket of passion fruit that turned out to be delicious. Just as I finished my coffee, it was time to keep going. Towards the end of the walk there was a beautiful waterfall that cut straight through the road. When we reached the pick-up point, the van took us to a little town that housed our campsite for the night.
After getting set up with a tent and having lunch we gathered up as a group to go to the hot springs. Santa Teresa hosted pools of varying temperature, powered by water that came directly from nature. It was refreshing to put the body through a few thermal cycles, and I fondly remember a specific moment when I was submerged under the hot water resting my head on a stone softened by moss. It felt like there was complete silence, and my eyes were captured by a panoramic view of misty mountains that stood like magnificent giants in a shroud of clouds.
The sun has set, and it was time to head back for dinner after two hours of resting in the Santa Teresa. The original plan for the following day was to be up at 4:00AM and begin the trek to Llactapata, but we were given a new option during dinner. The new option would cost an additional $30USD and included a zipline adventure. Given that i’ve always wanted to try it, I gladly accepted the up-sell. Once dinner was over, music started playing and our guides joined us for the party that kept the group up until 3:00am.
Day Four - Ziplining, Hidroeléctrica, Aquas Calientes
We didn’t get up until 7:00AM, which would have been a luxury compared to the past three days if not for the pisco, taquila, and beer induced fatigue from the night before. Nonetheless, the morning was surprisingly limber.
We had the chance to hang our clothes the night before, so things were dry for the first time since the rain caught us on the second day. We packed everything up, had a light breakfast, and boarded the van to be driven to the zipline experience. When we got there we had a bit of time to receive orientation, get geared up, and to put away our things in the public storage area. The next few hours consisted of six ziplines, a wall-climb, and a little bit of hiking in between locations. Some of the ziplines were over a kilometre, stretched above a beautiful valley. We were told that at some points we would reach speeds of over 60km/hr. The final run was by far the most thrilling - they set us up belly down (back attached to the line) to do the “condor”. The “condor” is a head-first glide and the only way to control your direction to avoid spinning-out is by steering with your arms like a bird. Although I was a bit nervous at first without prior experience, as soon as I did my first run my body relaxed and I enjoyed the rest of them. After finishing our last run, we went back to the main site to return the equipment, picked up our bags, and got on the van to be driven to our next destination - a rally point where we were to meet up with the rest of the team who chose to hike to Llactapata.
Our lunch was held at a small family-ran restaurant in a stop called Hidroeléctrica, and we ended up waiting for just over an hour for the rest of the group to make it. They were absolute troopers - not only did they wake up at 4:00AM after a night of partying, but they also ended up hiking an additional 10 kilometres - so we did not complain. Once we regrouped, we had lunch and set out to walk along a train-track to Aquas Calientes - a small town at the foot of Machu Picchu. The walk along the train-tracks took just under two hours and offered a majestic range of scenery with rivers, mountains, and thick jungle forests. Upon getting to Aquas Calientes, we were settled in to a hostel before going for dinner and receiving instruction for the following day. The plan for the final day was to be up at 4:00AM to get ready and walk over to the first check-point to Machu Picchu - an entrance to a bridge that open at 5:00AM.
We stayed up a little bit later with a few people who wanted to get pizza and beer before the finalé. Some of us left around 9:00PM to get settled in for the night, but others did not arrive back at the hostel until 1:00AM. It was quite humorous - the hostel was locked at a certain hour prior to their return. I was woken up abruptly by a loud banging noise which turned out to be our friends who were locked out. After a while someone must have let them in, and one of them stormed in to our room looking for his phone. After a colourful expression of my distaste for the situation I pointed to the table right next to the door where it was waiting to be picked up. We also learned the following day that they have befriended two stray dogs they welcomed to their hostel during their debauchery. Only one of two troopers ended up making it up to Machu Picchu on time with the rest of the group.
Day Five - Machu Picchu, Return to Cusco
We got up at 4:00AM, packed up, and made it to the line at the first check point by 4:50AM. There were already at least thirty people in front of us, and by the time we got in another sixty more were behind us.
We got through the first gate and the climb began. Some people choose to take the winding road used by vehicles where the ground is flat, but we chose to climb up the ancient steps that cut directly across the roads to the entrance. You can see a picture of the path in the second image above. By this point of the trip my right knee has given out and caused an acute level of pain so the challenge of the vertical climb was amplified. My friends were kind enough to opt in to my pace and we made it up in time for 6:00AM to meet with our guide for the final time.
The sight that was waiting for us was magnificent. The entire area surrounding the ancient city was covered in mystical clouds that were slowly dissipating, inviting us to see the full glory of the region. Our guide let us take a few pictures, gathered us around a vantage point, and told us about the history of the place. Every part of this ancient city had a meaning, purpose, and function in the daily life of its founders. It was kept a secret, and thus it escaped the pillage of Spanish conquest. It was not made public until its official discovery in the early 1900’s.
Once you choose to descend in to the city, it becomes a one-way path. You are not allowed to turn around or come back to the entrance, so it is important to decide whether you wish to visit the Sun Gate and the ancient bridge prior to entering that path. We ended up visiting both locations first, and I would highly recommend it. These two sites served as original entrance points to Machu Picchu out of a total of four (the first being the climb). The place is well kept, but gets increasingly crowded as the hours of the day go by; so we were happy that we checked-in as the first wave of visitor. Walking through the city was neat - much of the masonry is original and it was mind blowing to consider the amount of ingenuity it took to put it all together without the technology we have today. Machu Picchu is a place that is hard to fully capture through words or pictures, it is something that one has to witness and experience.
After picking up our bags from the bag-check area, we climbed down the same vertical path through which we came until we reached the original check-point. Our final stretch was a one and a half hour walk along the train-tracks back to Hidroeléctrica where we were picked up by a van that got us back to Cusco. The drive back was a long and bumpy six hour ride, and we finally arrived back in Cusco around 10:00PM. We celebrated our trek with what felt like a well-earned early sleep at our original hostel Puriwasi.
If you are asking yourself how much this action-packed journey cost us, feel free to refer to the “Details” section of this blog. I have to thank my friend Danny for the advice and direction that connected us to this adventure.
The rest of the trIp
Pisac, Huacachina, Lima
The rest of our trip can be summarized quite briefly as we were Lima-bound to make our flight back home. We only had four days left following the Machu Picchu trek, and the road was long. Our first day back was spent having breakfast with a few people we met on our trek, exploring Cusco itself, and visiting a little town in the Sacred Valley called Pisac.
Pisac- Sacred Valley
We wish we had an extra day or two so that we could properly explore Pisac and its surrounding area. The town itself had a variety of restaurants and cafés surrounding a market, and there are many points of interest that one can explore that include ancient buildings, ruins, and scenic paths. Since we were tight for time we chose to spend it by enjoying some food and exploring the market. There was a variety of souvenirs, alpaca apparel, and other trinkets and it was fun to bargain with the locals. Our stay was cut short by our departure time to our next destination. We bought tickets earlier that day that would get us to Huacachina and Lima. The bus ride from Cusco to the oasis was long; it was over-night, took over 20 hours, granted the bus was as comfortable as they come. We made a brief stop in Nazca to look at the lines, and a few other times to use the bathroom along the way.
Huacachina- Oasis, Desert, Dune Buggies, Sandboarding
We got to Huacachina late in the day, checked in, and quickly discovered that it is a party town. This was consistent with what our mates from the Netherlands told us to expect. Practically every hostel had music playing until late at night, and the town was packed. The Wild Rover Hostel was the loudest, so we had to see if was as crazy as it sounded. We poked our heads in to check it out, and ended up staying until late at night representing Canada in a long sequence of beer-pong skirmishes. We had a good night’s rest, and got the following day started with a hearty breakfast. Our hostel (Carola Lodge) had really good food, and visitors are welcome to eat at the restaurant even if they don’t rent a room there. After exploring the town, we got to experience the desert on a dune-buggy. The ride allowed us to do some sandboarding, and to see the sun set behind the dunes. It was quite remarkable. We booked the dune-buggy through our guide with Peru Hop. Shortly after wrapping up the dune-buggy experience, we had to board the bus to make our way to Lima.
Lima- The Capital
We got to our hostel (Pool Paradise Lima) fairly late, and called it a night soon after getting there. We only had the follow day to explore Lima, and the city was beautiful. We met a guide who was standing outside one of the cathedrals near the central plaza, and we paid him roughly 100 Sol to take us on a private tour to Convento de Santo Domingo. It was well worth it, and we were glad we met him. There are two restaurants that we ended up visiting that day; Villa Chicken and Las Tejas. We experienced a variety of steaks in Villa Chicken for under 70 Sol each, and experimented with Cuy (Guinea Pig) in Las Tejas as our final experience prior to leaving to the airport. Another day in Lima would have been ideal, but I believe we saw much with the time frame that we had.
Overall, this was a fantastic trip that I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to explore South America.
Details
Flights: $800CDN Total Round Trip + $63CDN Flight to Cusco
Company: Air Canada & Delta + Viva Air
I was able to find a convenient fare with only one layover in Montreal (using google flights) on the way there, and only one layover in Toronto on the way back. Viva Air was the cheapest company to fly with within Peru, but I was frustrated that they charged me $15USD to print the tickets at the Lima airport. I read that this is an issue with them online prior to booking, and printed what I thought was the ticket. When I got there with the papers that I printed they told me that I had the wrong document which left me with no choice but to pay extra. I would still book with this company in the future as the flight itself was fine, but I’d be cautious and read the fine print to find where the actual tickets are for printing.
Machu Pichu Trek: $200USD (Included all accommodations, food, guide, etc) + $47CAD Zipline Adventure
Company: Macchu Pichu Reservations
Great company! You can visit their website for information, but I ended up booking the trek two days before we went. It turned out to be cheaper than the listed price on the website and could have been even better if I brought my student ID as they have a special discount for that. Their office in conveniently stationed close to the main plaza. Overall this is a fantastic value, and the trip is worth well more than they currently charge. The Salkantay Trek is also an “Inca Trail”, but it is not as well known as the Inca Trail that typically gets marketed online. I expect the price to double or triple in the future to match that of the Inca Trail as it gets more popular in the future.
On-Ground Travel: $168 CAD
Company: Peru Hop
This is the most reliable company in the country for ground transportation. They have professional guides, and the buses are clean, comfortable, and well kept. We did not get our full value for what we paid given our short stay, since the pass is valid for the full year (based on what i’ve been told by the guide). I would use them again in the future, and they also offer routes that go in to Bolivia.
Accommodation: ~$10-18 per night (For a total of 4 nights)
Company: Puriwasi in Cusco, Carola Lodge in Huacachina, and Pool Paradise Hostel is Lima
The hostels were all reasonably priced, and I would be more than happy to recommend the ones that we stayed in within each respective city. Puriwasi and Pool Paradise were both social with common areas to hang out and meet new people, whereas Carola is considered one of the quieter hostels in Huacachina.
Food: Variable
Breakfast: 10-18 Sol / meal
Lunch: 18-30 Sol / meal
Dinner: 30-70 Sol / meal (High end restaurants are on the higher end, while there many budget options)
Vaccinations/Travel Care: Variable
Types: Hep A & B, Yellow Fever (if you plan to explore the jungles), Altitude Pills (Diamox)
Hepatitis vaccinations are necessary and important when traveling to Peru, so make sure you are up to date. Give yourself a few months in advance to get the shots at a local travel clinic.
The travel clinic can also prescribe you with Diamox which is a drug that helps your body acclimatize to higher altitudes. Although this is not a necessity, every person’s body reacts differently to higher altitudes regardless of age and fitness. You can naturally acclimatize by easing your body into higher elevations, but we did not have the luxury of time, and took the pills. It is also common to chew coca leaves/drink coca tea in areas like Cusco. Luckily, none of us ended up getting altitude sickness (which has been described to me like a nasty hangover).
Misc: I suggest bringing $200-$300CAD in Sol (local Peruvian currency) to buy souvenirs, pay for smaller meals and for tips.
If you need more money there are many safe and secure ATMs that will allow you to draw money. Some ATMs only gave us money in 100 Sol increments which sucked - some stores wouldn’t accept or be willing to break the big bills which has sent me on a goose chase for change a number of times.
