Salkantay trek (self-guided) Part l

Cusco - the city of the Incas! Of course, the highlight Macchu Picchu should not be missed when visiting Cusco! There are several ways to reach Macchu Picchu: a one-day bus tour, a tour with transport by jeep and an overpriced train ride, or hiking to Macchu Picchu on a trek. The Inka Trail, Salkantay trek, or Jungle trek are the options. But when you visit the travel agencies, you quickly realize that such a trek can also put a small hole in your budget. The Inka Trail (5 days) must be booked in advance and starts at $300, the Jungle trek (3 days) would be the cheapest, you can get it for about $200, and my favorite, the Salkantay trek (5 days), would start at about $250. However, after some research I quickly found out that the Salkantay trek can actually be easily accomplished on your own and the feeling of reaching Macchu Picchu after 5 days, having conquered the entire way on your own, and not having your luggage carried by a donkey, must be something special! Besides, we are generally not big fans of guided tours, as it is much more fun to sometimes be alone with nature and have full control over everything and not always have to follow a group, somehow you can also enjoy it more that way! The decision was quickly made and we set out in search of a camping store! For 150 Soles, we got our complete equipment for 5 days: 2 huge but really warm sleeping bags, 2 sleeping mats, a 2-person tent, complete cooking equipment (gas cooker, pot, dishes...), 2 pairs of gloves and even a pair of hiking boots for Gabriel. 150 Soles is 38€, divided by two that is 19€ per person, can't complain! The next stop was the supermarket, and we bought food for about 5 days and 100 Soles (25€). Oats, dried fruits, cereal bars, rice, pasta, tomato sauce, canned food, tuna, soup, cookies,... we don't want to starve!

When we packed our backpacks, we quickly realized that all the food + equipment had a greater impact on the weight than we thought. We knew that our regular backpacks weighed 17 kg and these were now at least 5 kg heavier.

Yes, everything fit in the backpack!

Day 1:

However, it's no use, at half past 3 in the morning we left our hostel the next morning and made our way to the street in Cusco where the collectives (shared taxis) depart. For 15 Soles (4€) each, it took us 4 hours to get to Mollepata, we were the only tourists in the collective, everyone else was local, it was somehow a special feeling. In Mollepata, we gave a local 40 Soles (10€) to take us up the steep mountain road to our starting point, Soraypampa. However, our first altitude meters will not bring us any closer to our destination, as we first want to hike to the Humantay Ccocha Lake. A mountain lake that is 2.6 km and 370 hm away from our starting point, Soraypampa. At the same time as us, an organized group of tourists set off, but without 20kg backpacks. After a short time, we were able to leave them behind and instead of the indicated hour, we reached the wonderful mountain lake in 40 minutes!

The first altitude meters..

Almost there

Pretty out of breath and completely sweaty, we marveled at the view in front of us. The special color of the lake and the glacier directly behind it created an image that left us speechless!

A picture is worth a thousand words

..or two pictures

We just had to laugh because the moment felt so great! Then we took out our gas stove and treated ourselves to instant noodles for lunch, not necessarily a gourmet meal, but I couldn't imagine a better place for lunch.

Meal!

Meanwhile, the first tired people from the tourist group arrived. Two American girls started talking to us and asked us, completely incredulous, if we really hiked up here with our backpacks. However, there was not much time to be proud, as we still wanted to cover several kilometers today. Nevertheless, the detour up here was definitely worth it! After the way back to Soraypampa, we set off towards the highest point of the trek, the Abra Salkantay at 4,630m (Soraypampa is at 3,900m).

We can also constantly see the glacier to the left and right of us

During this ascent, we really felt the weight of our backpacks, but somehow I was able to ignore the effort and the shoulder pain and enjoy the ascent. In a trance, I simply took one step after another and marveled at the wonderful mountain landscape around me!

Meter by meter, we climb uphill!

We also passed a group of young locals, a training group, who will all become tour guides later on. Their trainer was really nice, he gave us some hints for the way and asked about our sleeping place, but we couldn't tell him that because we didn't know it ourselves yet. I think the group liked us in general, everyone was constantly grinning at us somehow. After a short break with them, we continued on our way. Gabriel and I took turns setting the pace, once he set the pace and seemed fitter, then I set the pace and seemed fitter. Around 3:30 pm, we were only a few meters of altitude away from the highest point, but the altitude and our backpacks made things really difficult for us here. Gabriel set the pace, I tried to keep up, but my heart rate got faster and faster, I had to take breaks again and also had a slight dizziness. Finally, both of us spotted a kind of platform and a sign on a stone that said: Abra Salkantay 4,630m. At that moment, pure energy rushed through my body, I could feel the endorphin rush, my whole body started to tingle and both of us hugged and could only laugh. Pure joy, that's why you live for such moments!

Our emotions are described quite well by our facial expressions!

We knew that we had already overcome the hardest part of the trek on the first day. Unfortunately, we didn't have a view of the Nevado Salkantay because everything was completely foggy.

What a view!

But now the search for a sleeping place began, and here too we were lucky again! After about 20 minutes, there is a meadow to the right of the path, which is completely interspersed with stones, but behind a hill, we discovered a small platform, the perfect camping spot!

Perfectly camouflaged... somewhere in the middle of nowhere!

We wrapped ourselves in all our jackets and cooked delicious rice with canned food using our gloves, which after this day tasted like a medium rare T-bone steak to both of us!

Mmm! That's tasty!

Sleeping at 4,500m is a bit colder. Here we were glad to have our -20 degree sleeping bags!

Day 1 summary: 12.3 km, 1070 m ascent

Day 2:

The next morning, we found our sleeping spot even more amazing! The fog completely cleared and we could enjoy our breakfast with a breathtaking view over the entire valley! The oatmeal tastes twice as good here!

Unrecognizable!

Let's continue!

After we were able to refill our water supply at a mountain spring (each of us had 3.5 liters), we set off down into the valley! It was impressive how quickly the flora and fauna changed, within 2 hours we went from a mountain landscape with glaciers to a truly tropical environment where we were constantly accompanied by butterflies. It was really fun to hike there!

Getting more tropical!

An hour ago we could see glacier tongues instead!

We even found a little treat along the way!

After 3.5 hours, 12 km distance, and 1,600 m descent, we finally reached Chaullay. In the village, we met the training group again, who greeted us all with big smiles. Then we found a small meadow near a river, once again the perfect place for our lunch break! After the cold night at 4,500m, we could now lie in the meadow without a shirt and enjoy the sun - fantastic!

Nevertheless, we managed to cover a good distance again on this day! Around 5 pm, we looked for a sleeping place, and on a campsite, we met the training group again. The trainer tried to convince us to spend the evening with them, the girls would be happy if the 'two handsome Gringos' would sit with them. Although the offer sounded tempting, we didn't want to lose sight of our goal and preferred a sleeping place by the river. I hung my hammock between two stones, we made a campfire, and so we could also enjoy our evening! Only the sand flies that wouldn't leave us alone were quite annoying.

Sleeping spot number 2

Time to relax!

Day 2 summary: 18.1 km, 1800 m descent, 200 m ascent

To be continued...

Author: Andreas