Cusco and Machu Picchu 💕

In Cusco, in the center of the sacred valley of the Incas, we first walked through the mysterious streets and the market "San Pedro" 😃 There, between the locals, we sat on a bench, amazed at how much we could see for only 2 francs. It was simply wonderful. 🍛👏🏻🤗 Then we took a detour to Sacsayhuaman and also admired the beautiful handicrafts in the streets. 👏🏻😎

Another highlight of our trip through South America is right around the corner: Machu Picchu ⛰😍

Here in Cusco, there are many possibilities to go to Machu Picchu. We decided on the adventurous and intense option, which is a 5-day hike during the rainy season 🙈👣😜 It goes through the Salkantay Mountain to Machu Picchu🏔😅

We arrived in Cusco (3350 m above sea level) very early in the morning. During our first light hike from Challacancha (3600 m above sea level) to Canal Inca (3700 m above sea level), we even saw some cows 🐮 on steep slopes and had our first interesting conversations with our group. We had four people from America, two from Australia, two from Mexico, and one from Spain. 👏🏻😃 Our two guides who accompanied us on this tour were very helpful and especially funny. 👍🏻😄 Canal Inca led us to our first accommodation, a sort of glass igloo in Soraypampa (3920 m above sea level). After a delicious lunch, we had our first challenge 🙈😜🏔 We hiked to Humantay Lake (4200 m above sea level) 🙈😅 As we set off, two condors flew over us. 🦅🦅😍 It was impressive and gave us even more energy for the demanding altitude. Then it started raining for a short time, but we were rewarded with sunshine and a rainbow. 🌈☀️👏🏻😍 The beautiful lake with its bright blue and green colors reminded us of a Swiss mountain lake 😉

The first night in the glass igloo was a bit chilly at 2 degrees Celsius, but we could see the stars from our bed. ⛄️😜⭐️🤗

At around 6 am, breakfast was served, of course with a hot cup of coca tea. ☕️👏🏻😉 Then we set off for the most challenging part of our tour, the "Trail of 7 Snakes" 🙈🐍😳 to "Salkantay Mountain" (4630 m above sea level)🏔😅

The ascent was steep but with the motto "step by step," we quickly made progress. 😜 It was fascinating to see how fog appeared and disappeared within 30 seconds. 🌫😳☀️🙃😎

The climb took about 4 hours. The people in our group were all quite fit, so we hiked it in an impressive 2.5 hours. 👏🏻😅

Arriving there, Salkantay showed us its most beautiful side. 🏔☀️😎

Afterward, it was just a walk down to Chaullay (2900 m above sea level) through the mountain into the jungle. In a short time, we went from the mountains to the jungle. We then enjoyed the many impressions in a relaxing way... 😴

The next day, we walked comfortably and with some muscle soreness in our calves, 15 km through the jungle to Lucmabamba (2000 m above sea level). There, we went to drink the famous coffee from Peru. ☕️😍

When we arrived at the "Jungle Dome," unfortunately, it started raining heavily... 🙈⛈😳

That's why our two guides said that for safety reasons, we couldn't hike to the next mountain the next day. 😳 We took it easy and had a fun evening with our group, enjoying a couple of beers. 🍻🤪

The next morning, we walked along the "Peru Rail" 🚂 to "Aguas Caliente" (2050 m above sea level). 😅😎

There, we rested in the hostel because the next day we had to wake up at 4 am to go to Machu Picchu. 👏🏻🤗⛰

In the early morning, we climbed more than 1800 steps to reach Machu Picchu (2430 m above sea level). It was simply breathtaking when we arrived there... 😍⛰❤️

Although we had seen many pictures, the feeling that you have walked all the way to this ancient Inca city, is just indescribably beautiful. ⛰😍

It is very impressive to see what the Incas built back then and how each stone fits perfectly with the others. 🤔👏🏻

The weather was perfect, and our guide told us many interesting facts about these mysterious ruins.

Overwhelmed by all the emotions from this beautiful tour, we took the "Peru Rail" back to Cusco. 🚂❤️