For a long, long time, I was adverse to going to Machu Picchu because it’s super touristy, a “mainstream” travel destination — and over the years, I’ve started to avoid these types of places. If Machu Picchu wasn’t attached to a hike, I probably wouldn’t have gone at all.
And I would’ve missed the most amazing human-constructed place I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying a lot because I’m very hard to impress as I’ve seen a lot in the world.
I went to Peru during my Latin America journey, and I went to Cusco because you can’t go to Peru and not go to Cusco. And then if you’re in Cusco, you can’t not go to Machu Picchu, although I did think about skipping it because I was extremely tired when I got there.
Why Salkantay?
I vaguely recall looking on the internet for alternative hikes to MP due to the crowdedness and popularity of the Inca Trail (aka the “normal” way to go), which usually takes 4 days / 3 nights and goes past archaeological sites along the way. The Salkantay Trek is slightly longer, usually 5 days / 4 nights, and more difficult but more beautiful.
So of course without a doubt, I had my mind set on Salkantay. Funnily enough, the seven others in my group all chose Salkantay because Inca trail requires booking way in advance and they’re all last-minute backpackering travelers. I think I was the only one who intentionally chose Salkantay.
I did online research before getting to Cusco for the agency, but while in Cusco, I found one on the street that was cheaper by $75. I asked all of my questions to them, and I decided to book with them. I do not recommend this agency though because they’re a third-party agency meaning they find clients to give to another agency. So, they’re not actually running the tour and thus don’t know the right information. My guide was also not the best.
The Start
In any case, I decided on a whim for which day to leave. I had arrived to Cusco on a Thursday, and in my mind, I would acclimate for 2–3 days, attend work meetings at the beginning of the week, and then start the trek on the following Thursday. But after sitting in Cusco for a day without any altitude effects, I decided on Saturday that I would do the hike on Sunday.
I wondered why my body didn’t get affected my altitude, and my theory is: my resting heart rate is really low, so perhaps I need less oxygen. If I need less oxygen, then when I go to high-altitude places with less oxygen, I won’t get affected. Not based in any scientific fact or research, but I’m curious if this is why.
That Saturday, I went to the second-hand market to buy clothes. I needed a thick jacket, a base layer, waterproof hiking pants, a beanie, and gloves. I got it all for about $18. Score! The hiking pants turned out not to be waterproof though.
Sunday was pick-up day, 4:30AM. They picked me up at 5:10AM, and everyone was sleepy on the bus. I was the last customer to get picked up, so there was already the driver, the guide, 7 hikers, and we went to pick up the cook. As we were driving to the spot where we’d start the hike, I started feeling excited, I was really doing this! Couldn’t wait to hike, couldn’t wait to talk to the people also doing this trek.
The Group
I got incredibly lucky and the people turned out to be wonderful; we all got along splendidly, and it was a really caring group of people. 5 Europeans (2 Dutch guys, 1 Italian / Dutch guy living in Berlin, 1 Spanish girl, 1 French girl), 1 Turkish guy but living in Berlin, 1 Argentinian girl but living in Israel, and me, 8 total — all backpacking through Peru minus myself. I felt so ignorant about Peru talking to them, but I now know where else to go if I ever want to come back.
The French girl and I were the only solo travelers. The two Dutch guys have been dating for a decade, the two living in Berlin are friends, and the other two girls met at a hostel. They’ve all solo traveled before except for one of the Dutch guys though, but it just so happened that on this trip, most people came with a person they know.
Awesome group though! Whenever someone wasn’t feeling well due to altitude, stomach issues, knee pain, etc, we would all ask about it until they were healed. People also offered various medications, creams, and whatnot to try to help, and I was offered poles too by people who didn’t need them. Amazing, fun, caring people.
Daily Schedule
Over the next few days, we were woken up at 5AM, had breakfast and tea, hiked for a few hours, had lunch, hiked more in the afternoon, ate dinner, and slept early because there was nothing else to do.
I think I slept at 8PM almost every day, except for the last day when we were in a hostel because there was finally wifi. The other nights were camping in a dome, in a teepee, and in a tent. No shower, hot shower, cold shower, in that order. Really roughing it! After it all, I realized I could go camping after all, as long as I don’t have to carry my belongings myself!
Our belongings for most of the hike were transported by horses or cars to camp each night. I just had my Camelbak every day with water, my camera, and maybe some clothes tied to the outside of it just in case.
Our food was amazing every day. We had a cook who would make us soup, either rice or pasta, some vegetable, usually potatoes, and a meat for every lunch and dinner. I was blown away by how well we ate, and portions were super generous; there was usually leftover food. We were all impressed by the food, so good. Balanced meals, great flavor, yum!
Day 1
On the first day, the main attraction was Humantay Lake, which is also often done as a day-trip from Cusco. I didn’t know this until the day before I booked my trip, but it was a pleasant surprise! The hike up was harder than it should have been due to altitude as we were going from 3800 m / 12470 ft to 4200 m / 13780 ft, but I didn’t get a headache or any other symptoms (I was feeling not hungry for the first few days in Peru though; not sure if this is a symptom of altitude sickness). The lake was beautiful, super pretty water. It was a bit cloudy and cold at the top but thankfully, we didn’t get rained on.
This was also the coldest night, which wasn’t so cold. I didn’t have any issues with my clothes, and I realized I hadn’t needed to buy that thick jacket. Oh well!
Day 2
Day two is the hardest day, 22 km / 13.7 mi. We left camp at 6AM and got to the next camp at 4PM (including a break at the top of Salkantay Mountain and lunch).
We started off with 7 km / 3 hours to Salkantay Pass where we saw Salkantay Mountain, and it’s the highest point of the hike at 4630 m / 15190 ft. For the hike, I did my usual go slow but no stopping, and I was third to the top. Others rested and took breaks, and I just kept going because I knew if I stopped, it’d be more difficult to start again. I was extremely slow, moved at the pace of a snail, but I wasn’t tired at all at the top. I figured out that all I had to do was slow down to the point where I could get enough oxygen, and my body can continue going on and on, regardless of how steep it is.
The view at the top was a bit cloudy so we couldn’t see the entire Salkantay Mountain, but it was still very pretty. We sat there and rested for a while, enjoying the view, and the guide explained a bit about the surroundings, most of which I’ve forgotten now.
Then, we descended for 2 hours over 7 km / 4.35 mi to 3850 m / 12630 ft, where we had lunch. After lunch is when I found out my hiking pants weren’t waterproof — it started raining, and everyone put on their rain gear. I also found out my waterproof jacket is no longer waterproof, and although it didn’t let all the water in, it definitely let some in and all of my clothes were slightly damp afterward.
Thankfully, the rain didn’t last too long and wasn’t too heavy. 9.5 km / 5.9 mi for 3 hours to camp actually turned out to be quite pleasant, as we entered the rainforest and the sun came out. Funnily enough, it became super hot and everyone took off their rain gear, ended up in short sleeves and shorts. And mud.
Really amazing day, super long but well worth it. Watching the landscape change from mountains to rainforest was really pretty.
Day 3
Rest day! Flat day. Awesome. This was good news because my stomach had problems the last night; got up twice to use the bathroom although the second time was close enough to wake-up call that I didn’t get to sleep afterward. I skipped breakfast even though it was pancakes and I loved pancakes; I pondered for a long time whether to eat it or not since I was pretty sure everything had left my body already and wouldn’t cause more stomach issues. But with great self control, I gave my pancake away. I was glad though because I had no more stomach problems afterward.
Within the first half an hour, we reached a landslide area where mud was still actively sliding down every so often. I was first and I didn’t know where to step without the mud sliding down and my foot sinking into the mud. I was basically stuck, and the guide went ahead first and got all of his shoes muddy. The other guys minus one Dutch guy then all went, all muddy shoes too. It looked scary, but I eventually went up a tiny bit to not slide down. The guide helped the others over by giving them a pole to pull them over, and the last two went up on the horse route which the guide had initially told us not to do because it was dangerous.
Later down the path, he gave us a fruit in the passion fruit family, but I didn’t eat it because I didn’t want to put acid into my stomach right after stomach issues. He also showed us mio mio, which is a fruit that produces a redish color and 5 out of the group got face painted.
We then kept walking, views were pretty and hike was flat. After about 2–3 hours, a car suddenly pulls up next to us (I was hiking with the two really fast guys so we were really far ahead and the two other guys were closely behind us. I don’t know what the girls were doing but one is super slow and didn’t do the first day nor the ascent on the second day).
In any case, apparently the guide had decided we should be faster otherwise the people doing 4 days / 3 nights (which I didn’t know was an option) wouldn’t make it to Aguas Calientes in time to get a well-timed Machu Picchu ticket.
So, we hopped into a car, but the car wouldn’t fit all of us. So, three of us including me climbed onto the roof where there was railing, and we laid flat on our stomachs for the ride. It was super fun, new experience for me. The smooth downhills were the best parts, it almost felt like flying. The bumpy parts sucked, but thankfully there weren’t too many of those.
We got to camp and was shown the coffee-making process which I had already seen before in Hawaii, and I tried a bit of the coffee and gave the rest away. We had lunch which I ate without any stomach issues, and then we had to depart with the guys who were all doing just 4 days. They were taking a bus to Hydroelectric, from where they’d walk 3 hours to Aguas Calientes to get a Machu Picchu for the next day.
The girls and the guide also left to go to a hot springs about 1 hr away by car, and I didn’t go because I don’t care about hot springs too much in the first place (I did bring my swim suit just in case I changed my mind though), I didn’t want to pay 60 soles ($16) for an activity I didn’t really care too much about, and I was tired and wanted some alone time. I ended up spending the 6 hours sleeping, stretching, meditating a bit, and writing with pen and paper. Very relaxing.
Day 4
During the night, it rained really hard; I woke up due to it twice. The morning was a bit cloudy and wet, but I was glad it wasn’t raining anymore.
I didn’t know this day was going to be long, but we started a bit late due to confusion about our packs. Apparently, we have to carry everything with us for 3 hours from Hydroelectric to Aguas Calientes because the train between the two is under construction. My agency didn’t mention this, same with the two girls that came together. We talked with the guide for a long time, eventually settling on sending back whatever we don’t need for Aguas Calientes back to the agency in Cusco as our cook was leaving us in a car to go back. So, I took out basically everything except for my laptop and some light clothes, dreading the time I’d have to carry it all.
We had the option for the first half of the day to hike or to take a bus. The hike was supposedly 3 hours uphill and 2 hours down, and I contemplated not going. The weather was cloudy, it looked like there was a chance of rain, and even if I hike to the top, I might not be able to see anything. But, I ended up going because one of the people lent me her poncho and I decided that if I don’t go hiking, I’ll just be sitting there for the morning.
The hike up was a lot flatter than we all thought, as it was long switchbacks with a lot of flat parts. Yay! We reached a height of 2700 m / 8860 ft, no problem. It was cloudy at the very top so we couldn’t see anything, but there was a second viewpoint lower down and after sitting there for a bit, the clouds moved and we could momentarily see Machu Picchu!
Going down was super muddy and slidy, I was really glad that I had poles. We were mostly walking through the forest, many trees and shade. Lots and lots and lots of mud though.
We got lunch, retrieved our packs, and had to carry them over to Aguas Calientes. I booked it because I figured the faster I go, the less I have to carry my pack, and actually, it wasn’t too bad. I realized my body might be a bit more resilient and stronger than I thought, because I wasn’t tired from carrying my backpack.
The two faster people and I got to Aguas Calientes in 1 hr 50 mins, and when we arrived, we figured out how to get Machu Picchu tickets, which required waiting. We sat in the square to wait for the other person and the guide, and we observed how everyone looked so clean and proper, while we were smelly, dirty, muddy, probably looked a bit homeless.
The rest of the day was chill — went to a few restaurants where everyone got drinks while we waited to get our Machu Picchu tickets, got our ticket for 11AM circuit 1 or 2 + Inca Bridge, and then had dinner. I called an early night and went back to the hotel while everyone else went out karaoking.
Walking through Aguas Calientes that day, I felt so accomplished that I had literally walked over to Machu Picchu in the last 4 days. Amazing. I also realized this is the longest multi-day hike I’ve done! (I haven’t done very many though, just 2 days for Acatenengo in Guatemala, and two hikes in Nepal where one was 3 days and another was 2.)
Day 5
Machu Picchu day! Did the hike up which was all stairs, and because it was humid and the sun was out, it was extremely hot. I’m glad I bought water before going. Thankfully the hike was just about an hour.
I had 11AM entry which is late for Machu Picchu, but I don’t really understand why people have to go early (sunrise? The clouds part? Not sure). I was stunned by the beauty and the vastness of it all. It was simply amazing. The first time I got the view of the entire civilization, I just stood there, admiring the view, and I was pretty much alone at that viewpoint as the group was behind me. Didn’t cross my mind to take any photos just then.
Wow. I was even more amazed later when the guide explained that to this day, we’re not sure how the Incas built this because the technology they used to put all the stones together was complicated and archaeologists aren’t sure how they did it. To build an entire city on top of a mountain is astounding, and there were the parts where people lived as well as the agricultural areas that were plateaus for water to sink in and not cause landslides. The architecture of it all is just ingenious.
There’s a Sun Temple where there are two windows. On a date in December and one in July (or June?) at exactly 7AM, the sun shines through the window in its entirely. So, the Incas could tell time in this way. The guide said they use astrology to do a lot of what they did.
Walking through the ruins felt the same, and I didn’t spend too long doing that but we spent a lot of time at the famous viewpoint looking at it all.
Wow.
Learnings and Realizations
I can go camping. It’s not the most comfortable, but with the right equipment like mats and a proper sleeping bag, I can go. I think I still need a shower though. The first day didn’t feel too bad because it was cold so I didn’t sweat, which then didn’t make me uncomfortable during sleep.
Aside from camping, I think if I had an actual proper backpack, I can probably actually do this hiking backpacking thing. Carrying my backpack for almost 2 hours on flat ground and not feeling fatigued is not the same as carrying heavy weight and going uphill, but I think with some training, I can do it.
Machu Picchu is well worth it. I’m so happy I went, and I feel super accomplished. I literally walked for five days to get there! I made the right decision doing Salkantay trek as it was pretty, and the trail wasn’t super crowded as I’d imagine Inca trail to be.
Really grateful I got to have this experience, and I do wonder whether this will fuel my interest in camping and hiking backpacking!
(This article is shortlinked at tinyurl.com/salkantaymp)
