trekking to machu Picchu

August 2005

We went on a five day trek with 20 people and three guides through the Andes along the trail near Salkantay, ending up at Machu Picchu.

We loaded up early in the morning on this van and a bus to get to the trailhead we left from.

Below: The whole group as we started, with Salkantay in the background. There were people from the US, Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, and Russia in the group.

Mules and horses are used by the locals to carry everything around on the trails, and were used by the porters for our group to carry our large packs, tents, and food.

Right: Our head guide, Ephrain, explaining the culture and logistics of chewing coca leaves.

The trail climbed steeply the first day.

The cooks had hiked much faster than the group, and had lunch waiting for us. The food on the trip was pretty good.

Teo quakes in fear of the mountain pass we would soon be crossing...

...while Mike was worn out by the hiking...

...but their spirits were quickly restored by some prime Peruvian chocolate.

Our camp that night was very high, and very cold.

Left: Sunrise over Salkantay.

The next morning, the porters packed everything up to be carried on the mules again.

Left: all the cooks and porters for the group. They worked hard, and do these trips over and over again.

After a short climb the next morning we reached the pass, at over 15000 feet.

It should be noted that three was a sacred number to the Incan people.

Many pictures were taken.

We descended a long, gradual valley.

After lunch, Mike once again relaxed.

We then descended past the tree line and into an increasingly thick forest.

It should be noted that four, also, was a sacred number to the Incan people. In fact, they had many sacred numbers.

The way we had to crawl through tangled cables to get onto this bridge only seemed sketchy, right? I'm sure it's perfectly safe...

Whoa!

But we did all make it across in one piece.

Right: Breakfast at our second campsite - much warmer than the first.

The trail leveled off and we saw lots of waterfalls, flowers, and colorful insects.

Right: Joe enjoys slurping up some passion fruit.

The next morning we had a short ride in the back of a truck from our campsite to the start of the trail. It was exciting in that way only high speed vehicular experiences on mountain roads in developing countries can be.

We hiked down the mist-shrouded valley to ruins called Llactapata, currently being restored by archeologists, which look straight across the valley to Machu Picchu.

"Look! It's Machu Picchu!"

Fortunately the clouds lifted and we were able to see the terraces on the back side of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is next to the jagged peak at the left of this shot.

Below: Another guide, Roger, looks through binoculars as the group descends to the base of the mountain.

We rode a train about half an hour, including through some switchbacks, to reach Aguas Calientes (or Machu Picchu Pueblo), the town at the base of Machu Picchu, where we camped the fourth night.

Below: The entire town is oriented towards the crowds of tourists coming to Machu Picchu.

We stayed in the municipal campground there, and got up before dawn the next morning to hike up to the ruins.