Mountain Lodges of Peru trek

Mountain lodges of Peru trek - October 30th to November 5th

We met our fellow trekkers on Thursday night in the Casa Andina hotel in Cusco. We are 4 British and 6 Americans plus our head guide Dalmiro who looks every bit the Inca warrior with his long black curly hair and Danny assistant guide who is a real clown and has the kind of infectious laugh you want to bottle up and take away with you. Departure time (on Day 1) was 7am the following morning, quite by chance the Americans were in one minibus and the British in another! We had several stops before we started the first part of the trek, one to visit an indoor market just outside Cusco where the locals were selling their wares and indulging in a hot breakfast – S had the bizarre experience of having her bottom pinched by an old lady who obviously wanted S to move out of the way and this seemed to be the preferred means of communication!

We then had a stop at a big outdoor market held very Friday which although interesting was also quite upsetting, pigs arriving in sacks and then screaming very loudly when let out as only pigs can. Animals are treated here as a source of food an/or money for a very impoverished population and definitely not as pets, even guinea pigs which were of course on sale. The most bizarre and disgusting spectacle of a man with a microphone demonstrating making a potion which included adding frogs to a blender (we didn’t watch this bit!) to make a liquid which is meant to cure all ills – puts a whole new meaning to the frog in a blender joke!

Finally we arrived at the village of Mollepata where the locals were selling various food products made from quinua – a local cereal – and then not far outside the village we started walking. The day was sunny and so extremely hot and, coupled with the altitude, it made the going quite tough. We stopped for a picnic lunch en route and reached the first lodge, Salkantay, at around 5.15pm. The location of all the lodges was amazing, but the first one was particularly impressive, on a plain in front of the magnificent Salkantay and Humantay mountains, each over 6000m. We could see the snow capped mountains from our bedroom and even when taking a shower – an awesome sight. Some nice touches in each lodge were hot water bottles which were very welcome as the nights are very cold and we were always most grateful for a hot shower and comfortable bed at the end of each day rather than a cold tent and cold shower which is all you can hope for on traditional Inca Trail trek.

The following day (Day 2) was designed as a day for acclimatising to the altitude and the mountain conditions. We did a half day hike from the lodge (3800m) up to a glacial lake at 4300m. This was quite a challenge, lots of stops needed because of the altitude, it is not fitness that is an issue but the lack of oxygen. Fortunately the weather was kind – warm sunshine - and the setting of the lake was stunning, with a backdrop of the glacier rising behind up to the couloirs and then the seeming impregnable summit. S quickly found a kindred spirit at the back of the group with a fellow Brit (another S) but didn’t mind that as there was less pressure that way! At the end of the afternoon, we relaxed in the outdoor Jacuzzi, with Salkantay providing a dramatic and unforgettable background.

Sunday dawned, the big day (Day 3) when we crossed over the Salkantay pass at 4600m. A long day but reaching the pass was a very satisfying achievement. By this time we were walking in cloud and hail and had 5 layers on. It was slow going up several hairpin paths when we had to take frequent stops to catch breath – one of our party told us afterwards that we were functioning on 40% less oxygen at this point which S was glad she didn’t know at the time of booking the trek!

This was a tremendous achievement for S after her struggles with altitude sickness of the previous week, where alternative plans had been contemplated if her condition did not improve. Her face approaching the top of the pass was a picture of determination and the photos taken at the top capture her elation. Although it was cloudy at the pass, we were fortunate enough for the clouds to lift for a few minutes to glimpse the snowy peak of Salkantay rising dramatically above us to 6200m. After the inevitable photos we walked down to lunch on the mountainside provided by cooks and staff from the next lodge, tents set up and a three course meal served whilst it rained outside. We reached our next lodge (Wayra – 3850m) by 4pm – Dalmiro told us we were a better than average group as we had done it all so quickly, and to celebrate some of us indulged in Pisco sours\beers served outside in the hot tub – very decadent but very welcome!
Day 4 was a shorter day – a five mile walk mostly downhill into the valley but quite hard work still. We visited a typical Andean house on the way, no windows, everything in one room including the inevitable guinea-pigs underfoot and were given a demonstration on the use of the hand plough to grown vegetables, this part of the Andes is very fertile and many varieties of potato are grown as well as other root vegetables, avocado etc. Life is tough in the mountains. The couple whose house it was looked (to our eyes) at least 20 years older than we were told they actually were (about 45).

Arriving at the next lodge (Colpa – 2800m) we were shown the use of the traditional earth oven. Our lunch was cooked between very hot coals in a covered area, all covered with soil and then earth – a fascinating way of cooking – and it was absolutely delicious. One of the lovely things about this part of the trip is that it is not just about the trekking but about learning about the way of life of Andean people, a way of life that hasn’t changed for hundreds of years. A restful afternoon at the lodge, with a dip in the hot tub in the rain which was somewhat bizarre, we decided not to stay in too long as the lightning seemed to be coming closer and felt it a bit risky!

Day 5 was the longest day in terms of distance covered, more than 9 miles in total and quite a bit of this had to be undertaken in our first rain in the Andes. The path followed the Santa Teresa river valley, but at one point the path had been blocked by construction work on a new road. Huge piles of soft soil now covered the path, and Dalmiro had to offer a young worker some money to dig a new path 100m across the soft soil and on a 60 degree slope dropping about 50m to the river in the valley floor. Traversing the path was certainly not for the faint hearted, and stopping half way across to admire the view was definitely not recommended! But the whole party, even the mule train carrying the luggage, coped admirably with this unexpectedly hairy experience which, from Dalmiro’s request to us not to refer to this in our customer survey response, was not on his agenda either.

The rest of the day took us down in altitude to the jungle and through coffee plantations (the flowers smell divine). Also another fabulous hot picnic lunch cooked by our cooks Roger and Yolanda who followed us for most of the trip. We had a short minibus ride from the river bank to a spot where we resumed the short climb to Lucma Lodge (2100m), the last beautiful lodge, travelling part of the way along the Llactapata Inca trail. No hot tub here but it wasn’t needed as it was baking hot and a real haven for mosquitoes! The highlight of the evening was an impromptu party to celebrate the 50th birthday of Charlie, one of our fellow trekkers, much vino was consumed after the inevitable Pisco sours, there was dancing and each nationality present had to sing their own national anthem! Bedtime was delayed until 11.30pm – a couple of hours after our normal bedtime on the trek!

Day 6 was the final day of our trek. It started with a long climb up the eastern side of the Santa Teresa valley to the Llactapata pass (2700m) which was hard work in hot humid conditions, and then stopped at the eponymous ruins where we had our first view of Machu Picchu. This was from the south east – not the normal view from the “classic” Inca trail but it was spectacular. Throughout the afternoon we had great views of MP as we got closer and were able to appreciate the unforgettably dramatic mountain scenery in which it is set. Descending to the river we arrived at the hydro-electric power station which now is at the end of the railway line (after El Nino washed away the track higher up the valley in 1998). 5 minutes after we arrived at the station, the heavens opened and so we were grateful to be waiting under cover refreshed by cold beers to board the train to Aguas Calientes (1900m). We also said a sad but fond farewell to our assistant guide Danny who was heading back to Cusco.