Machu Picchu: Day 03: The Trek Begins

Well the good news is the transition appears to be happening and we all are acclimating well to the altitude. We are picked up at 7:00 am from hotel in Cusco by our MLP guide and transported by vehicle in direction to the Salkantay Lodge & Camp; Adventure Resort in Soraypampa. En route we take a short break to visit the Inca ruins of Tarawasi near the town of Limatambo (approx. 1.5 hrs from Cusco). After leaving Limatambo, we pass through the mountain village of Mollepata where we stop for a short coffee break before ascending a winding mountain road to a place called Marcoccasa (30 minutes from Mollepata by vehicle). It was more than a bit harrowing on these windy twisting single lane roads with no guard rails at 10K feet and cliffs all the way up the side!

Here, we will begin our trek to Soraypampa, on an old route called the "Camino Real" (Royal Path). This is a good opportunity to acclimate and enjoy a mild & beautiful 4 hour trek on our first day. (Hiking level: moderate). A beutiful view looking down the Rio Blanco Valley

The uphill was absolutely exhausting and I was really thinking this was probably not going to be a very good idea! The air is very thin and it is very difficult to breath.After lunch it got much better, we joined up with an aqueduct that was dates back to the Inca times which has been rebuilt in the mid 1970s. We followed this for about another 2 ½ hours on a much more graceful uphill climb. The aqueduct was about 18-24 inches wide (not quite what I think of when I think of the great Roman European ones) with the water from the glacial runoff rapidly flowing through it. Little did we know that hiking along this meant literally that most of the way we had to walk on the thin 10 inch wide edge of the aqueduct, otherwise it was straight downhill in many places, almost like tightrope walking! We did great though, seeing many wonderful flowers; lupines, lady-slippers and eucalyptus trees along the way. We even spotted a Condor at one point and a couple of other rare birds that I do not remember the names of.

We arrived to the Lodge earlier than expected, by around 3:30. The Salkantay Lodge takes its name from the majestic peak at the head of the valley – the "Salkantay", the 2nd most sacred peak in Inca mythology and, at 20,600 ft (6,270 m), the highest in the region. In comparison, Mt Everest is approximately 25,000 Ft.

We arrived to the Lodge earlier than expected, by around 3:30 (OK maybe I will jsut make it after all). This means we have now moved up to 12, 089 ft altitude, The lodge is located in a highland glade between two glaciers; the Salkantany and the Oumatany. From everywhere in the Lodge you can see one or the other outside the widows, it is truly incredible!

After resting a while Barbara and I retired to the Hot Tub, which is outside (a bit old to get to and from) looking up at these two majestic peaks. It was just what the doctor ordered and a wonderful way to end what started out as a day filled with trepidation as I did not think I would even make the first day.

We and one other team of around 8 people are the only ones in the Lodge. They take off tomorrow and we stay for one additional day for further acclamation before heading over the glacial passes.

Later, around 7:00 PM we had a fantastic dinner. The food was superb, truly first class. And then, probably around 9:30 we all crawled off to bed as we prepared to do a trek tomorrow to the glacial lake located at the base of Salkantay.