Running Gauntlets in Machu Picchu
For the full experience, view online!
As luck would have it, we booked Machu Picchu a month in advance for early April, just late enough to schedule our start on Salkantay only a few days after it would open. We had no idea when booking that it was even closed for all of March but we did see why. There were countless slips along the way with a massive one at the beginning that wiped out the road to our first nights accom in Sayllapata and another smaller but active one we would later have to run the gauntlet across.
We started our trip like most in the early hours of the morning at 5am to catch the 6am colectivo to Mollepata. We made it to Mollepata as planned and found a taxi as soon as we got out who would take us (almost) to Sayllapata. We managed to split this ride with a Canadian girl Alisa who was on our colectivo too.
The ride was bumpy and muddy and came to an abrupt stop when we reached a group of people and donkeys blocking the road. This we discovered was the slip which I didn’t get any pics of but completely wiped out the road and about 2 more road widths of hill. The route around would be up and over amongst the crowds, turning a 30minute walk into a 2 hour walk.
We did eventually make it though to our accommodation more mentally and physically tired than expected which combined with the poor weather meant we ended up sleeping instead of hiking to Humantay Lake. After a hot shower, dinner was a 2 course meal of soup and fried rice. Could get used to this kind of tramping!
The next morning we again rose early to catch the 5:30am sharp breakfast before setting out in the mud. This was easily the toughest day with 22km to cover including a 700m climb to 4600m with the air noticeably thin.
Constantly pulling over for horses and mules to pass (and then treading through their stools).
The end of this day felt to never end as we worked our way down the valley towards our accomodation with free massage and bubbles!
Of course we arrived to discover there was no bubbles and we didn’t really want a massage from the only lady present. Not our nicest stay especially given our expectations but the showers were hot and food good so hard to complain.
Being the only guests at the accomodation we had the luxury of choosing our breakfast time which we chose for the lazy hour of 6:30am. As we ate we watched countless tour groups pass us by who we would soon catch, with almost every group stopping to admire our host’s small puppy who would run out to each them.
This day was relatively boring as due to the wet season we had to walk entirely on the road. We did catch up to a friend Shaun we had met in Pichilemu who along with his wife kept us entertained a while!
The other excitement of the day was a recent slip that blocked the road and was still active. Most of the excitement though is in retrospect as we felt very venerable standing under a large overhanging bank as we waited for an opportunity to run the gauntlet.
This slip was fresh with sludge flowing and rocks flying.
The only way through was to run the gauntlet (after the all clear from the guides).
Our stay this night was at a coffee farm hosted by Miguel and recommended to us by our Japanese friend Naoya who we met on Huayna Potosi. Boy was it a vast upgrade from the night prior! We arrived to a substantial and delicious lunch as we talked with the two other guests Chris and his guide Elliot. After a meal, hot shower, and nap, we set out with Miguel’s mother Victoria for our free coffee tour.
The terracotta pot chosen for its flavour enhancing qualities - Victoria’s preference over the stainless industrial roasters.
During the tour, with Chris as translator, we learnt of Victoria’s passion for the work and her involvement in setting up a women’s cooperative who they supplied a portion of their beans to. This cooperative would process and roast the beans before distributing them to cafes including the women run Florencia y Fortunata one in Cusco we had been to on recommendation by Mace (and which we could vouch for having delicious coffee). An interesting story and cool full circle moment for us all.
No longer the only guests, we went to slept with our alarms set for another 5:30am breakfast. Early bird gets the worm!
We enjoyed a generous brekky with the coffee we roasted and ground the day before saying our farewells to Miguel and his family, by now who we had met a few of! We set off in the drizzle up the hill behind the coffee farm with Chris and Elliot.
A few hours later we reached the top as we looked out towards where Machu Picchu apparently was, though all we could see was white. Almost an hour of waiting and no improvement saw us give up and head down the hill. About 30minutes later though we were unexpectedly spat out of the bush on to a clearing with a perfect view of the ancient city! The anticipation was building.
Some more rain and a few passion fruits later we were at the bottom of the hill eating lunch. Here we would say goodbye (for now) to Chris and Elliot and head off on our own along the railway tracks to Aguas Caliente (also known as Machu Picchu Town).
The drizzle turned to rain as we got soaked through to the core, adding to the already long day. We arrived to our “hostel” which was more like a hotel, and hung all our belongings on hooks, doors, chairs, and whatever else we could find that would support some item of clothing.
The next morning would see our fifth and final consecutive early start as we set out to ‘beat the crowds’ for Machu Picchu. We made it to the bus 10 minutes before the first and joined the already long queue. Arriving at the entrance we joined another long queue as we waited for the gates to open.
We had bought 1A circuit tickets which included Montaña Picchu though due to the recent rain and slips we got swapped to the 2A circuit which is the most popular and most complete (and was sold out when we booked). In other words, we got a free upgrade!
We spent the next few hours wandering the ancient city as the cloud lifted and eventually the sun came out. Without a guide we were somewhat in the dark of the history but a few ear wiggings of nearby tour groups and we picked up a few interesting facts.
With our train out of Aguas Calientes at 4pm, we then had a day to kill exploring the town and for me finding the best coffee.
The train out was an experience in itself, following the steep valley edge out from Aguas Caliente, passing by numerous Incan ruins on the way and tracing the Inca trail backwards. After the train was a 2 hour bus before we made it to Cusco about 8, just in time for a burger, shower, and bed.
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