HugsHandShakeshi5s: July 2017

Machu Picchu

Before this trip commenced, every one of the chicas tranquilas was excited for Peru. Well, maybe not Chaquira… Brittany and Katie, in particular, were both stoked for the obligatory visit to Machu Picchu; one of the wonders of the world! Of course, we don’t plan ahead much, so we were half way through Peru, with little idea of how we were going to “do” Machu Picchu. I, at least, had little idea of what the options were. I didn’t know if you had to do the Inka trail to get there and what the options were; if you had to go with an agency, how long it takes, how much it costs, etc.

Well, for anyone wondering the same let me tell you that Cusco is the nearest city to Machu Picchu and it is not that close. However, you do not need to hike to get there. With people young and old coming from all over the world with different physical capabilities, Machu Picchu is accessible to virtually anyone. You can get there from Cusco in just over 4 hours. There is the infamous train, which is a bit pricey to Aguas Calientes. From there you can take a bus to the top of the mountain. Or you can take buses through the sacred valley, which is lined with pueblos, to Hydroeletrica and walk the train tracks to Aguas Calientes, the pueblito at the base of Machu Picchu. The walk is a flat and easy 9 km and is quite pretty. Then hike to the ruins.

Of course, you can do the famous Inka trail to get there as well. I imagine this is a great cultural and educative and beautiful experience. To do the Inka trail you must have permits reserved in advance, however all of these permits get reserved by private companies, thus it is nearly impossible to do the Inka trail without paying for a tour. Luckily there is an alternative, the Salkantay trail. This trail you can do with a tour or self-guided.

Guess what we did? Yup, you guessed it; option free. Well ok, not free, but cheaper.

Just so you know….Machu Picchu is a monopoly. It is expensive and everything is controlled. For example, students get a 50% discount. However, my student ID that I still use from university (thank you UCSB for not putting dates on student id cards), would not suffice. To receive this discount you must have a verified international student ID card that you need to pay to get and is only valid for a year. The details are on the Machu Picchu website.  Any transportation around Machu Picchu and Cusco, food, housing etc.. is much more expensive than the rest of Peru. Also, the locals are used to tourists and they will make you feel like you are obligated to buy things from them. But relative to most westernized countries, Peru is still quite cheap.

Our Journey to Machu Picchu did not start in Cusco like it does for most, but rather in Abancay. Whilst in Mancora we met a grandmother traveling with Couchsurfing and hitch-hiking. She gave us a tip of a Couchsurfing host in Abancay who lives in a tree house, welcomes all travelers, and tells you how to get into Machu Picchu for free. So naturally, we went there. Ok, maybe it wasn’t quite how she describes it. You are welcome for one night, then a donation is asked. Also, we did not get into Machu Picchu for Free. Octa, the tree-house Couchsurfer, is amazing and does truly offer everything he has to anyone traveling by, with no judgment. And the donations do go back towards other travelers. That being said, “treehouse” is a glamorous term for the planks that mysteriously and miraculously supported a plethora of sleeping surfaces, and a hospedaje [humble hotel] could be nearly the same price as the asked donation, but we did still have a great experience.

Upon arrival, Octa mentioned he was planning on doing the Salkantay Trail with some other travelers in 4 days if we wanted to tag along. Yes! Ok, I had no idea what to expect, I don’t think any of us did. Between what Katie told me from the blogs she's read and what Brittany knew from a friend, I knew that the trail would take 4 days, that it would be steep and reach high altitudes the second day and that it would be cold as balls. We lacked sufficient gear, I never even looked at a map, and we never talked about it and were unsure if Octa and his friends were still doing it. Well, the day before we planned to head out we talked about it. I don’t know what happened to these other travelers, but we hiked the Salkantay with Octa. We bought all the food and coca leaves (very helpful in dealing with elevation) the day before and somehow miraculously borrowed all the gear we needed from a family we have never met.

-side note-

Octa had met a family in Italy, who had family traveling by bike through South America. They were going to visit him in the near future, and they sent us all their gear before arriving to use on the trip. This family is known as “Happy Family” and they document their bike travels on Facebook as @happyfamilybiocycling and their website www.happyfamilybiocycling.com. Incidentally, recently in Bolivia, I met another traveler who also knows this family. Small world. Anyway, Thank you so much, Happy Family, for the loan of all your gear.

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We took off the next day and sent the bulk of our luggage ahead to Cusco. We took a car to a small town named Mollepata where we bought some last minute walking sticks and Snickers bars. We camped the first night in the town square in front of the police station and the next day we took another car to the base of the trail. Since we saved money on not doing a tour, and facing the fact we are not in the greatest shape, we splurged on horses for the first bit, which is a 1000 m elevation gain climbing on gravel to 4,600 m. For those of you unaware of what that means, the air at 4,600 m is very thin, you get tired just from “being”, and it is also very, very, cold. Paying 25 bucks for a horse, was well worth it. Once we got to the top we took a couple of pictures and started walking.

That night we camped with a beautiful view. The next day we finished the Salkantay and took a car to some wonderful hot-springs, just what you need after a bunch of walking. We then camped at Hydroelectrica along the side of the rail road tracks. At 5:00 am the next morning we parted with Octa and walked the tracks to Aguas Calientes. We found a hostel up the hill, where we bargained for a good deal, left our backpacks and Quira and then hiked up the mountain to the ruins of Machu Picchu.

Warning! You must buy your ticket ahead of time. In Aguas Calientes, you have your last chance to purchase your entrance. It costs 152 soles, or about $45 if you go after 1:00 pm, the price drops to 100 soles.

When we got to the top, it was amazing. There were a plethora of other tourists, but considering we went during the off season and in the afternoon, there was a relatively low presence of people. We took all of the typical photos and spent hours, until closing (5:00 pm), exploring the extensive city that is Machu Picchu.

I will let the pictures do the talking.

On our way out, before arriving in Cusco we went through the Sacred Valley where we stayed a few days making stops in Ollantaytambo, Pisac and Urubamba, experiencing some lovely, quaint and touristy Peruvian towns.