Salkantay Trek and Lake Titicaca

Because you need to book the Inca Trail about 6 months in advance I was not able to purchase a pass and was forced to find an alternate route to Machu Picchu. I choose the 5D/4N Salkantay Trek that covered all the terrains of Peru, from the snow covered mountains to the Amazon Jungle.

Day 1: The bus left Cusco at 4am and drove us 2 hours to the town of Mollepata (2900 meters above sea level) were we ate breakfast and loaded up our pack horses with 5 kg of gear. We then began our 19km up hill journey to the Soraypampa villages (3850 meters above sea level), where we spent the night.

Day 2: We started out in the cold morning after being woken up with a hot cup of coca tea for the 4 hour assent to our highest point at Salkantay pass (4600 meters above sea level). After pictures and an offering to the mountain gods we started our 6 hour assent to Challway and our second camp (2920 meters above sea level).

Day 3: We walked though the jungle along the river for 6 hours until we reached the town of La Playa for lunch. We then took a bus to our camp-site in Santa Teresa where we dropped off our gear and donned our bathing suits for a trip to the Cocalmayo Hot Spring. That night we had a huge bon fire and played soccer against the Peruvian guides. 

Day 4: Today we said goodbye to the horses and had to carry all of our gear 18 km, first to Hydroelectrica and then on to Aguas Calientes, which is at the base of Machu Picchu. We  stayed in a hostel in Aguas Calientes and had our first shower in 4 days.

Day 5: Machu Picchu Day! We got up at 4am and climbed just under 2,000 stairs to reach the front gate of Machu Picchu to be 15th in line. This ment that when we got in, we got pictures of MP with out any people walking about.  We then explored the ruins and hiked to the Inca Bridge and the Sun Gate. The weather was perfect and my pictures looked like they were out of a guide book. I then hiked back down the stairs and took the train back to Cusco.

The next day I took an overnight bus to Puno to visit Islas Flotants de los Uros. This amazing town is build entirely on reeds from lake Titicaca and has stores restaurants and lodging. The boats that they sail on are made of the same reeds as well. 

After checking out the town of Puno for a few hours I took a bus across the border into Bolivia and to the town of Copacabana. I spent the night in the lake side town and in the morning headed to Isla del Sol. I hiked accors the length of the island seeing ruins and the towns built into the hillside overlooking the lake.

After the boat ride back to town I took a bus to the capital of Bolivia, La Paz.