Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu May 01, 2012

For t he person who loves the outdoors and mountain scenery this is a wonderful and memorable experience. Our guide took us on a trek from above the town of Mollepata we camped in a beautiful spot surrounded by the Andean mountains. The mountain rivers were impressive with their force, the view of Nevado Salkantay awesome. Such large amount of snow and glacier covered the massive mountain. I will never forget the switchbacks to the summit pass. After reaching the summit pass we celebrated with good rest stop and photo taking. We were joined by 3 others who we never met before and because we all wanted the trek experience everyone enjoyed each others company and we shared our travel experiences in south America.

The food on the trek was much better than I expected. We had a chef! Who cooked us many course meals, the quality is like in a good restaurant in Cusco. We are very impressed with the Peruvian cuisine.

The tents were spacious and also above expectations. More space than you would normally have in a 2 person tent, so I appreciated the space in our shared tent.

The guide was knowledgeable about the plants and fruits on the trek, particularly during the descent through the jungle zone

I would recommend you buy mosquito repellent in cusco, I got many mosquito bites even though I couldn´t see the bugs.

Our last day we were in Aguas Calientes to see Machu Picchu. We woke up early in the morning to avoid the crowds, which is a good idea, but when we arrived it was very cloudy and we couldn´t see the city at all. The clouds lifted though in the morning and revealed the lost city of the Incas to us piece by piece which kept us very excited throughout! Although most people probably only spend a half day at the site, we spent closer to the full time allowed, since there is so much to see and you can do many different mini hikes to the Sun Gate, the Inca drawbridge, Huayna Picchu or even Machu Picchu mountain itself.

At the end, the transfer from Ollantaytambo after taking the train from Agua Calientes we were confused about who was to meet us and take us to the bus to Cusco, and we had to wait a long time until the bus filled up. But we arrived back to Cusco allright.

I would certainly recommend the trek and the company who organize it. thanks Salkantay.Org