Contary to popular belief it is possible and quite easy to hike The Salkentay trek on your own. We saved a few hundred dollars this way and had the freedom to go at our own pace.
We arrived in cusco a few days before starting the hike. We bought a tent in La Paz but stocked up on supplies for the 5 day trek in Cusco. Cusco has a huge market that was perfect for buying snacks and food for the trek at a reasonable price. We booked our entry tickets to Macchu Pichu in Cusco although this is not necessary if you plan on just buying a general entrance ticket, it can be bought in Aguas Caliente, the town below Macchu Pichu.
We asked around about the local bus from Cusco to Mollepata . Any local can tell you where to catch it from and its a cheap taxi ride to the bus stop.
We left Cusco at 0430 to catch the bus to Mollepata. We waited another 45 minutes on the bus before it left because the driver won’t leave until the bus is full.
DAY 1
there are two options to get to Soroyampampa (the official start of the trail). You can walk the 20km from Mollepata or ask the bus driver to drive the extra hour to the trail head. Our taxi driver offered for an extra 60 soles ($30) but we opted to the walk. If we were to do it again I would probably opt to be dropped at the trail head. The walk in was mostly along a dirt road and was a bit tedious at times. But it was a great extra bit of exercise!
At the end of the valley just around the corner is soyrampampa.
Lunch stop day 1.
We arrived exhausted n Soroyampampa around 3 in the afternoon just before a storm hit. Once you hit the town there is a 5 star lodge which was tempting to crash for the night but if you continue through the town there is a free camping area with some tables and chairs on the river. There are toilet facilities and I’m sure if you asked you may be able to use the showers, but don’t count on it.
We hiked in August and the first night slept at the bottom of the salkantay pass. We bought a cheap sleeping bag in Bolivia and that night we regretted it. I thought we were going to freeze to death. Make sure to take a decent sleeping bag that goes below -10 degrees!
DAY 2
All the groups set off very early, after no sleep at all that night we opted for a later start and eventually caught them all on the trail.
The start of the trail up to the pass begins through a valley. We followed a few groups and walked along the right side of the valley. This way seemed to be more direct but was slightly steeper. The left side looked like a longer gradual climb that ended with a short steep climb. Looking back I would still recommend walking along the right side of the valley.
The climb to the pass is steep but only takes around three hours or so. We arrived at the pass before lunch. The pass is cold and windy so we spent just enough time there to take a few photos of the snow capped mountains and great view before starting the long walk down hill to our next nights camping spot. It took us about 4 hours to arrive at our camping spot in Chaullay. The scenery changes dramatically on the way down from snow covered mountains to hot rainforest.
After such a cold night the night before we opted to stay in a little sheltered camping spot. Majority of the groups stay in this area. It was about $ 5AUS for the night, but there was a little shop to buy a beer or two from and a meal if you wanted. We opted to cook on our little gas stove. The showers cost extra so we went without.
DAY 3
After a warmer and much better nights sleep we were up around 6am to start our next leg of the trek to Llactapata. The first few hours of this day were relatively easy. Mostly flat but the weather changes and gets pretty hot. We spent most of the day walking through rainforest. All the groups head to La Playa before jumping on a bus to Santa Theresa to enjoy the hot springs. We decided to instead hike to the top of llatapata, an area of old ruins directly across the valley from Machu Picchu. We had read on another blog that this hike was ‘short but brutal uphill hike’! We expected a max hour and a half uphill. It turned into a three hour steep uphill hike. After already walking 4 hours in the morning we got to the top and almost collapsed. The view from the top though is spectacular and definitely worth the walk, I would justrecommend staying the night either in La Playa or at the start of the walk up hill to llactapata there is a few small places to camp for the night. It turned into a very long day. When we arrived at the ruins there were some people camping in the ruins but there is not water or toilets in the area. We walked 10 minutes down hill to a camp site that again cost approximately 5 dollars for the night, they had an indoor area to sit and showers for an extra cost. The shower was cold though, even though it was promised to be hot so I didn’t end up having to pay. It was a nice camping spot to spend the night.
DAY 4
We woke to a great view over the valley, made some breaky and continued on our way to Aguas Caliente. The day starts with a very steep 2 hour down hill walk. It’s then another hour or so to reach the train tracks in hydroelectricity. We stopped at a local restaurant on the tracks and got a great meal for very cheap. The next 3 hours is flat along the train tracks. Everyone walks the tracks to get toAguas Caliente, just listen out for the train! This part of the walk is tedious! There is not much shade and seems to go on forever. We were exhausted when we arrived in Aguas Caliente. There is a camping ground (the only one) just on your right as you enter the town. We somehow missed it and decided to stay in a hostel for the night. We felt like a good shower and comfy bed. The hostel was cheap, approximately 12 dollars per person for a private room, hot showers and WIFI. There is a lot of accommodation in Aguas Caliente, we didn’t have a problem finding somewhere to stay but I may be a different story in the high season. There are plenty of restaurants and bars around. Up the hill slightly there are a few local places to eat for cheap.
DAY 5
We bought some bread and salad at the local market and made a packed lunch for our trip up to Machu Picchu. Your not meant to take food in but the restaurant up there is so overpriced, we snuck some sandwiches and snacks in. We decided to walk up to the entrance, it was about an hour and a half uphill depending how fit you are. Otherwise there is a bus to take you up, approximately 12 dollars each way.
Finally we made it to Machu Picchu!
It was bigger than we imagined and we spent a number of hours wandering around! It was an incredible place!
We walked back down in the afternoon and spent one more night in Aguas Caliente.
DAY 6
You can catch the train back from Aguas Caliente, but it is so overpriced that we walked back along the train tracks the way we came and jumped on a colectivo to Cusco. We had to wait an hour or so for the car to fill up and the ride back was one of the scariest drives we have been on. Our crazy driver almost running us off the road a number of times. It was around 25 dollars each to get back to cusco and took around 5 hours. We were glad to have made it!
We checked into our hostel and crashed for the night! Glad not to have to get up and walk in the morning!
One tip! Take plenty of strong insect repellent. The sand flies eat you alive
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