Since I hiked the Inca Trail with my friend Kelly 2 years ago, I haven't shut up about the incredible experience of seeing Machu Picchu from the Sungate at sunrise. After 2 years of my yapping, Ben has been anxious to see what all of the hype was about, and I was excited to rock this hike with him.
Since I already did the Classic Inca Trail, we decided to go for the Salkantay + Inca Trails combined, for a total of 7 days on trail, so I could see something new, and Ben could still get the Sungate at sunrise experience. Salkantay is a more mountainous hike at higher altitudes with stunning glacial views. The Inca Trail is more forested, with intense stairs and impressive archaeological sites. Over the 7 days, we hiked 80 km (nearly 50 miles), summited a 5,200 km (17,000 ft) peak, and scaled a helluva lot of stairs. So, in the words of our guide Ronaldo, it was "easy cake."
The two hikes together made for our favorite hike on this trip so far, beating out both Patagonia and the Himalayas, because of the intensity, moderate weather, and variety in climates. TONS of photos here; it was hard to narrow it down! Also, these are all non-edited/enhanced photos.
Also, on the first day, there was an ultra-marathon trail run! These people are crazy. 100 km of trail running through the Andes Mountains at an altitude that for most is unbearable. We had so much fun cheering for them on our hike!
On the last day of the hike, we woke up at 2:45 a.m. to beat the crowd to the front of the line to start the hike to Machu Picchu. Once in line, we had to wait 2.5 hrs for the gates to open before beginning the hike, which is typically about an hour and a half to the Sungate. Our guide, Ronaldo, said the previous hiking record (not trail running) he had was 40 minutes, and we absolutely crushed it in 36 minutes for Ben, and 38 for me! We were the FIRST people to the Sungate that morning, and had 15 minutes of quiet time before the rest of the hikers trickled in.
After our morning hike, we began our tour of Machu Picchu (pronounced Machu PEAK-chu, or Machu Pictures if you're Ben). If going from the Salkantay to the Inca trail is like going from the backwoods to a city, going from the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is like going from a city to Disney World. It's beautiful, but a tourist nightmare. We did the tour pretty efficiently, and bailed so we could spend some time celebrating in Aguas Calientes.
If you're considering going, we 100% recommend! A few thoughts/considerations:
Since I already did the Classic Inca Trail, we decided to go for the Salkantay + Inca Trails combined, for a total of 7 days on trail, so I could see something new, and Ben could still get the Sungate at sunrise experience. Salkantay is a more mountainous hike at higher altitudes with stunning glacial views. The Inca Trail is more forested, with intense stairs and impressive archaeological sites. Over the 7 days, we hiked 80 km (nearly 50 miles), summited a 5,200 km (17,000 ft) peak, and scaled a helluva lot of stairs. So, in the words of our guide Ronaldo, it was "easy cake."
The two hikes together made for our favorite hike on this trip so far, beating out both Patagonia and the Himalayas, because of the intensity, moderate weather, and variety in climates. TONS of photos here; it was hard to narrow it down! Also, these are all non-edited/enhanced photos.
Also, on the first day, there was an ultra-marathon trail run! These people are crazy. 100 km of trail running through the Andes Mountains at an altitude that for most is unbearable. We had so much fun cheering for them on our hike!
On the last day of the hike, we woke up at 2:45 a.m. to beat the crowd to the front of the line to start the hike to Machu Picchu. Once in line, we had to wait 2.5 hrs for the gates to open before beginning the hike, which is typically about an hour and a half to the Sungate. Our guide, Ronaldo, said the previous hiking record (not trail running) he had was 40 minutes, and we absolutely crushed it in 36 minutes for Ben, and 38 for me! We were the FIRST people to the Sungate that morning, and had 15 minutes of quiet time before the rest of the hikers trickled in.
After our morning hike, we began our tour of Machu Picchu (pronounced Machu PEAK-chu, or Machu Pictures if you're Ben). If going from the Salkantay to the Inca trail is like going from the backwoods to a city, going from the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is like going from a city to Disney World. It's beautiful, but a tourist nightmare. We did the tour pretty efficiently, and bailed so we could spend some time celebrating in Aguas Calientes.
If you're considering going, we 100% recommend! A few thoughts/considerations:
- We went with Alpaca Expeditions because they have a reputation for taking good care of their porters and employees. I went with a different company last time, where the porters wore sandals. Pay the extra money and support companies that pay well.
- Also, our guide Ronaldo was the man. We had so much fun. Also, Julio, our chef, is incredible.
- This is not camping, this is glamping. We had 5 course meals at every meal, snacks provided, and inflatable mattresses. On the Salkantay, we had 2 cooks, a horseman, and 3 horses, and on the Inca Trail we had 5 porters. For 2 people! It's crazy (and, in our opinion, highly unnecessary), but it's just how it's done.
- Because it's glamping, you're going to pay for it. We spent 20% of our entire trip's budget on this expedition. We paid a lot because of the length of the trek, but doing the Inca Trail in general is not cheap.
A bonus surprise was meeting one of my old colleagues (and an old acquaintance!) from Madison who happened to be in Aguas Calientes on the same day! It's crazy to think that we only have 1 country left, but hanging out with them definitely got us excited for a summer with our friends in Madison.
So amazing!
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