The Trek to Macchu Pichu

As part of my job as Environmental Advisor, I had to go on treks and assess the impact the group had on the environment and come up with recommendations for the company to lessen that impact. This is a pressing issue as more and more tourists travel to Cuzco to go to Macchu Pichu and other sites in the area and are causing an ever increasing impact on the environment.

The most heavily hiked trail to Macchu Pichu is the Inca Trail. My first trek was an alternative route to the Inca Trail, called Salkantay, which refers to the towering glacier that is passed en route to Macchu Pichu. The Inca Trail is tightly regulated, with a set number of permits per day and these permits sell out months in advance. In fact, no permits are available until the end of September right now. So, these alternative routes are gaining in popularity as they currently do not have any regulations at all. And that´s where I come in. As more and more people are unable to get a permit for the Inca Trail, they choose an alternate trek to get to Macchu Pichu. But, these routes are sustaining damage and it´s just a matter of time before they become tightly regulated as well. So, I am here to help address the environmental concerns before it´s too late.

The night before my trek I was excited at this amazing trek (ranked in the top 25 treks in the world by National Geographic), but also nervous as I was really weak from my intestinal illness and hadn´t been able to eat for the previous 3 days. But, there was no stopping me from doing this. Plus, I didn´t want to risk losing the job position I was lucky enough to get.

The first day we drove a few hours out of Cuzco and had lunch in this small town which appeared out of nowhere. They showed us their cooking house, complete with live guinea pigs (a Peruvian delicacy) and a beautiful garden with flowers I had never seen before. We then drove another couple of hours before the road stopped and our hike began.

We started the trek by hiking up to a glacial lake. The water was a shade of tourquoise I had never seen before. It was the kind of magical place where you get goosebumps just being there. We stayed there long enough to make an offering to Pachamamma (mother earth) and make wishes. Offerings consist of coca leaves and food and anything else you think is necessary. My wish was to survive the trek...and it came true.

The day was all uphill, and in the thin mountain air was a tough, tough hike. It makes you feel like you are grossly out-of-shape, but at these altitudes there is only 1/3 the amount of oxygen. This is where chewing coca leaves comes in handy. It´s like having a few cups of coffee without any kind of jitters or other adverse effects. Coca leaves are a staple among the Highland people and helps them work hard in these high altitudes. Back in the Incan empire, coca leaves were especially prized and theorized why they built their empire so rapidly.

We set up camp at the base of the Salkantay glacier at an altitude of 3850 m. It was cooold! Getting up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom isn´t an option, so one must plan accordingly.

The next morning we hiked between two glaciers and reached the summit, 4600m. This was special place #2. The summit of the trek was nestled between 4 large mountains, or apus. An apu is a mountain god. So, this place was a place that the local Indigenous people have been coming to pray or worship and give offerings and make requests for hundreds and hundreds of years. It definitely felt special to me and I could see why the Incas and pre-Incas believed it to be spiritual. We made another offering here, this time to the apus, and then made a side-trip to a massive cave in the glacier. We didn´t quite make it there as the terrain was possibly suitable only for a mountain goat. So, we sat down and took in the amazing scenery, felt the chill from the glaciers and absorbed the amazing feeling of being there. As my thoughts wander, I would be taken back to reality by the thunderous sound of the glacier cracking. It would echo off the other mountains and cause a very humbling feeling within me. The peak of the Salkantay glacier is 6300m (over 20 000 ft), the largest in the area. The other mountains were all about this height as well.

From this point, the rest of the trek was all downhill, literally. Machhu Pichu sits roughly at 2500m, so over the next day and a half there is a lot of downhill hiking. About 35 km to be exact. As we descend, the flora changes dramatically. At the high altitudes, the vegetation is sparse with little variety, mainly low growing plants. As we descend, there is an increase in variety and size. A tangible increase in temperature and humidity also occurs. Furthermore, insects start becoming apparent, such as butterflies. More and more birds are also seen. From a biologist´s point of view, it now starts to get interesting!

It´s incredible how fast the ecosystems change. In a few hours, we go from desolate glaciers to jungle! The high jungle definitely captivated me. I was mesmerized by the amount of birds and vegetation, flowers of all colours and sizes. My favourite part was going through a hummingbird forest. The group went ahead of me and I stayed behind with my binoculars to observe all the birds. Paradise!!! This was special place #3. I had hummingbirds hover above me, checking me out. I could have easily spent days in that one spot, looking at all the different birds and plants and flowers and butterflies that I had never seen before. I felt like I was in a mix of Jurassic Park and Fern Gully.

We reached camp in the dark, had lomo saltado (a Peruvian beef stir-fry) and called it an early night. After all, we put on over 20km that day. An early night was definitely needed.

The next morning we were up early and continued our descent through groves of banana and coffee trees. A river snaked its way through the vegetation as it heads its way to the Amazon. We follow a road, but it has become washed out. The Cuzco region suffered torrential rains in January which caused massive flooding and landslides. It destroyed roads and parts of villages. The destruction was immense and to see the aftermath is really sad and unbelievable. Because the road was washed out, a family erected a home-made zipline with a small box for equipment and gear. It´s big enough for 2 people to cross the river in order to walk on the road on the other side. They are a very entrepreneurial family as they charged 1.50 Soles/per person to cross. Our guide, Mayra, is Peruvian and was scared as she didn´t trust the homemade device. But, there was no other choice but to go on the Flying Fox. I probably should have been scared to, but it was actually really fun. The death factor always makes things more fun.

We walk for a couple of more hours and in the intense heat of the equatorial sun, we reach the train station to take us up to Aguas Calientes, Macchu Pichu town, where we will spend the night in order to get a head start on all the tourists in the morning.

As we wait for the train, I ask Mayra if there is any place that is safe to go for a swim. She takes me and one other member of the group to a waterfall where we cool down. This was also a very amazing place, as no one else was around and the cool water felt so good after 3 days of intense hiking. Not to mention the scenery was gorgeous as well.

We spend the evening wandering the streets of Aguas Calientes and drinking passionfruit sours. I will definitely miss the abundance of amazing fresh fruit that gets used in everything. Aguas Calientes is definitely touristy, but it also is literally set in mountain jungle. I liked it a lot.

The morning comes early and we catch a bus that snakes it´s way up the mountain, eventually arriving at Macchu Pichu. I am wondering how I will react to Macchu Pichu, as there isn´t a more hyped up place in the world and I have all these expectations and have seen so many pictures of it. One of the most amazing things about Macchu Pichu is that you can´t see it from anywhere below. You literally stumble upon this civilization once you reach the top of the mountain. My first glimpse is rather surreal. My brain is trying to wrap itself around the idea that this actually is Macchu Pichu and I actually am here looking at it.

We spend the morning getting guided around it and learning about the famous citadel. It really is spectacular, but there are a lot of tourists which was taking away from the experience for me. So, I decided to walk to a remote part where I can try to picture what daily life was like. I succeed and spend a couple of hours in that one place just taking it all in. That´s when Macchu Pichu reached my lofty expectations.

I hiked up the facing mountain, which was actually really challenging, and dangerous, to get the view of Macchu Pichu from above. Unfortunately, the clouds rolled in and I couldn´t see a thing, expect for the rain now pelting me. But, I am at Macchu Pichu and the rain isn´t that cold.

For me the most impressive thing about Macchu Pichu is it´s location. Surounded by mountains, perched high on a pedestal, and completely hidden from anybody below. All Inca ruins have amazing water technology and solar and lunar calenders and observatories. During the solstices, sun rays enter through a precise hole in the wall of the observatory and land upon the sun dial. Sort of like in Indiana Jones. In fact, the explorer who found Macchu Pichu was the model for Indiana Jones.

It´s now late in the afternoon and my body is aching beyond belief. 4 days of intense hiking has taken it´s toll on my body and it is crying out for rest. I am ready to catch the train back to Cuzco and rest. But, life in Peru rarely goes as planned...