Lares Trek and Machu Picchu

Obviously the must see in Peru is Machu Picchu, and even though we'd heard underwhelming things about the place from other travelers you still can't skip the place because it's MACHU PICCHU! So we knew we were going to visit, the only question was how were we going to get there? We all know the classic is the Inca Trail but there is a limit on the number of people who are allowed on the trail per day meaning that you need to book 6 months to a year in advance, something we just couldn't do. There are a few popular alternative treks out there and we settled on the Lares Trek, which was advertised as a more cultural trek (as opposed to a technical trek). We chose an expensive company, Alpaca Expeditions, but it felt worth it. We were in good hands. I think the last thing you want to do it mess up your Machu Picchu experience with a cheap tour. 

After our pre-trek meeting we headed back to the hostel to pack, have a good dinner and try to get some sleep before waking up at 4:30 am to get picked up at 5am. Unfortunately dorms aren't often the best environment for a good nights sleep and I was woken up a few times by drunks returning home. 

Cusco gets quite cold, especially at night, and we ended up having to wait at least half an hour on the street corner before we got picked up because they got confused/stuck while trying to pick others up. But we were soon on the road, heading towards our first destination - a market. We were given blankets in the bus, a nice touch, because it was surprisingly cold in there. 

At the market we purchased coca leaves and bread to give to the locals who we would pass on our trek. The original itinerary we had told us we would be giving local children school supplies but when I asked about this our guide said that they would be much happier with some bread. We were also able to try some local drinks meant to cure pretty much any ailment. Because it happened to be Mother's Day we also learnt about the local tradition of covering your mother's head with confetti, which she leaves there all day. We saw many women covered in confetti. 

After the market it was back in the Alpaca bus to get to the starting point of our trek!

The Start Point - Lares Valley

Obviously to hike you need a good breakfast and this is really where Alpaca Expeditions shines! We had an awesome breakfast of bread, jam, fruit salad and eggs! There was also Milo!

Getting to know the team

After breakfast it was time to start hiking. To be honest I was kind of dreading this moment. Even though I did ok hiking in Huaraz the altitude and 3 days of hiking scared me. But thankfully for once the group were all pretty close to my fitness so I didn't have to worry about getting left behind! We had our first mouthful of coca leaves and were on our way!

The start of the trek

I could feel the altitude working on my lungs but once I got into the swing of it I was surprised how well I was doing. The relaxed pace of the group was also a nice change. It gave me a lot of time to really admire where I was.

You feel pretty accomplished when you look down into valleys

For lunch we stopped in a small village. Our porters had already set up the dining tent and the toilet tent by the time we arrived. Once they saw us they got to work on preparing a delicious and huge lunch. While we were waiting some ladies set up near us trying to sell us goods. By this time I already had way too much tat so couldn't buy anything else. I don't think anyone bought anything except for Alex, who bought a beer.

Local bean, which our guide told us are soon to be the next big thing in food. Maybe even as big as quinoa. 

Enjoying a beer after a morning of hiking

After lunch we walked through the village and started heading towards a waterfall and where we would be camping that night. We hadn't got far out of the village when one of the porters came running up to inform us that the horseman's wife was sick and he would rather not leave her that night. Without a horsemen we wouldn't be able to get the camp gear to the camp site so we ended up having to camp in the same spot where we had had lunch. But we were assured that tomorrow we should be able to make up the time and all would be fine.

As we started heading back into the village it started to rain so we took shelter in a local families house. We used the opportunity to learn more about a typical house in a small rural village. While it was a bit weird being crowded in someone's kitchen, looking at all there stuff it was an interesting experience.

On the way back to base camp we gave out heaps of bread to the local children and they all did genuinely look quite pleased about it. I wish we had also given them shoes. Some of the locals feet were in horrible condition because all they wear out there in the rain and cold is open sandals.

Once back to the camp spot we had hot drinks and hung out until another ridiculous meal that none of us could finish. There was popcorn, always a winner with me. After the early wake up everyone was pretty tired so we all went to bed super early. Our tents and sleeping bags had been set up and we were given hot water bottles to keep us warm during the night. Damn those hot water bottles were nice!

A local woman in traditional dress who we had just given bread and coca leaves. She's holding the coca leaves in her skirt. 

What one of the local children thinks about the past, present and future of the village

Typical Kitchen. There is no electricity in there. 

The daughters of the family who gave us shelter. The older one was very happy to have her photo taken. 

Group Shot in a clear moment

A local woman herds her sheep through the village

The stars were truly amazing that night. I only wish I had a camera that was actually able to capture it. 

Day two we woke up to find out that one of our group had been very ill during the night and hadn't managed to get any sleep. She wasn't able to eat, let alone hike that day. A plan was made for her and her boyfriend to be driven to the hot springs where we would spend the night. The rest of us would hike a different route than planned to meet them there at the end of the day. The hot springs were listed on the website but at the briefing we were told they didn't do that anymore, much to everyone's disappointment. So although it came about under bad circumstances everyone was pretty happy to be heading to the hot springs. We set out into some more amazing scenery.

Alpaca chilling in the fields

Obligatory baby alpaca 

Today were were going to hit our highest altitude. It was tough walking up that mountain but the views were so rewarding. We felt so inspired looking back at what we had accomplished. 

That's me in the bottom left corner for scale

Once we finally cleared the ridge we were treated to an amazing view we had not expected:

Alex and I ran around the ridge excitedly, finding the best place to take photos and trying to get as high as we could. Then we sat down and had a nice break with a hot cup of cocoa tea and a sandwich that one of the porters had been carrying. After the break we were taught about an old Incan tradition. People would often bring a rock from one side of the mountain and leave it at the top of the ridge as an offering to Pachamama (mother earth). We were all given three coca leaves which we had to hold just right. These leaves represented heaven, earth and the ground. We stood in a circle with our eyes closed concentrating on what we wanted and hoped for. Unexpectedly our guide started playing the pan flute around us. When we eventually opened our eyes all the way where we had just come from was a wall of white. We placed our leaved down and put a stone on top of them, ceremony complete. 

Amazing Views

Group Photo with our Guide

 We had to start moving down the mountain and into the valley below where the lunch table was set up quickly as the rain was just behind us. We got caught a little but not too bad. This did pose a tough question though, as there was no toilet tent set up what were we going to do in the rain?

A viscacha - pretty much just a rabbit with a longer tail

Lunch - an example of the quality food we were getting. This trek really made me realise how good Peruvian food could be. 

After lunch it was still raining. We waited a while but when it still didn't ease off we had to make a dash for it anyway. It was only two hours until the bus to take us to the hot springs, we could do it! Those two hours were some of the coldest I've been through. It actually started to sleet at one point. I wasn't wearing any gloves because I didn't want them to get wet and be cold but my hands were so stiff and red from the cold. 

The ridiculous poncho I had to wear

We passed possibly the cutest kid and his mother on the way to the bus. We were out of bread so Alex gave him cereal bar. 

Finally made it to the bus

The way Alex had tucked his poncho up made him look hilarious as he waddled around the mountains.

It was a pretty short bus ride to the hot springs. When we got there we wandered through, surprised to find our tents set up within the area of the hot springs. We would be spending the night inside. We were reunited with our other hikers who were feeling a bit better after some sleep and we all enjoyed the super hot, slightly dirty, water.

Unfortunately Alex also fell sick during the night, exactly the same. The plan was to just drive around and look at a few local sights before heading to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. Alex didn't eat anything that morning and had as much rest as possible trying to gain strength for being on a bus all day.

We had cake for breakfast that day. I don't really know why but it was delicious and impressive they had made it without an oven.

An overview of the hot springs. You can see our tents being packed up to the right. 

As we were walking to the bus one of the couple were having trouble breathing. By the time we got to the bus he actually couldn't breath anymore. The porters struggled to find the oxygen quick enough. Once they had it it wasn't working properly, setting in some panic. They pulled over another tourist van and asked for their oxygen. This was a different system of delivery and seemed to be working. We drove on as fast as we could, through the little town the hot springs had been on the edge of, to find a medical center. The van couldn't fit through the narrow streets so he was helped to walk the last 100 m. We waited with the van for an hour or more, feeling pretty worried. Eventually we were put at ease when he came back and was smiling. Altitude is a hell of a thing.

After all the commotion we didn't have time for our original schedule but we could still make it to the salt mine, something I'd been looking forward to. The salt mines were pretty crazy. This warm salty water just comes out of the ground (It's salty, I tasted it) and is diverted to a bunch of different holding areas where it settles and is scooped off. There are three different layers of salt that get formed. The top white layer, the middle pinkish layer (pink because of minerals) and the bottom yellowish layer (from the ground) which I don't think anyone eats. 

We stopped by a Quinoa field on the way to the Salt Mines

Bird's Eye View of the Salt Mines

The salty water making it's way to the different areas. Yep, that's salt, not snow. 

 After the salt mines we were rushed to the train station to get to Aguas Calientes. We said good bye to our crazy porters and were on our way. This train is supposed to be one of the most expensive in the world. It cost us about $60 USD to go 2 hours. I'm not sure how far it was in km but there were a few long pauses.

Soon we were out into the hustle and bustle of Aguas Calientes, a true tourist town. No one was hungry after our huge lunch so we all decided to have lunch together in town after visiting Machu Picchu the next day (one meal in a restaurant was included in our tour so it worked out well we didn't have to buy lunch with our own money the next day like the original plan). Everyone was exhausted so it was straight to the hotel, which to our surprise was really nice. We won't be staying anywhere like that for a long time. After a delightful hot shower we managed to get about 5 hours sleep before having to get up at 4:30 am the next day.

After an early breakfast we stood in line for the bus to take us up to Machu Picchu. At 5:30 am the line was already huge. Buses came about every 5 minutes though so the queue moved pretty quickly. The goal is to be one of the first at Machu Picchu so you can take that postcard shot without any other travelers ruining it. That day it didn't matter if you were the first person there, the whole site was covered in fog.

I started to enjoy the fog throughout the day. It was almost exciting, pieces of Machu Picchu would be revealed to you bit by bit. I was a bit worried I wouldn't enjoy Machu Picchu after all the hype but I'm glad to report that I found it as mystical as everyone says. It's a pretty special place, even when it's crawling with tourist who ruin all your photos.

There are two hikes you can do once inside Machu Picchu for an extra fee, Wayna Picchu (the more popular, shorter and therefore more expensive option) and Machu Picchu Mountain (the longer, less popular and cheaper option). Wayna Picchu was booked out so we went with Machu Picchu Mountain. It's only open to start hiking until 11am as the top closes at 12:30pm. We arrived out of breath at 11:05am. It was then a race to make it to the top before it closed. This hike was way harder than anything I had done the previous 3 days and it was at lower altitude! The whole way up it's just precarious stairs which don't make for an enjoyable hike. The whole mountain was also surrounded by cloud the whole time so there weren't even any views to enjoy. Alex had left me behind (at my urging) to make sure at least one of us made it to the top before it closed. He ended up making it in 45 minutes, heaps of time to spare. I got to the top panting and cranky after 1 hour 10 minutes. I'd made it to the top in time but it felt like a waste of energy as there were no views to be had, just a wall of white. After the photo up the top it was time to make our way back down again, which somehow took just about as long, with all the crazy stairs you have to climb back down (I'd seen a few people slip and fall).

After the exhausting trip up the mountain we went to see if we could get one final cloud free view of Machu Picchu from that postcard perfect spot. We came pretty close. It was tough to tear ourselves away but we had to meet the rest of the group for lunch before catching the train and I was starving after not having eaten since 5 am. (At the restaurant I had a alpaca steak - it was delicious).

The Sun Temple - a lot more effort was put into the brick work in this area - it's so nice and smooth

The clouds are giving us a sneak peak of our surroundings

After all our issues the Green Machine still made it to Machu Picchu - together! 

Top of Machu Picchu Mountain 

Finally got that Postcard Shot - compete with other tourists

After lunch we headed for the train station. There was chaos because some of the trains had been delayed due to protesters. We heard stories about boulders across roads and some people getting killed. After our 2 hour train ride we were put in a bus and it was another 3 hours back to Cusco, luckily no road blocks stopped us. Once back in Cusco it was a shower and straight to bed where again, a dorm was not the ideal spot for a good nights sleep. 

We really enjoyed our Machu Picchu trip and if you're interested I would urge you to do your own trip as soon as possible. These kind of things only keep getting more and more expensive and you never know how they might change the rules and regulations. We heard rumours about limiting the amount of people on the Inca Trail and in Machu Picchu by even more. 

Sorry for the epic post but it was MACHU PICCHU, it needed to be detailed. I am still impressed that I was even able to upload all these photos with Bolivian wifi.