Cusco was my first stop in Peru and wow did it exceed any expectations I had of this magical city. Every corner I took I was blown away at how pretty it was.
I met up with a friend I met in Brazil, Josh, and we went on a free walking tour around the city followed by amazing fresh juices in the San Blas Market and booking our five-day Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu with Machu Picchu Reservations.
We finished our productive day by going for an incredible dinner at Organika where I tried alpaca for the first time – not bad..!
We also booked on an atv tour to Maras and Moray for the following day which was a pretty cool way to see these places. We rode through the countryside from place to place. Moray was the first stop, which was a cool circular ruin.
The next stop of the Maras salt mines was very impressive – over 3000 pools of salt and a very pretty site!
Back in Cusco we showered, ate a delish meal at Green Point and heading to our pre-departure meeting for the trek the following day. We grabbed our bags and went about packing for the next five days.
A super early start to meet our group and get on the road for our brekky stop where we introduced one another and then a further drive to the start of the trek where the mules were loaded up. What a stunning place to start trekking from.
Our first day consisted of the trek up to Humantay Lake – 1.5hours straight uphill getting to 4,200m above sea level. Many breaks were needed but eventually we were up and were rewarded with the most incredible views of the lake.
We had some chill time here where a few of us walked up even higher for more stunning views. We even saw a couple of avalanches on the far side of the lake. Incredible.
Next up was the hike to our camp, which was majority downhill and then to our campsite. What cute lil huts we had!!
Lunch was served and what an amazing spread it was! The afternoon was then our own time and a few of us walked over to the wild llamas and chilled watching them do their thing.
Another small hike uphill for a great sunset before a warming hot chocolate and snacks shortly followed by another incredible meal – we were definitely not going to go hungry on this trek! We ate and chatted getting to know each other and soon ventured out to the cold to check out the amazing star-filled sky.
The following day we were woken with a cup of coca tea to our tent – what great service!! We filled up on brekky ready for our biggest day of hiking yet.
It didn’t take long for us to start stripping off our layers as it was all uphill for the first half of the day but boy it was still cold and hard to breathe in the altitude.
After three hours we finally made it up to 4,620m above sea level – we were high and as soon as we stopped, it was freezing!!
Time for a few snaps and then our guide, Aurelio, took us to a hidden lake – what a spectacular view!!
From there it was all downhill for the remaining of the day broken up with a massive feed for lunch and continuing on to our campsite for the evening. A big dinner and I was exhausted so fell asleep early!
We only had half a day of hiking this day which was followed by an incredible afternoon spent in the hot springs – very well deserved!! We even had roasted marshmallows over the campfire!
The first half of the following day was spent ziplining and walking over a fun suspended bridge!
Our hike then started from Hydro Electrica and followed the train tracks all the way around Machu Picchu Mountain and into Aguas Caliantes – absolutely stunning walk through jungle and along the river.
Once we arrived into Aguas Caliantes myself and Racquel went for a nice massage before our last group dinner together. We had another early morning coming up.
It was a 4am rise and meet to walk to the start of the bridge and then a 50minute walk straight up never-ending stairs. We were all soaking in sweat by the time we arrived to the entrance gate of Machu Picchu.
We all walked in and followed our guide around the ruins covered in thick cloud and to a look out spot. We were receiving an explanation when the clouds opened up and we could actually see the ruins below us – what an amazing view.!!
It took my breath away and as we wandered around the ruins, the clouds cleared and left an incredible view.
A few of us walked up to the Sun Gate for more spectacular views and we chilled here eating our brekky and chatting away before heading back down to the ruins for some cheesy pics.
Whilst everyone else had to head back for the bus, I had the train later in the day so spent the rest of my time slowly wandering around the ruins, people watching and even taking a lil siesta with what would have to be, the best view ever.
I wandered around, running into a couple people I knew and we all headed back down out the park and down the stairs where we rewarded ourselves with a beer before walking back into town, grabbing our bags and jumping on the evening train back to Cusco. Sleep happened oh so very quickly and once we were back in Cusco it was a hot shower and tucked into bed. What a day!
I spent the next couple days actually unwell from the altitude and took it easy checking out Ollantaytambo with some friends where the was a big festival happening with colourful costumes and music everywhere, and spent a day with a friend checking out all the ruins around Cusco. It was pretty easy walking from one to the other and eventually ending up back in Cusco.
Another day was spent with a few people from the trek and we had a day trip out to Pisac, what a cool lil town and very impressive ruins!
I had friends in Cusco from the Island so we caught up for a great dinner trading travel stories and catching up on the island life.
I even managed to hike up Rainbow Mountain which was pretty impressive and unlike any other mountain I have seen before – so many colours!! It was damn cold though so we didn’t spend too long up the top.
The next week or so was spent in Pisac with a group of people learning about the local medicines and traditional ways of life which opened my mind and I learnt a lot with an incredible group of people – it was hard to leave! I will never forget the amazing time I had in Pisac. Haux haux.
From Pisac I arranged a jungle trip and caught an overnight bus to Puerto Maldonado – what a change of scenery and I was actually out of altitude for the next week!
I organised a stay with ecolodge, Hacienda Herrer, which involved them picking me up and taking me to their family home (via boat up down the Amazon) where I met two friends (who actually recommended the place to me) and we spent the first morning walking around the property learning about the different plantation of fruits and spotting the wildlife – including a huge 3m long anaconda chilling under the banana trees!!
The food here was just incredible and everything was produced on the farm which we ate overlooking the garden and the monkeys coming down to eat the bananas.
We spent the afternoon kayaking down the Amazon and having a go at fishing for piranha (no luck) followed by dinner and a night walk spotting various animals around the jungle. Just amazing.
The following day I had a day trip to Tambopata National Park and to Sandoval Lake where it was pretty wet but we trudged through the rain and had a great boat ride in the lake spotting caiman, giant otters, howler monkeys and many species of birds.
That evening I had a private cooking lesson where I was taught to cook a fish Pachamanca for the family.
Up for a trek deeper into the jungle the next day where it was very dense and thick but I loved it!!
After lunch, the family took me to a canopy tree climb which was great fun, the three-year old boy joined too and was entertaining to see him love the heights amongst the trees.
I flew back to Cusco from Puerto Maldonado the following day and spent the day chilling in Cusco before an overnight bus to the city of Arequipa – it was definitely hard leaving Cusco..
