After a 2 hour collectiva ride with some throwing up children (locals, not Lyle and Joe), we arrived in Mollepata and started the Salkantay Trek. The first day consisted of a 22km of walking with 1000m total ascent ending at Soraypampa, in a valley below Salkantay.
The second day began with 800m ascent to the peak of the hike, at 4850m above sea level, before descending around 1500m throughout the rest of the day. We found the climb much easier than on the takesi trail, clearly far better acclimatised and used to the air. 22km later and we arrived at Collpapampa for the night.
The third day we hiked from collapampa to a campsite on the way to the llactapata ruins, where they grew their own coffee and avocados.
The next day we took a slightly alternate route to the traditional Salkantay Trek, adding in a 900m climb to see the llactapata ruins, a distant view of Machu Picchu and the surrounding mountains.
4 days, 125,822 steps, 10 million bug bites and many packets of instant noodles after departing Mollepata, we arrived at Aguas Caliente. (the closest town to Machu Picchu)
The next day we climbed up to Machu Picchu and explored, before returning to Cusco.
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