Jungle Trek to Machu Picchu

We decided to go on a 4 day jungle trek to get to Machu Picchu. We went to BioCustoms and haggled and got a trip for $160 US. So that was a pretty good deal. It was 1 day of mountain biking, and 2 days of hiking, then 1 day at Machu Picchu. Good stuff.


Day 1 toward Machu Picchu:

We met at the agency in the morning and got in a cab to go to the bus station. We got on a bus for 4 hours and headed into the jungle. At one point we were at 14,000 feet. It was a pretty cool ride.






We got off the bus and got our bikes. They didn´t have enough helmets for all of us... so Drew and our guide Gabriel went without one. The bike ride was just on this bumpy dirt road. I got 3 flat tires, Hootie had 1, and Drew had 1. Fun stuff. We´d just stop at a bike repair shop in the next tiny town we got to and fix it. Not a huge deal.


While we were riding by, all the kids would run out to say hi and give you a high five. The kids here are super cute.

We got to Santa Maria about dark (5:45) and found our hostal, showered and had a great dinner. It was the town´s anniversary so we went to this big fiesta and hung out for a while. Soaked up some local culture and some drunk guys breath. Good times. Ha ha.


Day 2 Toward Machu Picchu:

Coca leaves are God´s gift to man. It´s SO GOOD and SO GOOD for you. We suck on the leaves, and drink MAD maté de coca, and buy things with coca in it like candy and granola bars. There is a possibility that it´s addictive..... nah.


We started hiking next to the Rio Vilcanota. It´s a pretty cool river. We cut off onto a smaller trail and went STRAIGHT UP the mountain for a while until we connected with a piece of the inka trail.


We stopped at a hut with free bananas and cold drinks. We were hanging out with another trekking group and they were pretty cool. Some from Canada, some from Florida, some from Amsterdam. Good times. We also stopped for lunch with them in this really cool village with puppies and chicks and roosters and tons of fun animals. We lounged in hammocks for a while, then kept going.




The trail finally went down and we got to Aguas Terminales around 5. The 7 hours of hiking was worth it for these hot springs!!! They´re pretty much in the middle of nowhere.... which makes them cooler. It was 7 soles to get in... that´s less than 2 bucks. They were AWESOME. There was flowing water through all of them so they weren´t stagnant or anything. Perfect temperature, and a cold waterfall just in case you got too hot.


We hung out there for a few hours then got in a kombi and went to Santa Teresa where we stayed the night in a pretty ghetto hostal. Ha ha. I mean ghetto.... but the bed was cumfy and that´s all that matters.


We went to dinner with the 7 of us.. Me, Hootie, Drew, Brian, the two italians with us, Marco and Sara, and our guide Gabriel. Good times.



Day 3 toward Machu Picchu:
Best Day Yet. We got up early and got into a kombi and went to a really cool waterfall. I guess not many tourists go there, which was cool. Our guide Gabriel was good for stuff like that. We spent about an hour there and then headed out.


We stopped at another waterfall which was a diversion tunnel for a hydro plant. It was pretty cool too. We got to our lunch spot early and had a nice early lunch. We stopped at some old Inca ruins after lunch that were really cool. There was a sundial, and I guess there were only two or something... the one there.. and the one at Machu Picchu. It was cool, standing on the sundial, you could see Machu Picchu way up on the mountain far away.


From there on, we walked along the train tracks all the way to Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu.


When we got to Aguas Calientes, we put our bags in our room and left for Putucusi, the peak acrossed from Machu Picchu so we could watch the sun set over the ruins. OH MY GOD! I haven´t done a hike that hard in a long time. It was straight up. Literally.

We climbed up ladders and steps to go straight up the mountain. Gabriel said it would take us at least an hour. We mobbed it in 45 minutes. Me, Brian and Gabriel were up at the top for about 45 minutes before Hootie, and the frenchies (the french couple Vincent and Lucy) got to the top. It was spectacular. We watched the sun go behind the clouds behind Machu Picchu. It was so cool.



The hike down was pretty sketchy in the half-dark. Ha ha. Hootie lost his wallet on the way down too... but that´s another story... a long one. ... On the way down we descended 2,000 feet in 20 minutes. Good stuff.
We went back to Aguas Calientes and had some pizza and Hootie, Brian and Gabriel went back to look for the wallet.. like I said... longer... different story.
We went to bed around 11.. without the wallet... and planned to get up at 4 am to hike to Machu Picchu.