Days 5 & 6 Of The Salkantay Trail To Machu Picchu.

A motorcycle is protected from the heat while it's parked along the road.

Day 5 of the itinerary was a light walking day and a welcome respite after experiencing the grueling long treks to high altitudes over the last few days.  We spent only five hours on the road along the Santa Teresa valley before  exploring passion fruit farms, avocado orchards and coffee plantations. Unfortunately, a big landslide restricted our movements and we were unable to access today's scheduled walks along parts of the Salkantay trail. We had to make do with a standard dirt track for a few hours before hiking up an old Inca trail to our lodge.

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An enterprising shopkeeper along the path.

Avocados everywhere, served as guacamole or in salads. Absolutely creamy and delicious!

Coffee plant

Andrea grinding coffee for our consumption after we watched the coffee growers roast newly dried coffee beans.

Passion fruit, looking and tasting completely different from what we know.  Soft, juicy and tender with a milder flavor than the variety we are used to in Europe. The texture of the fruit was more like large grapefruit, and I couldn't eat enough of it. Delicious!

Day 6. We had an early start to do a long 1400 meter hike, up towards the Llactapata ruins and downwards towards the train station bound for Aguas Calienters.  From Llactapata we had our first distant sighting of Machu Picchu.

Views along today's trek.

Distant views of Machu Picchu

During the course of the day, we hiked upwards, across and over mountains on trails which were once part of the large Inca network of paths across the Andes. The downhill sections comprised of many switchbacks over rocky, muddy, steep and slippery terrain. A true test for knees and core muscles.

 Having made good trekking time, we had time to take a river break and soak our aching feet in the freezing water.

Machu Picchu mountain

We join many others to catch the train to Aguas Calientes, the destination town for those bound for Machu Picchu..  Obviously many trails converge in this area, and it is tourist packed, with numerous hotels, hostels, cafes, etc.  In spite of the crowds, we were still a happy, sweaty and dusty bunch. After 2 days acclimatising to altitude in Cusco and trekking 6 days on the Salkantay trail, we had finally reached our destination without incident. Tomorrow we explore Machu Picchu!