The main reason for my trip to Peru was the REI 10 Day Lodge to Lodge Trek to Machu Picchu on the Salkanty Trail.
Visiting Machu Picchu has been high on my "to do" list and hiking to it through the Andes Mountains sounded even better. Given my progressive age, tent camping had no appeal and staying in mountain lodges was a very intriguing alternative.
Perusing the REI trek website, I was blown away by the photos of the lodges and mountain scenery.
Sign me up I say!
There are several trails leading to Machu Picchu and the Salkanty Trail is the only one developed with lodges.
Sleeping indoors on comfy beds, nice meals, and hot showers (3 of the 4 lodges even had hot tubs) sounded better than sleeping on the ground.
I was able to convince five other friends to join me on this trek - Dave and Kristina Vandershaf, Bill Staack, Kathy Douglas and Barbara Greenwood. The Sactown Six as I called ourselves joined six other people on the 10 day trek.
The bottom line: The REI trek was outstanding and will recommend it to others without hesitation.
The guides - Fernando and Johann - were friendly and experienced, the support was great (horses hauled our gear and cooks followed us for a part of the trek), the accommodations were outstanding, and scenery spectacular.
The total distance of the trek was 42 miles spread over 6 hiking day. We were in high elevation most of the time with the high point of 15,213' at Salkanty Pass. The guides did a good job getting us acclimated.
The trek is rated 4 out of 5 in terms of difficulty and I would say that is about right.
To view the trek album, click on "10-Day Lodge to Lodge Trek" below photo:
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| From 10-Day Lodge to Lodge Trek |
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