Salkantay Trek Day 1: Humantay Lake and Soraypampa

When I planned my trip to Peru, I knew I was going to visit the country’s star attraction: Machu Picchu. However, it never even crossed my mind to consider trekking to this ancient citadel. After a fellow traveler, Where’s Poppy, went on the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu and released a video series of her adventure, I was fully sold on participating in this trek!

The trek is offered by multiple tour companies. I chose Salkantay Trekking due to its high ratings and elaborate campsites. Although the trek is normally done in five days, I opted for the shorter four-day hike due to my short itinerary in Peru.

My journey began with a 4:30 a.m. wake up call from my hostel. I packed the clothes and equipment that I needed for the trek in a duffel bag while leaving my suitcase behind. At 5:00 a.m., a van came to pick me up in front of the hostel. Shortly after, we made a couple more stops to pick up my fellow hikers. I was joined by Ilana, Maggie, Patty, and Amy, all of whom were also from the U.S. Our tour guide was Elvis, a local Peruvian who has been leading hikers on this trek for years.

The van drove for around two hours before making a brief stop for breakfast in the village of Mollepata. Unfortunately, the road to the start of our trek was both bumpy and windy, often with intense switchbacks to traverse the rugged mountain terrain. Although I did not experience any severe altitude sickness up to this point, the van ride gave me severe motion sickness. I could not have been happier when we finally reached Challacancha: the starting point of our trek!

The Trek Begins

We disembarked from the van, got our hiking sticks out, and enjoyed some snacks that Elvis provided. The landscape around us was strikingly similar to The Lord of the Rings. Although I had not yet visited New Zealand, this was definitely the closest I had ever been to Middle Earth.

We began our slow ascent up a hill from Challacancha. Like Poppy explained in her videos, this trek was no joke. All of us were taking our time even when going up a slight incline. After we had walked for a few minutes, we took a pause while Elvis introduced us to “his office,” referring to the great outdoors. He explained that in the mountains, there is not as much oxygen, but this was normal for Incas back in the day. We also did some ice-breaking activities before continuing along the trail.

The trail took us past some breathtaking scenery. We went up stone steps, crossed bridges, and passed by quaint waterfalls. We also walked along a ditch for much of the way, which was built for water collection. During our hike, we stopped for many gorgeous photo opportunities while taking the time to catch our breath. Thankfully, the trail got more flat as we kept moving, but it still felt like an intense workout.

Eventually, I got my glimpse at the snow-capped Humantay Mountain: the backdrop I have always seen in pictures of Humantay Lake. I got a fresh rush of motivation as I could tell that we were almost to our first resting point. As we continued walking, the road appeared into view again, and we passed by a few remote villages. Eventually, we arrived at our base camp in Soraypampa at an elevation of 12,861 feet.

Soraypampa

We dropped off our bags and headed into a central hut for lunch. One of the best parts of partaking in this trek was that we actually had chefs who cooked warm meals for us. And no, the chefs did not ride horses or drive trucks. They actually hiked the exact same route at twice the pace in order to get there early enough to cook our meals. We sat down to a traditional Peruvian meal with some much-needed food before beginning our hike to Humantay Lake.

After lunch, our group took a quick nap before hiking up to the most beautiful site we’d be seeing that day, and a major reason why I came on this trek. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating as we began our hike up the mountain. The snow-capped Humantay Mountain was completely covered in clouds, and it began to drizzle.

The trek up to Humantay Lake was particularly difficult. The entire climb was fairly steep, and combined with the high altitude, our entire group needed to take multiple breaks along the way in order to save our strength. By the time we were close to the top, everyone was moving up the mountain like snails. Even a slow walk was taking my breath away. However, I knew I had no choice but to keep climbing if I wanted to see this beautiful lake in person. Thankfully, I had plenty of coca leaves to chew, and although they tasted bitter, they helped ease my headache from the altitude.

As we hit the home stretch, the weather magically went in our favor and finally started to clear up. A beautiful rainbow cast itself over the valley. As our group pushed ourselves up the final incline, the beautiful snow-capped mountain came into view, followed by a pristine turquoise-colored lake. We had arrived!!!

Humantay Lake

We were all exhausted by now, but it was worth it for the picturesque view of this glacier lake. At 13,779 feet, this is the highest lake I have ever visited. It has only been recently discovered since just a few years ago, this whole area was covered in ice. The current lake was formed by the melting of the glacier on the nearby mountain. The glacier is also what gives the lake its pure turquoise color. Pictures do not do the lake justice, and it felt like a reward to have been able to see it in person after a difficult hike. For those who want to see the lake but not participate in the full Salkantay Trek, the lake is also reachable as a day trip from Cusco.

We spent about an hour walking around the lake to soak in the views and catch our breath. After our visit, we descended back down to the campsite. The downhill walk was much easier. Although it was a challenging hike, everyone in the group managed it pretty well. Elvis explained that this hike was a test to gauge our ability to handle the most challenging part of the trek the next day. He said that we all “passed,” although we needed to take fewer photo breaks.

The Sky Camp

Back at the campsite, the group once again dispersed to relax a bit before dinner. Our lodging for the night consisted of state-of-the-art domed structures. The domes are designed to be harmonious with nature. The design is minimalist, consisting of a stone base and a glass dome.

Each dome has marble flooring, two twin-sized beds, and a small space to store belongings. The domes contain features that were formerly unheard of at campsites, including charging ports for electronics. The open glass concept provides stunning views of the mountains during the day and the stars at night. Since Soraypampa is located far from the nearest city, the night sky is more visible than anywhere I have ever visited. Although my camera couldn’t capture it, it looked as if the whole Milky Way galaxy was visible!

We ended the night with dinner and more group bonding. Day one of the Salkantay Trek was very challenging, but rewarding at the same time. I saw some of the most picturesque natural scenery I have ever seen while traveling, and also felt accomplished for being able to push my body through the strenuous hike up to the lake. Best of all, Elvis was a wonderful and knowledgeable guide, and I had already bonded really well with my fellow hikers. We all went to bed fairly early, as we had to wake up at dawn the next day for the most challenging part of the trek.