We surprised a HUGE Caiman!We began the day by visiting the ruins right next to Ollantaytambo which included the most beautiful fountain and an area speculated to be a type of hospital. Afterwards we drove just outside of town where we met our porters and got started on the trek.
Things I learned during the Cachiccata Trek;
Hiking straight up 4,000 feet starting at 8,300 feet above sea level with a head cold is HARD work!
Distances and heights that seem incredibly daunting as a whole are possible if you take it one step at a time.
The Inca people were extremely hard workers, we visited the ruins of a Tambo at 12,00 feet. All those huge stones had to be dragged there by hand!
The Cachiccata trail is similar to the traditional "Inca Trail" but is much less crowded and a bit higher in elevation. This trail was established about 4 years ago by Adventure Life (the company we booked with) and is now used by several other companies. We had 6 porters (the youngest was 12) and a cook, using 2 horses a burro, and several llamas. We were also accompanied by a darling 6 month old puppy named Guitaristo (guitar player).
The first day was our "easy day", that is if you call climbing straight up for 4,000 feet "easy". We hiked for a couple of hours passing several small communities perched on the side of the mountain then stopped for lunch. We had about a 40 minute rest before lunch was served which I put to good use by falling asleep on the ground. Lunch was delicious, and several courses starting with a yummy soup. Our cook, Mario, is fantastic. After lunch we continued (straight up, of course) stopping at a beautiful waterfall called "uestra Baccha" or “Princess Waterfall" then continuing on to another set of ruins, another Tambo (at 12,000 feet! Crazy!). Our campsite was just a short hike from there and when we arrived our tent was already pitched, nice! At 5pm we had a "Welcome" tea with yummy treats and formally met the crew. They each told a bit about themselves and I managed to return the favor in Spanish (I keep practicing and it's slowly getting better).
We've used Adventure Life for several trips in the past and have always been very pleased with them. The staff is personable and professional at the same time. Erin put this trip together for us in just a few days, and it has everything we were looking for! I recommend them without hesitation.
benn
3 weeks ago
I served as the person responsible for planning a trip to Galapagos and Machu Picchu for a group of 14 people. Jane with Adventure Life was very helpful throughout the process. Making suggestions, offering insight, and in the end helped me overhaul an initial plan into something even better. Also, Jane makes all the plans including the flights within and between Peru and Ecuador. Thanks to her this is going to be a stress-free adventure. After making the final decision about the trip, Jane gathered the contact information for all the travelers and sent out the details to each traveler individually with links to pay deposits, upload passport info, and personal preferences. She also ensured a group email was sent out to the entire group welcoming us to the trip preparation process. Our trip is a year from now and we are excited to make this once in a life time trek. I am happy to have organized things through Adventure Life. However, two small issues came up that were a little off putting. First, Adventure Life adds $50 per person to the cost for each traveler as a donation to a Galapagos conservation fund. I think this should he offered as something that can be added at each traveler’s discretion. Instead, it is automatically added, and each person must ask to have it removed if they do not want it included. Second, although the trip deposit may be paid with a credit card without incurring an additional fee, the balance must be paid in another way to avoid a 3% credit card fee. Maybe this is standard with all travel agencies. In the end I would definitely go through Adventure Life for the next big trip.
Brenda Nielsen
1 month ago
I think it was very helpful that Franny and I spoke on the phone. I think she had a better idea of what we were looking for, and she planned a great itinerary for us!
Elizabeth
2 months ago
My representative Kevin was very responsive generally and in crafting our itinerary to our specific priorities.
Rocco Labella
3 months ago
Easy.
Great work on the follow up and details by Waru.