PERU & BOLIVIA Day 15 - Soraypampa to Wayracpunku to Chaullay (Salkantay Trek Day 2)

This morning we were woken by a knock on the door at 05:00 and some coca tea. Great in principle but unfortunately I always wake to needing the loo so I didn't manage much. Half an hour later and we were at breakfast (which included fried plantain - yum!) and then soon after set off on our trek up the Salkantay Glacier. For us the ascent was fairly easy, but people were going frustratingly slowly and taking lots of breaks, so I found it very cold. It was a relief to reach a plateau ("pampa") were the sun finally peaked over the mountain and warmed us up. Here we "made photos" before continuing up a steeper ascent consisting of seven switchbacks, enjoying the sun and the sunny views both down the valley and up the glacier.

At the top of this was a much chillier pampa, where the wind whistled through but shelter could be found behind large rocks. From here we made another ascent, finally reaching the top of the Salkantay Pass (4630m), where we waited for our group and watched the clouds come in from the other side.

The start of the descent was therefore very much in the clouds, but it created a different and quiet atmosphere. We weaved through the rocks down the mountain until reaching the bottom of the cloudiness, here the scenery opened up into a green valley vista. Still a bit damp, we continued on for a couple hours until a welcome lunch spot, next to a glacial river.

The descent turned out to be very long indeed, as it took us another three hours to get to the campsite. On the way we were passed by many horses (carrying people's belongings) and eight very daring mountain bikers! The vegetation became taller and denser as we descended, with a number of interesting fuchsias and bamboo plants too.

Camp today was more traditional, and we were treated to a large tent which was covered by a reed and rebar structure (presumably for wind protection). This turned out to be fairly cosy, and a fairly good night's sleep was to be had by most, especially after a huge three course dinner which was preceded by delicious popcorn, cheese-filled pastries and apple sponge cake!