Salkantay Trail (Day 3)
[Chaullay → Llactapata]
I bet you woke up smiling and full of self-confidence! Another reason to smile is that this will be the easiest day of the trek. It will be downhill on a graded, not steep, slope for almost 90% of the day, so no need to wake up so early. In this day, you will have to decide: in how long, and how do you want to reach Aguas Calientes, more on this later. From Chaullay you will hike downhill all the way to la playa at +2,200m. This is a long, yet a very pleasant hike; you will leave the high elevation mountains and start hiking in the lush green canyon carved by a roaring river and the tropical flora will start revealing itself all around you. In a short while, about an hour, you will reach Collpapampa. There are no major signs here, but it’s a location where a nice waterfall appears over the cliff. From Collpapampa you will head towards La Playa and a dirt road will appear on the right side of the river, while the actual trail is on the left. However, check the trail conditions of this section while in Cusco as it often becomes inaccessible because of mudslides. This was actually the case when we hiked the trail, but no need to panic as you can continue your trek on the dirt road which feels more like a trail actually.
At Collpapampa you will have the freedom to make either choice, but, for sure, if the trail is open…then take it, although it is tougher to hike as it is not graded and switches from being uphill to downhill, and vice-versa frequently, through several switchbacks. However, if at any point you wanted to switch between the road and the trail, it is totally doable via a primitive, yet a fascinating, local mechanism (click to request info). Throughout this section, you will cross streams and maneuver your way jumping over rocks and wooden branches which is fun and adventurous at the same time, you will start meeting more and more local people as you head towards La Playa, which is a big village.
Although this section is extremely enjoyable and beautiful, it can become pretty dangerous due to mud slides, on the trail or the road, depending on the season you hike in, with spring being the most dangerous. It actually happened to us, at one section a mudslide occurred over the road and it was blocked for an hour or more, so be aware of the mountain above you and be flexible with your plans and always have alternatives ready in case of any delays.
At La Playa, the choices are open in front of you; although the choice should have been made already before starting the trek. There are 3 ways of approaching Aguas Calientes from here depending on how many days you planned for the trek and the date of your ticket to Machu Picchu, should be booked in advance (see Machu Picchu page), and the experience you want to get from this day.
First option: if you plan to reach Aguas Calientes today (i.e. total 3 days), then you have to run:). It will be tricky, yet doable, albeit at some point you need to use some kind of transport and you should definitely take a flashlight with you, you will hike in the dark. If you opt for this option, the route via Santa Teresa is the one to choose as it does not involve lots of uphills. Depending on the time and the delays you faced, you can hike to Santa Teresa then take transport to Hidroelectrica, (click to request info), then hike to Aguas Calientes.
Second option: if your plan is to reach Aguas Calientes tomorrow, then you can go to Santa Teresa and spend the night there. This is the easiest option, yet the least recommended as Santa Teresa is a modern town sprawling with tour groups and tourists with fancy restaurants and internet cafes which will get you completely out of the adventure mood and ruin the moment of reaching Aguas Calientes.
Third option: This is the most recommended option, you will reach Aguas Calientes tomorrow but you will spend the night camping at Llactapata. Although, by hiking this route you will have to conquer another uphill section by gaining 500m in elevation, yet it is a relatively short hike to your camping place compared to the previous sections and, believe me, tomorrow morning you will not regret this decision (see day 4). Heading to Llactapata, you will start leaving the valley and head again to the top of the lower mountains. This section will be all uphill, but you will start getting amazing panoramic views of the valleys again. Reaching Llactapata after approximately 3 hours of hiking, you will find some ancient Inca ruins. In spite of not being as famous or as grandeur as Machu Picchu, this actually makes them more special and attractive as you will feel that they are yours as only very few people will be there with u; and guess what? You can camp right next to them which is a perfect reward at the end of this amazing day.
Overall, this day is a pleasant hiking day with some effort needed in certain sections, yet remember to plan for any possible delays. You will have different scenery while hiking this day from the previous day and you will feel more immersed in the Peruvian countryside culture. For us we were delayed 1 hour and it took us 7 hours of hiking to reach our destination which was another 20km away from Chaullay.
