Salkantay Trail (Day 5)

[The Way Back]

Getting out of Aguas Calientes & Machu Picchu on your own can be a bit tricky, yet, with some careful planning, it’s totally doable. You’ve two gateway cities that you need to reach to continue your adventure: Cusco or Ollantaytambo; and depending on your destination, you can either leave on the same day you visited Machu Picchu or spend one extra night in Aguas Calientes and leave the next day. If your destination is Ollantaytambo, then you’ve to spend the extra night as it’s a long hike from Aguas Calientes and you can’t reach it in the same day. So here are the tips you can use on how to reach each gateway city on your own; however, in both cases you’ll skip the bus option back from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes to save few dollars and hike down on your own using the stairs constructed by the Inca people in the forest which will take you around an hour:

• Cusco: If you are heading to Cusco, then you’ll have to hike your way back to Hidroelectrica using the same train tracks trail you used to reach Aguas Calientes; you’ll be against the normal flow of people which is a bit worrying and you’ll know why later.

 

From Hidroelectrica, you’ll have to take transport to Cusco, which is very far away and over a dangerous mountain road, and it will take you a good 6 hours to reach Cusco. Also, beware that there is no regular bus stop here and this route isn’t commonly used by tourists, so you’ll have to strike a deal with a driver to take you there, which can be expensive, or go to Santa Teresa and find your transport from there. One final hint, since Hidroelectrica is just a place that evolves around the train station, it becomes deserted after the last train of the day (click to request info) and no one will be there to help you which means you’ll get stuck in the middle of nowhere!

• Olantaytambo: This is the more recommended and straight-forward option. You spend the night in Aguas Calientes and the next morning you wake up at leisure and hike down to Olantaytambo along the train tracks, but on the opposite direction from which you came from. This hike is an easy hike along the forest and train tracks, but long enough to take around 7-8 hours. Having reached Olantaytambo, you can now relax, check out the ruins there and plan your next adventure…IT IS ADDICTIVE:)