Day 5: Trek Pachacute and Cancha Cancha
TREK OVERVIEW
Trekkers have another early wake up call! They’re woken up at 5:00 AM with hope drinks. They have views on the lake and valley of Kiswarani. The local people will already be taking their llamas to graze. Trekkers will start their four hour climb to the top of Pachacute or Condor Pass. They’ll zigzag their way up the hill. The views are beautiful! They’ll see lakes, waterfalls, mountains, and llamas. Once they arrive at the top of the pass, trekkers will be above the clouds with a 360 views of the Andes Mountains including Mount Pitusiray, After a hot drink, trekkers will start their one hour descent to lunch at El Mirador or Vista Point. After lunch, they’ll continue downhill for another three hours to camp in the Cancha Cancha village. Villagers still practice incan traditions. 85% of the houses are still composed of stone with thatched roofs. Unlike other villages in the Lares Valley, Cancha Cancha doesn’t have electricity. Trekkers will tour the village – visiting local family’s houses where they’ll see how they raise their guinea pigs and hand weave textiles.
TREK STATS
Starting elevation 12,795 feet
Highest elevation 14,250
Ending elevation 12,305 feet
Elevation lost 490 feet
Distance hiked 8.7 miles
Average hiking time 7.5 hours
We picked the perfect time of year to come to Peru. The 21st is the summer solstice and the Incan New Year. It is also the shortest day of the year and longest night of the year… great night to sleep in a tent! However, the stars this evening, were absolutely beautiful. The sky was so clear and our tour guide, Joel, shared the Incan stories in the stars and it was really cool. Then we all headed to our tents and it was really COLD! They gave us hot water bottles to put in our sleeping bags and they were a big help. I definitely didn’t want to get up at 5am today because I was finally warm but it was time to get breakfast and start the trek.
Today was a hard but rewarding day.
We hiked up Condor Pass for 4 hours in the morning before our first break. (Elevation 15,000 feet) The scenery on our journey made every bit of it worth it. It felt like we were close enough to touch the clouds. We hiked around a snow capped mountaintop but could still feel the warmth of the sun while we rested and had snack time complete with pitajaya and chirimoya fruits… most delicious!
Then we proceeded downhill for another 2 1/2 hours before lunch. I would imagine that you think, just like I did, that seems easy. It most definitely was not. I fell 3 times. There was a variety of terrain from small rocks and sand to big rocks to navigate down and around. It was a group effort to make sure everyone made it down the mountain as safely as possible. The landscaping was breathtaking.. the stuff Bob Ross dreams of.
Like I said, today was hard day, there were a few times that I questioned why I thought this was a good idea but then I would looks up and see the most stunning view that you could ever imagine and forgot about it all. There were no other trekkers on the trail but us, adding to how special the day was. We saw a few locals as they lead their alpacas home for the evening, running them down the hill after a day of grazing. Then some others with several of their horses carrying bags of potatoes on their back. They have over 2,000 different types of potatoes in Peru and they use them as currency to trade for other things they need at the market. They run up and down these massive mountains as if it is nothing with sandals on making us all look bad as we gasp for air at an altitude no one could have properly prepared for.
We did it though! We put in a 10 hour day of hiking…! 8 miles and 28 flights climbed according to my watch. I am excited for my sleeping bag tonight for sure and imagine I will sleep much better.