Salkantay Trek: Humantay Lake, Endless Rain, and Flaming Bananas!

Before I left for this South America trip, I signed up for a tour to go hike the Salkantay Trek leading up to Machu Picchu. You could definitely do this trek by yourself, but for me, I chose to be with a group. Perhaps it was because I was not so confident in my own camping skills, or perhaps because I didn’t want to do this along. Regardless, I am glad I got to spend time with 9 amazing fellow travelers, 2 awesome guides, and 4 wonderful crew members.

Group photo with our guides Javier and Jose! Clearly, we were a very musically inclined group…. :P

Picking everyone up, then a 4 and half hour drive to our first campsite Soraypampa at 3900m. With a direct view to Mount Salkantay, Soraypampa conveniently located en route to both Humantay Lake and the Salkantay pass.

Our camp at Soraypampa directly looks at Mount Salkantay.

Camp 1 Soraypampa Night Sky

The agenda for day 2 was fully packed. Following a 5am morning wake up call was a “leisurely” 1000 ft hike up to the Humantay lake. After that, an 18km trek consists of a hike up to Salkantay pass at 4700m from our 3900m camp, then down to Hayracmachay, our second camp, at around 4000m.

Photo with the crew before we depart for Humantay Lake!

Off we went. First to Humantay Lake. Humantay Lake is a glacial lake formed from the run-offs of Mount Humantay (right behind the lake). Recently it has become a popular destination due to its “Instagramability.”

Humantay Lake for the 2 seconds that clouds and fog weren’t covering it.

Taking a brief “Baño break,” we then headed to Salkantay pass and began the main part of our trek. Clouds seemed to be set on following us as well. An hour or so into our ascent, we felt the drops from the sky. One drops, two drops turned into a 2-day continuous downpour. Eventually, the rain turned into ice and snow as we ascended further.

The group made it despite the unfavorable conditions.

Rain didn’t bother the strong mules.

The dusty trail a few days before has turned into muddy ponds. Our shoes turned into water shoes (even my waterproof ones! Complete fail).

MUD everywhere… but perfect for pictures :)

Then 4 o’clock came. I saw a flatter ground with some hay shacks, our campsite! Bothered by the worsening stomach pain, I ran ahead of the group to jump into my tent for a nap.

March of the green ponchos towards our campsite.

By the time everyone wad settled, the coldness of the night seeped in as well. To warm us up, our chef Moses treated us with a surprise: Pisco flaming bananas!! A perfect way to round out the long and wet day.

To get the Pisco out of my system, I woke up at 9pm to go for a bathroom run. Little did I know, the rain stopped while we were asleep. I was rewarded with the most amazing view of the Salkantay mountain and all the surrounding peaks.

Salkantay at night

Other surrounding peaks

So moral of the story is….. drink more Pisco :)