Today our Alpine Ascents International team ‘Rose Bowl’ traded the beautiful city of Cusco for the majestic scenery of the Andes. We made a few stops along the way to an historic Inca site, a local organic farm that supplies produce to the lodges, and to a traditional weaving store before starting our trek. We gained a few thousand feet in elevation to reach our lodge for the evening and in the last hour the clouds lifted and revealed Salkantay Peak, our treks namesake.
Salkantay is the highest peak in the Vilcabamba mountain range, part of the Peruvian Andes. 20,574 ft (6,271 m).
With many highlights in the day the overwhelming favorite was the incredible first views of Salkantay, and getting into the rhythms of the trail.
Tomorrow we will take an acclimatization hike to Humantau Lake at 13,700 and then spend the rest of the day resting before our big day over the pass!
