Jungle Trekking to Machu Picchu

We started a jungle trek early last Monday morning which involved 4 days and 3 nights of mountain biking, trekking, zip lining and ending at Machu Picchu. We were jumping with excitement for our trip as we waited for Lorenzo Expeditions to pick us up.

We were taken to Abra Malaga at 4300 m to begin our descent into the jungle.  We rode downhill for about 4 hours through sun, pouring rain, and mud to Santa Maria.

Don´t let the smile fool you, she was not happy about being covered in  mud.

When we arrived in Santa Maria, we were greeted by garden hoses and Adam suffered some slight electrocution before we changed into some dry clothes.  We spent the night in Santa Maria and were ready to start trekking to Santa Teresa at 7:30 am on Tuesday morning.  It was about a 12 hour day of trekking with some stops for delicious food in the mountains and some Inca history lessons.

One of our stops was at the ¨Monkey House¨ where we had our faces painted and dressed up in traditional Peruvian dress.

Walking on an Inca trail...not for the faint-hearted with a 300 ft drop off

After a long day, we finally arrived in Cocalmayo to relax at the hot springs.  We spent the night in Santa Teresa at an eco lodge right next to the river outfitted with mosquito nets.  It was a really beautiful lodge and it would have been nicer to stay longer but the next day we had to be on our way.  Wednesday morning we went ziplining in Santa Teresa which has some of the highest ziplines in South America (200 ft above the river and reaching speeds of 65 km/h).  

After the ziplines we trekked to Aguas Calientes and had a very early night in preparation for our 4 am hike up over 1800 steps to Machu Picchu in the rain.  I think we both could have used more stairmaster before the trip!  Fortunately, the weather cleared up later and we spent almost the entire day taking in the ruins.

As promised, this is for you ladies...you know who you are.

We highly recommend if you are considering a jungle trek from Cusco to go with Lorenzo Expeditions.  Our guide was amazing (ask for Johan..aka Papi).

Tonight is our last night in Peru before heading off to Bolivia.  More to come later!