This was going to be a short and easy day, a good way to recover from the toughest section we had just done the previous day.

The hardest part of this whole trek is the climb up to Salkantay Pass. It was made even harder when it started to snow just as we were arriving to the top.

I took one last shower knowing that it’d be days before the next one. We arrived at Calle Arcopata, where the buses leave for Mollepata, the start of the hike.

An account of my 7-day hike with no guides on the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu.

Returning to Machu Picchu 9 years later, and taking a picture from the same exact spot as last time.