The Trail to Machu Picchu: Colpa to Lucma

The day started in Colpapampa at the Colpa Lodge. We had an early breakfast and headed out for the day's trek. We had about 10 miles to cover. There were no mountains to cross, and we would be on trails that were generally descending. We would lose about 2400 feet of altitude by the time we arrived at the next lodge.

As we moved out of the lodge and bid our hosts farewell, we passed our bags ready to be loaded onto the horses for the last time. After today, we would be on a protected Inca trail where horses are not permitted; porters would be required to do the heavy lifting and transport. 

Moving away from the lodge we came to the most difficult decent and assent of the day. We had to cross the river valley climbing to a distant ridge to join the trail heading down the Santa Teresa River Valley.

At the top of the trail which crossed the valley, the Lucma Lodge was barely in sight. Arriving at the opposite summit of the valley, we came upon a small settlement of a half dozen houses.

Hikers pass through this area, and we came to a vacant campground and a small tienda selling some beverages and snacks. A red plastic bag was tied to a pole in front of the store. This indicated that chicha was available.

Our guide, Dalmiro, opted to stop for a short break to enjoy a chicha. Chicha is a fermented drink normally made from maize in this area of Peru. It has a low alcohol content, normally 1% to 3%. Many find it refreshing; some find it addicting. I opted to wait until the hike was complete before I enjoyed a beverage of this type. I wasn't exactly sure of what was ahead of us.

We had been hiking for about an hour or so when we came to the cluster of houses and the chicha break. The curiosity of the local children brought them to the edge of the trail.

The curiosity was accompanied by a hope of gaining a few coins from the hikers for a photo opportunity. I obliged several of the children. I guess I'm a sucker for a 25 cent photo.

Departing civilization, we started down the trail that would follow the Santa Teresa River Valley. The high trail hugged a ridge high above the river.

We had crossed the river as we left the lodge and climbed to the opposite side of the valley. We would cross several streams feeding the river throughout the day. As we made our way along the trail, we were careful to watch our path fairly carefully. It was a long way down to the river.

At times the decent was steep, but it was often followed by a climb. The terrain was undulating, but it was generally heading down. There was not much speed hiking along these trails, except for the locals. They sped past carrying their children or other cargo.

As we moved along the trail, the vegetation increased, and we passed an occasional farm house. We passed through banana, granadilla, and avocado orchards. We usually identify the granadilla as passion fruit. As the hours passed, we were moving into more of a jungle environment.

We passed by some waterfalls and through the streams that flowed to the river. We did manage to keep the water on the outside of our boots. That's always a plus.

We crossed several bridges. Some were were more modern in design and appeared fairly secure. Others seemed to be older structures with a design reflecting local construction materials. We navigated all of the bridges without mishap. The horses carrying our bags had similar success.

We had a hot lunch on the trail prepared by our chef, Zoylo. All of the food and tools for preparation were transported by horses. Zoylo had started ahead of us in the morning and the meal was ready for us as we arrived. Our afternoon trek took us on a continuing decent toward the river's edge. We passed coffee plantations and ultimately came to the edge of Loreta, a town of some size. This was the end of the horse transport of our bags. We boarded a van to negotiate Loreta. We exited the van at the entrance to the Llactapata Inca Trail. We managed the final mile of the day on the trail through coffee plantations to the Lucma Lodge in Lucmabamba.

The lodge is situated in an avocado grove on the Llactapata Inca Trail. I was happy that the 8 hours on the trail was complete. Even though I missed a chance to enjoy a chicha on the trail, I did enjoy a cerveza, maybe two, at the lodge 

To see some additional images from this day's trek, click here.