Hikes in an Ecuadorian Cloud Forest

 We spent two days at a Eco Lodge in a cloud forest in the Andes near Mindo, Ecuador.

The views are beautiful and there are so many birds and interesting bugs as well.

There are many hike options. I have no idea how long the hikes are, or how far up and down we hiked. We had a great time. We took three guided hikes, led by well informed guides, and two hikes on our own.

 The scenery was gorgeous, the food fabulous and an over all wonderful experience. I highly recommend it.

 

The last photo isn't very clear, but it is of an Olinguito, a mammal only discovered about a year ago, it visits the lodge in the evenings.

Machu Picchu Mountain Hike

 Most of us decided to take the bus from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu this morning. We followed the trail to the entrance of the Machu Picchu Mountain hike. This trail is also limited to 400 people per day, it isn't as well known as the trail to Wayna Picchu, so tickets can often be purchased near the time you go.

 Machu Picchu Mountain is higher than Waynu Picchu, it's about 1,640 ft above the ruins. But the trail is wider, not as steep. Less scary hike, with better views! We could see the snow capped high Andes here.

Nice hiking trail up the mountain.

We all made it to the top!

From Machu Picchu Mountain, looking down on the ruins and Waynu Picchu below.

 After descending from Machu Picchu Mountain, we decided  to do the short hike to the Inka Bridge.

 This is an easy trail, fairly flat.














There are some steep sections, but the trail is nice and wide.

The trail stops before the bridge. I wonder how the Incas were able to build this bridge so high up on the cliff?

Wayna Picchu Hike

We got up early and left Aguas Calientes at 4:30 AM to walk for 25 minutes down to the lower entrance gate to Machu Picchu. After showing our passes and crossing the river we took the hiking trail up to Machu Picchu, 1,800 irregular stone steps about 1,500 ft up hill.

Looking down from Machu Picchu to the valley where are day began.

We enjoyed a two+ hour guided tour of the ruins before it was our time to hike up Wayna Picchu (the large peak seen to the right behind the ruins).












Only 400 people a day are allowed to climb Wayna Picchu, so it's important to purchase the pass ahead of time.

The climb is about 1,180 ft up mostly steep rocky steps. Some sections are very narrow and the drop off is steep!

Here we looked down to the valley where we hike up along the Urubamba River on our way yesterday.

The views from the top were fabulous, the ruins of Machu Picchu far below.

This last picture should be tilted slightly to the right. It was the a short crossing to the down ward trail.

Inka Jungle Trail

 This was not a "traditional" hike, but had lots of hiking as well as bike riding, rafting and ziplinging, all on our way to Machu Pichhu.
The first day we were driven to Abra de Malago Pass in the Andes. 14,271 ft above sea level. Here we donned protective gear and road bikes 55 Kms, down the mountain to Santa Maria, dropping about 6,000 ft in elevation.

Views along the road to Santa Maria.

In Santa Maria, we had the option of a class 3 raft trip on the Urubamba River before dinner. It was a fun trip!

The second day, was our longest hiking day. About 23 Km in the outer jungle, through coffee and coco plantations and up in the mountains and back down for several river crossings. All in the rain, a real jungle experience. There were stops along the way, to take a break, buy something to drink or eat, and sometimes there were fun animals to interact with. This hike sometimes went along Incan trails. There are several Incan trails that go to Machu Pichhu. The Incans developed 45,000 Km of trails from Ecuador to Peru and Bolivia and Chile.

  The trail went high up in the mountains, some places were steep and wet, we had to watch our footing.

We saw waterfalls and there were many different bridges crossing the rivers, in places the trail was covered in mud and rock slides. A great adventure!

 The final river crossing was in a "cable car", actually a large metal tray on a pulley over a rope.

  

A short hike after the "cable car" crossing brought us to a lovely hot spring, with 3 different pools. A great way to relax after a long wet day. We spent the night at Santa Teresa.

The third day, we had the option of ziplining or staying at the hotel and drying out in the morning. I choose to do the zipline. After gearing up, we hiked up into the mountain for 4 different lines. The longest was 1.5 Km across the valley. Lots of fun!

After the zipline, we rejoined the group and went to the trailhead, where we went by an Incan sacred ceremonial site.

Another large river crossing and after lunch, we hiked along the railroad route to Aguas Calinetes. It was fun to see Machu Pichhu montana in the distance.

We spent the last night in Aguas Calientes, before heading up to Machu Picchu  the next morning.