Putucusi, the death hike

Machu Picchu is on every traveller’s bucket list. The ancient Incan city was built about 600 years ago and is still a mystery for archeologists and a fascination for thousands of tourists everyday. Built on a mountain ridge in the middle of the jungle, these magnificent ruins are so well maintained that you can picture clearly what the city might have looked like when it was occupied.
Situated in the Sacred Valley, in the Urubamba region of Peru, Machu Picchu is one of the most popular travel destination in the world with 2500 people visiting it every day!

I have dreamed about seeing Machu Picchu since I was a little kid and in 2015 my dream finally came true, and it was just as amazing as I imagined. There are different options to access Machu Picchu:

• The Inca Trail is a traditional pilgrimage along the original ancient trail. You must book this guided, multiple-day hike months in advance and it is quite expensive. 
• The Salkantay trek involves a high-pass hike through high country, and is within a backpacking budget.
• The Jungle trek is a 4 day adventure mixing mountain biking, hiking, rafting and zip-lining with food and accom included, and is also relatively cheap.
• If your Español is okay, you can take the cheapest option of accessing the ruins by jumping on a bus from Cusco to Hydroelectrica, and walking to Aguas Calientes.

I opted for for the jungle trek, and hiking a part of the famous Inca Trail and had the best time ever! Shop around the main square in Cusco for prices to save a lot of money. My trek cost about $US 150 for 4 days (MP entry not included).

But as weird as it sounds, the most amazing part of my trip wasn’t the actual Machu Picchu mountain but the unexpected climb of Putukusi Mountain. Apparently the mountain was used by the Incans to be higher and closer to the spirit world during ceremonies using local medicinal plants, such as San Pedro cactus.
Located on the opposite side (northeast) of the Urubamba river to Machu Picchu, the trek that leads to the top of Putukusi was closed few years ago for safety reasons. 

The trek

A backpacker happaned to tell me about this climb in Aguas Calientes after I returned from Machu Picchu saying that even if it was risky and dangerous, it was totally worth it.
But to see it you must earn it. Which in that case means risking your life. The paths starts right out after the town of Agua Clientes. Following the train tracks out of town back towards Hydroelectrica for about 5 minutes you will see a sign reading “Forbidden Entry”. Here it starts…

The first part of the journey is pretty easy, and follows a path surrounded by beautiful native plants. Ominously, 15 minutes in we met a couple coming down. After asking them how they found the hike they told us they stopped just ahead because it looked too dangerous and advised us not to attempt it.

Stubborn as donkeys, we kept going until we found the 1st rock face and it did look scary and dangerous. We finally get a glimpse at what we got ourselves into: a 30m vertical climb up a smooth rock face with only a rusty cable to pull yourself up on. Slippery enough on a dry day in September this would have been impossible in wet season. 

  Gotta be strong! Half way up the scary bit

The 1st few meters are easy due to cracks in the cliff where you can place hands and feet, but after that it becomes super hard. You have to lift yourself up using your arm strength by the cable that’s very loosely hooked above. It is not only physically challenging but mentally exhausting as a slip would probably end in death..

Once you’ve dragged yourself up the wall, you’ll arive at a set of old rotten wooden ladders with missing rungs in the middle. The cable is still necessary for survival here.

 One of the better ladders 

Safely out of sight of the wall, you will have a few more ladders to navigate, but much more intact and much less dangerous. The second part of the hike isn’t as challenging but still tough. We hiked for about 1 more hour under a burning sun with no shade to protect you or to have a rest. Don’t forget that the whole time you are also at a noticeable two and a half kilometer altitude too.

The hike up took about 2 hours. The most challenging hours of my life where I constantly told myself “What the f**k are you doing” but found somewhere in me the guts to keep going. AND IT WAS 100% WORTH IT!! 

The view you get from the top is spectacular. You can see the entire Incan city including the terrace fields of the agricultural sector as well as Huayna Picchu from a side that only few people see and know about. Once at the top, we felt like warriors that just accomplished a miracle! The adrenaline combined with the magnificent view left us speechless.

 

Coming down from the top isn’t a piece of cake, especially the stretch of wall (remember the 30 metre part I was talking about?) but it’s not as hard as climbing up and only took us 1 hour! At the end my legs and arms where wobbly which made the descent tough.

I have never done anything more challenging in my life and I would only recommend this trek to very fit hikers who are not afraid of heights. Don’t bring anything with you except a bottle of water, sunscreen, good shoes and a hat and don’t go by yourself!

 

Tips for Hiking Putukusi Mountain

• Take plenty of water with you.
• Take a hat and put a lot of sunscreen before leaving town as the last part of the hike is in the sun without any shady spots.
• Wear shoes with a grip as he hike requires a lot of climbing
• Allow yourself 3 hours in total for the hike and don’t go after 2pm as it gets dark early.
• Don’t do the trek by yourself and if you do tell someone in town you are doing so.
• Watch out for slippery and unstable ladders. Always check that the ladder is solidly fixed before putting your weight on it.

 

 

 

UPDATE : The ladder and the cable are no longer there which makes it impossible to hike up Putucusi unless you have your own rock climbing gear!