The Andes on Horseback — Final Days

Over the High Pass

We climbed early to Camper Pass, reaching around 5,000 metres. From the top, the views towards the highest Andes peaks were vast and rugged.

Camper Pass is scattered with stone cairns — piles of rocks built into small statues. The Incas believed this was a place of the gods, and the cairns were made for wishes and prayers.

The morning brought our first real bad weather — cold, wet, and miserable. Rain fell steadily as we crossed the pass and began our descent.

After crossing Camper Pass, we descended towards a group of four high mountain lakes where we stopped for lunch. As we arrived, the sun broke through — still spitting with rain, but a welcome lift after a tough, cold morning.

After the lakes, the afternoon became long and tiring. The descent wound through huge boulders, demanding constant concentration. We made slow progress as drizzle continued and it grew colder.”

We stopped around 4pm, after roughly seven hours on the move. That night we stayed in a remote stone-and-mud settlement. Our room was reached by an outside ladder, two floors up, with bare floorboards, thin mattresses, and a ceiling lined with blue plastic.

By then the drizzle had turned torrential, and we were glad not to be camping. We were freezing by the time we climbed into our sleeping bags, grateful simply to be indoors.

We had covered 18 km, reaching heights of around 5,300 metres. Despite the cold and fatigue, we both slept surprisingly well.

Day 6 – Back to Town

The final day began with a long descent towards town. The first part felt bleak and exposed, but as we lost height the views gradually softened. It was mostly downhill and seemed to go on forever, but there were no real dramas — just steady progress and the sense that the journey was drawing to a close.

We arrived at what I assume was the village square — mud underfoot rather than concrete. It felt like stepping into a western. We rode in on the horses, tied them up to a post, and went inside a bar for a welcome beer. After days on the trail, it was a strange but gentle return to people and noise.

From there, we loaded into a van for the journey back to Cusco. The road was little more than a narrow track, winding endlessly around the mountains, snaking its way down bend after bend. It felt like a journey that would never quite finish.

We finally reached Cusco around 4pm. A hot shower and clean clothes felt unreal. Everything suddenly seemed clean, modern, and ordered after six days on the trail.

It’s strange how quickly it all passed. Days that felt long at the time now seem compressed, almost unreal. The body adapts, keeps going — and then, just like that, it’s over.

Reflection

This was the toughest thing I’d ever done. The altitude and the cold were constant, and the days were long.

There were moments when it felt relentless.

But the mountains were extraordinary. Vast, quiet, and completely uncompromising. Stripped of comfort and routine, each day became very simple — move forward, keep warm, keep going.

It was hard, often uncomfortable, and at times exhausting. And yet, standing there among those mountains, it was also one of the most remarkable experiences I’ve ever had.