SkyLodge, June 23rd

We landed in Cusco two days ago and it feels that we have already packed a short lifetime into 48 hours. One can’t help but marvel at the Incan majesty of Cusco. The cobble-stone streets line the wonders of this ancient place. In this high altitude city, you will find a melting pot of cultures represented in the textiles, summer festivals, and archeological ruins. 

Have you ever wanted to sleep in a Condor’s nest?  A night in the sky lodge might be the closest you get to this experience. Situated 1200 feet above the floor of the Sacred Valley is a vertically hanging transparent capsule with a 300-degree view of the Andes.  The pod is anchored into the side of a cliff and to get there you must first climb a 400 meter vertical mountain face on a via ferret, an Italian term for an iron path made of steel cables fixed to the mountainside, rebar steps and a series of ladders and wire bridges similar to tight ropes are suspended hundreds of feet above canyons below.   

None of us had ever climbed before. The only thing securing us to the side of the mountain was the steel cable that we were clipped into as we ascended the mountain face. After being fitted into our gear and a review of safety protocol we began our two- hour ascent just before sunset.  Adrenaline and fear propelled us up the mountain. They say going down the via ferrata is impossible so once you begin you are committed to climbing the distance. At the top, our guides also served as our cooks and made us a four-course dinner with wine before we were tucked in for the evening. 

Leaving the pod at night is forbidden and in the space of a few hours as we tried to get some sleep we saw the sunset, the moon rise, and the sky above us filled with the constellations of the southern skies. In the morning we watched as the sun climbed into the sky over the mountain peaks and drank coffee and had breakfast before proceeding to a series of nine zip lines that would take us back to the floor of the sacred valley.

We agreed this was a once in a lifetime bucket list item and is not for the faint of hearing. We agreed our personal grit had been tested.

We landed in Cusco two days ago and it feels that we have already packed a short lifetime into 48 hours. One can’t help but marvel at the Incan majesty of Cusco. The cobble-stone streets line the wonders of this ancient place. In this high altitude city, you will find a melting pot of cultures represented in the textiles, summer festivals, and archeological ruins.