Skylodge Adventure Suites
Nestled amidst the breathtaking peaks of Peru’s Sacred Valley lies a haven for thrill-seekers and adventurers alike: Skylodge Adventure Suites. Imagine spending the night suspended hundreds of feet above the valley floor, encased in a transparent capsule that offers unparalleled views of the surrounding Andean mountain landscape. If you’re ready to elevate your travel experience to new heights – both literally and figuratively – then prepare to embark on an unforgettable journey unlike any other at Skylodge Adventure Suites.
Getting to Skylodge
Our experience started with hotel pick-up from The Aranwa Boutique Hotel in Cusco, Peru (Click Here). The group at Adventure Skylodge coordinated the pick up and made for a completely seamless process. We hopped aboard a well maintained van with 4 other eager passengers anxiously anticipating the experience of a lifetime.
For our Peru travel, Skylodge was our last stop before embarking on the 4 day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu, but we quickly learned that our new friends had literally just finished the hike the day before. The beauty of travel, especially adventure focused travel, is the people you meet. The positive, ambitious, well-traveled type of person that you share these experiences with are rare. We were so fortunate to meet and hear their stories and experiences from their days prior on the Inca Trail.
A short 45 minute drive and we were arriving at the base of what we would soon call home for the night. We stepped off the van and looked toward the sky. One thousand feet above us hung 3 small pods, the only question was – how were we going to get there? Obviously, we knew the answer to this question, but the doubt started to creep into our mind. The only access to the pods is “via ferrata” which is a combination of rebar steps bolted into the mountain face, wire, and chains. We kept asking ourselves are we brave enough for this, are we fit enough for this?
Safety Briefing and Equipment
We were introduced to our guides, fitted for harnesses and helmets, and given pens to sign liability wavers. A few moments of instruction: “one carabiner always attached to the cable, hook above any bolt as soon as possible” – then we were on our way. Our group of 6 walked the 100 feet path to the bottom of the Via Ferrata we would be using to make our way. We shared our anxieties, our hesitations, and the memories of the most similar experiences we had all had to date. We approached a bolted metal ladder, clipped into the cable we would be following the whole way up, calmed our nerves, and embarked on an unforgettable experience.
The Learning Curve
The climb was complete with natural rock steps, metal rebar, and one lone tight rope walking experience. The first 5 minutes of the climb were very anxiety provoking, but a few minutes, steps, and transitions later, we became very familiar with the process. Essentially, when you come to an eye-bolt attached to the guide wire: 1. unhook one carabiner and put it on the guidewire above the bolt, 2. unhook the second carabiner and put it on the guide wire above the bolt, 3. place cables to your carabiners above your arm and continue climbing. One carabiner had to always be anchored to the guide wire for obvious reasons. And making sure you placed a carabiner above an eye bolt at the earliest possible opportunity ensured that if you fell or slipped, you would fall a much shorter distance – otherwise you would slide all the way down to the previous eye bolt before catching your fall. Fortunately, no such experiences happened with our group.
As we continued to make our way up we noticed the light of the sun starting to slightly lower over the Sacred Valley, setting up for what would be an unforgettable sunset. We continued the climb at an efficient pace, one step and one carabiner transition at a time. Stopping occasionally to take pictures along the way of the landscape and also how far we had come. After about 45 minutes our destination started to come into view and into reach. We could see the dome dining room and the three sequential pods just beyond it. We arrived ahead of schedule so we were able to navigate through the dining room and go straight to our pod to get acclimated prior to dinner.
Dining Room Dome
Once you reach the dining room you think the challenging part is likely over, you think you have finally made it. However, the last 25 yards of the cable beyond the dining room prove to be the toughest. But again, fortunately by this point you have become an expert and nothing is out of your skill level. We reached our pod, dropped in through a hatch door from above and were finally able to remove our harnesses and helmets. One of our guides followed us in, introduced us to the room, the gravity fed tube toilet, tank of fresh water, and our walkie talkie for communicating. We were finally able to relax and take in the beauty of the view and the adrenaline experience we had just had.
Skylodge Pods
The pod was large enough for 4 people. A twin size mattress on each side of the center, and a full size mattress at the opposite end of the bathroom. While big enough to accommodate 4, most often reservations have 2 guests in each pod. There is no sitting area except for the mattresses and the toilet. The pods each had a platform on top that connected the hatch door to the rock wall of the mountain, large enough that we were able to go out and sit on top when we wanted. We were required to be in complete harness, helmet, and clipped into the guide wire anytime we were leaving the pod, including when we were on the platform. The pod had curtains for privacy, and two overhead lights.
After about 30 minutes of getting acclimated it was time to get back into our harnesses, helmets, and headlamps, and make our way to the diningroom….in the dark. This added an element to the adventure. Had this been our first experience on the wire we would likely have called in for take-out. Fortunately, experts by now, we made our way 3 minutes across the mountain and cable to the beautiful dining room to reconnect with our newly acquired friends.
Dinner
Dinner was cooked fresh on a stove top beside us. We were served stuffed boneless chicken, potatoes, fruit plate, and offered a glass of Peruvian red wine. We relaxed and continued conversation about previous travel experiences and adventures until it was time to call it a night and make our way back to our pods to prepare for bed. As you can imagine there is no heat or air conditioning in these pods, so cool nights are essential. There are; however, plenty of nice thick blankets if the night gets cold.
Breakfast
We slept soundly with nothing surrounding us except the lights of the small town below. We awoke, washed our faces, brushed our teeth, then made our way to the platform above our pod to sit and watch the morning light hit the magnificent Sacred Valley below. Breakfast was at 7, so we took in the views until it was time to meet back at the dining room. Coffee and a fresh cooked breakfast of eggs, potatoes, ham, cheese, yogurt and granola started our morning off in the best way possible. A quick stop back at the pod for a drone photo session and a goodbye, then it was off to complete the check out process…multiple zip lines to the bottom.
Ziplining
Forty-five minutes to an hour of ziplining and we were back at the bottom of the mountain. Returned our climbing gear, tipped our guides, and loaded up in the van to return to our next leg of our travel. The Skylodge was an experience we will never forget and one that we would recommend to anyone traveling in the Cusco area, or anyone looking for a unique adrenaline based adventure you cannot get anywhere else. We were told they have had guests up to 74 years of age complete the experience.
Starlodge (alternative option)
However, if sleeping in a pod on the side of a mountain is up your alley, BUT the climb due to physical abilities or fear is your limitation, the owners of Skylodge have now built and opened a sister-experience called StarLodge. Starlodge has similar pods a little further down the road, but only require a few stairs to climb to get to them. They are even furnished with a hot tub deck to rest and relax in during your stay. So if Skylodge doesn’t sound like you, take a look at Starlodge. On top of that, they will allow you to mix and match experiences to suite your needs: if you want to stay at Starlodge but want the via ferrata and zipline experience, you can do that. You pick your experience, they will make it happen!