text: Enrique Umbert, the canny Arequipa-born entrepreneur who bought up land from reluctant subsistence farmers a decade ago, replaced his initial scheme for basic mountain huts with lodging for “flashpackers”. In places where materials could come in only by mule or helicopter, construction logistics proved his sternest challenge, but he welcomed his first hikers in 2007. Recognising that richer, older people may not want to gasp their way up very steep hills, he later threw Peru’s only lodge-to-lodge ride into the mixture. By providing full-time work for 40 locals and part-time jobs for many more, he has improved the quality of life in villages that used to be underfunded and underfed.
  Umbert’s MLP formula is based on the idea that travellers who are necessarily out of their comfort zones during the day will appreciate familiar pleasures in the evening. Each lodge offers an outdoor hot tub fired up from 5pm, a full-service dinner with local wines, and a hottie tucked under the down duvet when the generator clocks off at 11pm.
  On our stopover day at Salkantay, we rode up a steep Z-bend trail to a glacial lake glittering turquoise under sun-filtered clouds. Twenty condors, wings spread to the full 10 feet, circled speculatively, then spiralled down with menace. By now we were accompanied by our designated doctor, Adolfo, a charming anaesthetist lured from his Cusco hospital to sort out any medical emergencies. As a rotund novice horseman, he was the obvious pick for birds out for blood. Happily, given that he was the expedition member we could least afford to lose, he withstood the aerial attack with aplomb. Back at the ranch, we felt we’d earned our instruction in preparing the perfect pisco sour and the essential sampling that guaranteed sleep uninterrupted by high-altitude dreams.
  In the evenings, we enjoyed the familiar MLP hospitality, first at Wayma, its hot tub built in the central courtyard for protection against a fiercely windswept location, then at Colpa, on an expansive plateau overlooking a triple river confluence. Our arrival at noon triggered a traditional pachamanca feast, flesh and veg layered into hot coals and buried while they baked. Guinea pig, an Andean staple, featured among the meats. I’ve always heard it tastes like chicken, but a direct comparison suggested it’s nowhere near as good.
  After a final day of ferocious rock galloping and a night in the fourth MLP lodge among avocado groves and coffee plantations, we took the train to Aguas Calientes and rejoined the real world. No one would miss out on Machu Picchu, but standing alone in the mist on Salcantayccasa is something I’ll never forget.
  Minty Clinch travelled as a guest of Red Savannah (01242 787800; redsavannah.com ). A 12-night trip to Peru costs from £4,350 per person sharing, with five nights’ b & b at La Casona (Cusco), six nights’ full board during the lodge-to-lodge Salkantay ride and one night in Aguas Calientes to see Machu Picchu. The price includes return economy flight from London to Cusco via Lima, guided tours in and around Cusco, entry to Machu Picchu and guiding, plus Vistadome train back to Cusco.
  Our series helps you plan for travel's greatest adventures. Chris Moss explains how to tackle the 550-year-old Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.
  With a resolution of 15.9 gigapixels, this picture is thought to be the highest definition photo of Machu Picchu ever taken.