The Mandango Loop

One of the most famous hikes in Vilcabamba is the Mandango Loop.  It starts near our hostel and goes up to the top of one of the mountains.  Then it follows along the top of the mountain ridge for awhile before dropping down into the valley and heading back to the road.  Before starting the hike, you have to fill out a form with your name, passport number, and blood type.  We all wondered a bit about why they wanted our blood types, but when we were in the middle of the hike, it all made sense.

Natalie at a lookout point

This was one of my best hikes in South America, but also one of the scariest because for a large portion of the hike you need to walk along a narrow ridge that was very windy with long drops on both sides.  Plus, we twice had to climb under barbed wire fences.  But both the Australians (Natalie and Jill) and the Americans (Nathan and me) survived the hike with only a few scrapes to show for it (mostly Natalie's since she slid stopping about 6 inches short of a barbed wire fence, scraping up both of her legs).

Natalie, Nathan, and me heading up

This is one of those times where a pictures speaks a thousand words, so I'll let the pictures do the talking (thanks to Jill!).

We walked along the top of this ridge.

The first cross

The view from the hike

Heading down the ridge