Natura Vive is a unique experience located in the nestled Sacred Valley in Peru, right outside the town of Ollantaytambo. They offer a climbing experience, as well as ziplining, or you can choose the ultimate package and do both, with an overnight stay in their "skylodge". I'll give you one guess as to which one I chose 😉

That's right, I decided to do it all. Why not?? Here is a breakdown of what my adventure would include:

Via Ferrata; The glass pods, or skylodges (where we would be sleeping) are located 400 meters directly above the Sacred Valley. How do you get there? Climb, of course! The method they use to get to these pods is called "via ferrata". This method does not use climbing rope. Instead, there is a permanent steel cable secured along the entire (mostly directly vertical at a steep incline) path up the mountain. There are also steel rods, cemented into the mountain in which you use for footing and climbing. Each climber wears a harness, with a lanyard and 2 carabiners attached. As you progress up the mountain, every so often there is a metal post with a looped end. At these points, the climbers must unhook their carabiners (one at a time) and hook them above this post. This is a safety measure; if you were to accidentally lose footing and fall, you would only fall to the last post you passed because your lanyard and carabiners would catch you at this point (still unpleasant, I'm sure). A helmet and safety equipment are all provided for you.

^all geared up and ready to go

Skylodge Adventure Suites; The Skylodge Suites consist of (3) glass pod suites and (1) dining pod, located at the top of the mountain, with an incredible 300 degree view of the Sacred Valley below. They are known as the first hanging lodge in the world. Each pod is complete with beds, a bathroom, complimentary tea, and a platform on top, where you can sit and enjoy the beauty around you , and the stars at night.

^view from the top of our pod

Zipline; Being about 1200 ft above the ground on a mountain, you have to get down somehow. The quickest way? Ziplining! After the overnight stay, you will eat a hearty breakfast and begin your journey back down. It is a short walk to the first (of seven) ziplines. With a short walk between each, you are back on the ground before you know it.

^our guides preparing the first zipline

My Personal Experience;

So now that you know what this adventure entails, I will take you through my own personal account of this experience!

We were picked up from our hotel in Cusco in the afternoon (transportation is included in your price). From Cusco, it is about an hour and a half drive to Pachar, the small town where the Natura Vive site is located. Since it is just an overnight trip, and we had to climb to get there, I brought a simple day pack with me. I really only needed pajamas and toilet accessories.

Once we arrived, we were introduced to our guides and other group members who would be making the ascent with us. We were given a very thorough safety briefing, and were given instructions on how to utilize our equipment. We had practice sessions on how the via ferrata climbing technique works, to make sure that we all knew what we were doing. The staff had us practice clipping and un-clipping the carabiners along a mock cable secured to the ground.
The staff fit each climber with their own equipment, and ensured that everything was in working order. This process immediately made me feel very safe, and I knew I was in good hands.

Then, it was time to begin the climb. There was a guide who led us, and a guide who stayed at the very end. There were only 5 of us total, plus the 2 guides. They also let anyone who was more nervous stay at the back, so that they didn't feel rushed, and had the support of the last guide. Once we began climbing, my adrenaline totally took over. I do not have a fear of heights, however a mix of excitement and nervousness made my legs start shaking uncontrollably. It was quite hilarious actually, looking back on it. But at the time, while I'm trying to focus and climb the rungs cemented into the side of the mountain, uncontrollable leg shaking was not an ideal situation. 😂 Even though I felt completely comfortable and confident with doing this, apparently my body felt differently. 🤷‍♀️

The climb was fairly slow, and took about an hour. Most of it was pretty much vertical, with a few areas of sideways climbing. We reached the top just as the sun was setting. Watching the sun set over the valley (regardless of being stressed out from the climb) was simply beautiful!

Once we reached the top, the guides briefed us on how to use our pods. Each pod has a "bathroom" and beds. They also have platforms on the top where you can sit and enjoy the view of the valley below. This platform was also an incredible stargazing spot at night. (You are required to wear your harness, and be clipped to the cables while sitting up here).

^the bathroom...I promise it's not as scary as it looks!

Once we settled in and got our bearings, it was time for dinner. There is a separate pod specifically used for dining. In order to get there, we did have to walk along the edge with our climbing harness and safety equipment, as the pods are all spread out from each other. This is where we had both dinner, and breakfast the following morning. Having a personal chef inside a glass pod at the top of a mountain is quite the unique experience!

^the kitchen

The evening was chilly, but comfortable. We spent time on our platform outside watching the stars. There is little light pollution here, so the sky was clear with many visible stars. It was so peaceful and calming. We eventually settled in for the night. I did have a little trouble sleeping mostly because I was staring up at the night sky from inside the pod, wondering at it's beauty. Also partly because I was secretly thinking about the cables snapping and us tumbling down 😂 (clearly we were safe, and this would not happen, but my mind wanders).

Waking up the next morning was one of my favorite parts of this whole experience. Since we had arrived when it was getting dark the night before, we did not get to witness the full view that we had below us. Climbing up out of the pod and admiring the valley's beauty as the sun rose over the mountains was such a wonderful thing to experience.

^breakfast

We were given some time to relax and admire the view in the morning. After eating breakfast, we headed back to our pods to pack up and prepare for the journey back down. It was a short walk to the first zipline. The trip down consisted of 7 ziplines, with a short walk in between each. The guides once again briefed us and gave clear safety instructions on the use of the ziplines. Through out this whole experience, I always felt safe and well guided.

^living my best life. Standing on top of our pod.

The trip down was a lot of fun, as the valley below came closer and closer within view. Once at the bottom, we were able to purchase beer, snacks, and other souvenir items to remember our adventure by.

Once we said goodbye and thanked our wonderful guides, we parted ways and began our journey back to Cusco. We chose to do this a couple of days before departing for the Inca Trail. It was a great activity to get warmed up and get used to the slight altitude change.

Below is an example of our itinerary for this excursion, for you to get an idea of the timing.

Natura Vive also offers single trip experiences if you don not have a budget or time for an overnight stay. You can simply climb to the top and zipline back down, all in the same day. Either way you choose to do it, it is certainly a unique experience that you will never forget.

^our group. And yes, you could purchase beer afterwards! Always reward yourself. 😊