The Wandering Hart

Ever wonder what it would be like to sleep suspended on the side of a mountain? Neither had I! But then I saw Skylodge Adventure Suites while planning a trip to Peru and just couldn’t resist trying such a rare experience.

Skylodge runs a set of completely transparent pods suspended 400 meters (1.3k feet) up the side of a mountain in the Sacred Valley of Peru. There are 3 sleeping pods available to book for 1 night and one dining pod for meals. To get up to the pods visitors can select to either climb via ferrata or hike up and for the trip down there are options to zipline or hike. We opted to via ferrata up and zipline down and honestly after seeing the hiking trail up (which you’d still need to clip into) I’m happy with that choice!

On the day we were to check in we were picked up in Cusco by our guides along with a few other adventurers. They drove us 90 min into the Sacred Valley to the base of the climb and gave us a quick briefing on how to use the via ferrata and clip in safely. And then the climb began! The ascent was not for the faint of heart but it is possible to do with a little bravery and decent fitness level even if you don’t have past climbing experience. One piece of it is a metal wire that you need to just shuffle across and you do spend a lot of time clipping in and out but the guides make sure you’re clipping in properly and are safe throughout.

The climb took about 90 minutes and we did have to complete it in the dark (I imagine this is always true in winters but summer you’d be likely to finish before sunset). Luckily for us this did mean we were treated to a beautiful sunset break while climbing.

Once we arrived at the dining pod we were served a delicious 4 course meal including a bottle of wine that our guides had carried up and cooked for us. After finishing, we were shown to our sleeping pod which also required using a via ferrata. The via ferrata between some of the pods was a little nerve-wracking, which is another reason I would say it’s best to via ferrata up instead of hike so that you’re used to it before that point.

The pods themselves are extremely comfortable with a queen bed and 2 twins in each. There are curtains for every window for privacy and plenty of lighting for the night. Behind the black door in the picture below was the bathroom which included potable water from a jug to use for hand washing, toothbrushing, and water bottle refills. The toilet system was also pretty clever — there was a toilet and sink in the bathroom and there were tubes in the same area for dumping waste cleanly down to their collection area at the bottom of the mountain.

The next morning we were served a delicious breakfast of granola, eggs, juice, and coffee. Then we had a brief break before heading over to the ziplines. It took about an hour to complete the 6 ziplines to the bottom but most of this was time spent waiting since only one person of course can go at a time. Each zipline itself goes by very fast and was really fun! Everything again felt safe and our guides were great about helping us.

Overall I would say this isn’t an experience for anyone scared of heights or those who don’t like a good adventure, but if you like unique experiences this is one worth booking! The cost is roughly $400 USD per person and it was one of my favorite experiences in Peru.

Want a slightly less intense version? You can also go up for only a lunch instead of sleeping in the pods and they recently opened a secondary location called Starlodge Suites which involves a less intense and significantly shorter climb to the sleeping pods. Check all the options out at the Natura Vive company website.