Would you consider it a dream to sleep in a transparent capsule attached to a cliff face, surrounded by stunning panoramic views? What if I told you that you had to climb 400 meters up the side of a steep cliff to get there? If this still sounds appealing, you can have the experience of a lifetime at the Skylodge Adventure Suites in Peru. If this is the type of dream you would actually consider a nightmare, then you might want to sit this one out because you’ll likely find this to be just as terrifying as it sounds!
When my husband told me that his wish for his 32nd birthday was to scale a rock wall and sleep in a clear pod (seemingly barely) attached to the side of a cliff in Peru, I had to wonder whether I should be questioning his sanity. Then, when I agreed, I started to wonder whether I should question my own sanity.
If you’ve ever walked that (sometimes fine) line between exhilaration and fear, excitement and terror, then you’ll understand exactly how I felt as we made the climb. Once we made it to the top, however, all of my concerns melted away. With panoramic views overlooking the Sacred Valley of Cuzco, simply being in these glass pods is unlike any other experience. It may sound cliché, but the destination is every bit as spectacular as the journey when it comes to the Skylodge Adventure Suites.
A via ferrata climb to remember
I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when we pulled up to the Skylodge. The pods were so high above the ground that they were barely visible from the road.
As we gazed upward at these transparent hanging capsules, the extent of how far and steep the climb would be started to sink in more fully.
We put on our harnesses and gear, had an alarmingly brief safety and training session, and got right to climbing. I felt grossly unprepared for this potentially life-threatening experience.
One after another, we began to scale the cliff face. As I began the climb, I could hear the ladder squeaking almost as loudly as the sound of my pulsating heart (don’t let that smile fool you!).
My adrenaline pumped more vigorously with each motion as we carefully worked our way up.
Most of the climb had metal bars affixed to the cliff face that you could grab and step on for each part of the ascent. Every five feet or so, we had to reclip our harness to the next section of cable wire that we were using as our safety net.
This type of climbing is known as via ferrata in most countries and is a great way for less experienced climbers to safely rock climb more advanced terrain without sacrificing the thrill and adventure of it.
While the vast majority of the bars were securely attached, I cannot say that was true for all of the bars. And there were a handful of times where there was nothing other than rock face or the cable wire to grab. Those were the scariest moments for me.
With sweat rolling down my back and my heart pounding in my ears, I looked down to check on my husband. He was calm and collected, as usual, having the time of his life. Well, at least one of us wasn’t on the verge of panic!
About halfway through the climb, we had to take a wire bridge horizontally across the rock face. And the term “bridge” is a gross overstatement, in my opinion. The bridge consisted of two wires next to each other that you shuffled sideways across with your back to the mountain, with a third wire at shoulder height to hold onto with your hands.
We made our way across one by one, keeping our hands on each side of the clips that were temporarily attached to the upper wire and cautiously stepping sideways across the “bridge” wires.
I tried my best to avoid looking down, fearing that I would become too scared to continue climbing. Despite my best efforts, there was no avoiding looking out into the distance during the part where we crossed the wire bridge.
My eyes nearly popped out of my head as I caught a glimpse of exactly how high off the ground we had made it. And this was only the halfway point!
Although I weaved in and out of flashes of fear throughout the climb, I was able to let go and enjoy the experience. And I mean that both figuratively and literally.
As thrilling as the climb may have been, I could feel the tension in my shoulders begin to evaporate once I could see that it was just a short distance further to our final destination. I was flooded with a final burst of energy knowing that these magnificent transparent suspended capsules were so close within our reach.
In total, we spent about an hour and a half climbing 400 meters up the side of the cliff to get to the pods.
I let out a massive sigh of relief when we made it safely to the kitchen capsule and could unclip our harnesses and relax. As I looked out at the impressive, sprawling valley landscape, I felt pride and awe. Talk about a bird’s eye view!
An evening on the edge of a cliff
Once the full group made it to the kitchen pod, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and some wine. Our guides put a candle in Nick’s dessert, and we all sang happy birthday to him.
As the sun faded away, my anxiety began to rise again, knowing that the plan was to make our way to our sleeping pods in the dark, with only our headlamps to guide the way.
An overcast evening meant that there was no moonlight or starlight to help illuminate the path. With our headlamps on full brightness, we illuminated each hand and foothold before carefully moving to the next position and reclipping when necessary.
One carefully curated movement at a time, we slowly but surely made our way to our pod. Shine light on upper bar, grab bar. Shine light on lower bar, step on bar. Repeat, over and over until arriving at the sleeping pod.
Thankfully, we didn’t have far to go, and it only took about 10 minutes to climb there. Some parts were a bit tricky, but it was all easily managed by taking our time and exercising appropriate caution.
Our guide showed us our sleeping pod and how to work the toilet and then left us to enjoy the rest of the evening. Yes, that’s right—we had a toilet in our sleeping pod!
I was blown away by the spaciousness of the pod, which not only had a separate bathroom area but also had shockingly comfortable beds. The fact that people were able to build these charming, functional pods on the side of a cliff is beyond impressive.
The guides had given us an extra bottle of wine to bring back to our pod, so Nick and I cuddled up in bed and settled in to enjoy each other’s company over wine for the rest of the night in the comfort and safety of our sleeping pod.
As we gazed out into the darkness of the night through the massive windows that formed most of the capsule, the clouds began to clear and the stars began to appear.
Countless stars illuminated the evening sky, leaving us awestruck by this incredible work of art created by nature. Soaking up phenomenal views of the Milky Way from a transparent capsule on the edge of a cliff that you climbed can make you feel small in this big world yet so connected at the same time.
Feeling inspired by the sky and emboldened by the wine, we clipped back into our harnesses and stepped out onto the top of the pod to get even clearer views. The feeling of standing atop this suspended capsule while taking in epic views of the Milky Way was both mesmerizing and thrilling.
The final climb and zip line down the mountain
We woke up in the morning super excited to continue our adventure. It was surprising to me how much more comfortable I had become with being 400 meters up on the side of a mountain after just one day of climbing.
I had progressed overnight from mildly terrified to genuinely delighted at the thought of climbing across the cliff face to get to the kitchen pod. It is experiences like these that remind me of the importance of leaving my comfort zone. Growth may be scary and difficult sometimes, but it is almost always rewarding.
As we enjoyed a tasty breakfast, I couldn’t help but appreciate that the sweeping views of the valley were somehow even more spectacular in the morning light.
With full bellies, we each climbed back over to our separate sleeping pods. For an extra fee, you can have a photographer follow you along the adventure, and it is so worth it to capture this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
So before heading down, the photographer, Daniel, came to our pod to do a small photoshoot of us. He offered fun and creative ideas to help us capture the moment. Outside of our wedding day, my husband and I have never experienced a photoshoot of any kind, so we found this quite entertaining.
After having far too much fun taking pictures, we did our final climb from our pods over to the first zip line area. It was refreshing being able to enjoy this climb without any nerves interrupting my excitement.
We did six zip lines in total to get all the way down to the bottom, with some quick and easy scrambling along the rock face in between lines.
Some zip lines were longer than others, some were faster than others. And, of course, each line was at a different height above the ground. One consistency across all of the zip lines though was that the scenery was nothing short of breathtaking the entire time.
After several zip lines, Nick and I were offered the option to do a tandem zip line. Yes, please!
I honestly cannot imagine a better way to get down the mountain and wrap up the adventure than zip lining. Every moment of the entire experience, from start to finish, was an absolute blast!
Continue following our trip and read about our bus tour across Peru, where we spend time at the Nazca Lines, a police station, and six other cities across the country.
If you missed it, go back and read about our experience hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which is the perfect adventure to combine with the Skylodge if you have the time!
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