Sky Biking in Peru (June 2, 2026)
Wait, that’s a thing? You mean I can ride an actual bike on a cable across mountains? Like zip-lining, but riding a bike. On a cable? Where do I sign-up for this? How have I never heard about this? I’m so excited I get to do this!
Yep, that’s really, really far down. 115 Feet. The trees make it deceptive.
Let me back up here for a moment, because the adventure started well before I began peddling my bike on this cable 115 feet (35 meters) above the ground. First, we had to get up to this height. To get a better sense of what that means, here’s a picture of the rock I would need to climb just to get to the platform where I could ride a sky bike.
Yep, that rock is 35 meters or 115 feet from the ground. Let’s GO!
This is where I have MAD respect for Brayan (pronounced “Brian”). Brayan, along with his friends, created the first sky bike adventure in all of South America. He combined three really fun skills: Rock Climbing + Sky Biking + Rappelling. Today, I had the pleasure of experiencing all three. The cost? 95 Soles (less than $30 USD) including transportation. This is Brayan:
Brayan and I before we attempt a “hands free” version on the bike.
Part 1: The 115 Foot Rock Climb
As soon as we got to the base, I saw that it would be an easy rock climb to the top. Easy, because Brayan and his friends who created this adventure painstakingly drilled and welded rebar steps into the rock. So think of a ladder welded into a giant bolder. I was already salivating. I’d been through so many high ropes courses, I knew how to handle the carabiners, adorn my harness and billygoat my way to the top of this 115 foot rock. LET’S GO!
Easy peasy. Unless you’re afraid of heights. But you’re safe on a cable.
I realize, video can be more impactful here, so here’s the first 11 second clip to show you what it was like climbing up:
At the top, there’s a really cool set of wings with a gorgeous back drop of the town of Cachimayo, where this whole set-up exists. It’s a great “before” or “after” picture of your sky bike experience.
This is precisely how I felt today … like I grew wings and could fly!
2. Sky Bike: Ready, Set, Pedal!
Okay, enough preamble. The biking is what we came for. So let’s see it, shall we? I think pictures only do so much, so let’s watch a video together instead. What do you say? This first one is 19 seconds long and my very first attempt at sky biking … ever! I’m happy with it.
Now that I have the feel for it, let’s raise the stakes and do the whole return trip with no hands. What do you think? 30 seconds to “show off”:
Wow, what a rush. I immediately want to do MORE. I think this is how zip lines began. There was one really cool single line and now there are entire parks dedicated to more than an hour of zip-lining (see related post). But just like when I visited Queenstown, New Zealand, I didn’t want to just “bungee jump,” I wanted to jump from the 93 meter platform on the side of the very bridge that started all commercial bungee jumping in the world (see related post).
Skybiking at ground zero where it all started in South America. YES!
Part 3: Rappel Down 115 Feet!
Fun’s not over … yet. Rather than climb down the way I got up here, there’s a much safer, easier and epically more fun route down: rappelling! If you’ve ever rock climbed you know what I’m talking about. You get to the top, ring the bell or yell to your anchor person that you’re ready to come down and away you go. Safely making your way to the bottom like a controlled fall.
“Look Ma, no hands 115 feet above the ground.” Let’s GO!
Oh, all right. Happy to share one last video of what this experience was actually like:
Oh man, what a rush. From climbing to biking on a cable to rappelling down. This is my kind of day. Out in nature, playing with heights and yet totally safe the entire time. Climbing. Biking. Rappelling. What a great combination and a day well spent. But it’s not over … yet!
Part 4: Pan Chuta Cusqueño
When I was being driven at 3am to the train station to take a train to Machu Picchu (see related post), I saw all these GIANT loaves of bread. At least, that’s what I thought they were. And on the way to skybike, I saw them again and asked Brayan about them. “Ah, you mean Pan Chuta,” he mused, “they are delicious. We’ll get one on the way back.”
And so we did. Just marvel at the size of this amazing baked product:
This bread is ON MY LAP! It’s the largest piece of bread I’ve ever seen!
I was delighted to discover that inside this bread are chocolate chips and … CARAMEL!!! I loved this creation before all the sugar. Now I was holding onto the largest donut I’ve ever seen for less than the cost of a single Krispy Kreme donut (10 soles or under $3). It was every bit delicious as described. I shared with Brayan as he drove and still had more than 60% left to take home with me. Which brings me to the final part of today’s story.
Part 5: Lunch with Canadians
Once Brayan dropped me off, I began walking UPHILL in a major way. Despite being here for a few days, the 11,152 foot elevation has me losing my breath as I walk up the stairs. As I was huffing and puffing, I heard one friend say to another, “I can’t handle this elevation.” I turned around and agreed wholeheartedly.
“I’ve been here for a few days,” I said, “and I’m still struggling for air as I climb all these stairs.”
“I just tell my brain to ignore it,” another said.
“Good luck with that. Let me know how it works out,” I replied. And then the conversation really got going. “Where are you from?” Canada? I’m Canadian too! Dual-Citizen and trying to get my kids citizenship. There’s a new rule in Canada that has made them eligible. And so it went, until I was invited to join them for lunch. I happily agreed as it meant less walking up steps winded and more sitting down relaxing.
Tate, Connor, and Shane. We shared another epic Peruvian meal.
It turns out that these three are all my son Will’s age (22). And they have joined a group called Peru Hop, where you decide where to start, where to finish and how long you take. As their website says, “Don’t be a typical tourist. Discover the real Peru.” Amen to that.
So these three JUST arrived today at 5am and were excited to sleep in their hostel … when they discovered they were not allowed to check in until 3pm. WTF? Bummer! So rather than trying to sleep on the sidewalk, they rallyed and I was lucky enough to catch up with them.
Tate, who I now realize had his eyes closed for that last picture. Let’s try another one:
That’s better. Tate picked this restaurant and it was a great choice.
When we sat down, they were asking me all kinds of questions about my world tour. This was the first major international trip to South America each of them had taken and they wanted to hear about my adventures.
“Please stop me at anytime,” I began, “because you’re hitting on my favorite subject. I have all kinds of stories and have not intention to hog the conversation as we eat together.”
“Please do,” Tate replied. And then explained how they had been up since 5am, had rallied, but would love to just listen. “We’re great listeners,” Connor and Shane agreed. And so I had a WONDERFUL meal with my new Canadian friends as we traded stories.
I learned about Huacachina (near Ica), Peru, which is an oasis in the middle of a Peruvian desert that you can run dune buggies around and even belly board on the sand:
Belly board you can ride down the sand on. They go really fast!
How cool is this? A giant lake and resorts in the middle of a desert.
I don’t know that I’ll have time to visit on this trip, but between the dune buggies, motor cycle rides and belly boarding, I think I would LOVE this place on a future visit to Peru. Despite the amount of time I’ve dedicated to Peru, it does not feel like nearly enough. I even like the idea of Peru Hop, and would be open to traveling this way the next time around. For now, I loved living vicariously through their stories.
And then the conversation turned to my time in Colombia and how so many people immediately think of drug trafficking, Cocaine and Pablo Escobar. The Neflix series Narcos really left a global impression. And now, I’m sitting with two engineering graduates from Canada and they asked if I had seen this YouTube video:
I had not, so they told me it was about the ingenious submarine engineering developed in Colombia to smuggle Cocaine. And that, as this video points out, this is only what we KNOW about given that a few of these subs have been captured.
We all agreed that the real problem was the Supply of Cocaine from Colombia, but rather the multi billion dollar Demand for Cocaine primarily from their best customer, the United States. If the US ever decides to legalize Cocaine, it would all but destroy the illegal cartels, create legitimate jobs and create massive tax revenue all while significantly reducing violence.
Until the source of the problem is examined and the expectation of a solution shifts from “the country of Colombia solving it’s problem” to a global structured solution where the countries with the biggest demand become part of the solution, it’s unlikely to change.
As Robin Williams famously said, “Cocaine is God’s way of telling you that you have too much money.”
But I digress and this isn’t how I’d like to end this post. Instead, I’d love to acknowledge how incredibly cool it is to be in Peru, discover that there’s such a thing called Sky Bike, then sign up for it the next day. It’s even more amazing to be out of breath going up stairs and meet three amazing Canadians and have lunch with them.
Today was an epic day all around and it’s days like today that have me experience deep gratitude for all the incredible places in the world that we can freely explore and travel to in order to expand our knowledge, break bread with new friends, and share our stories.
Yes, that’s how I’d love to wrap up today. And this is the view out my window at 5:30pm as the sun goes down here:
Cotton Candy Clouds as the Sun Sets over Cusco. Beautiful.
The white above the brown mountain is the glacier I’m going to soon!
