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The Inca Trail
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I turned out to be the only non American in our group of 7, plus our guide Aldo. This wasn't such a bad thing as it turned out to be a great group of 30 something's and we all seemed to have quite a bit in common. There was Jeff and Amy, Steve and Mel, and then we had Nathan, Kurt and myself.
Day 1 (12km): On day one our trip along the famous Inca Trail began with a 3½ hour scenic trip to the point at the rail line known as kilometre 82. This drive took us through the picturesque villages of Chinchero, Urubamba and Ollantaytambo where spectacular terraced fields and ancient store houses can be seen in the surrounding hills. At the start of the start of the trail we crossed the Vilcanota River then climbed steeply up from the river and soon passed the ruins of the Inca hill fort of Huillca Raccay. Our first nights camp was great. Can you believe it... when we arrived our tents were set up, plus the kitchen and meals tents complete with table and stools for us to eat from. And dinner consisted of 3 courses every night. The porters move so fast it is sort of unbelievable, they just pass everyone. They hardly stop and most of them only wear sandals on their feet. These are only little people and before there were regulations on how much they can carry porters would lug up to 75 kg along the trail, now they carry only 25kg, though this is still heavy. My little pack for the trail weighed only 8kg.
Day 2 (18km): Each morning we wake to a hot cup of coca tea to help get us get started then it was time to get the pack ready and have breakfast. Today was our longest and hardest hike which began by climbing up from Wayllabamba for about 3 hours through steepening woods and increasingly spectacular terrain then it was another 1½ hours climb to the highest pass of the trail (Abra de Huarmihuañusca or 'Dead Woman's Pass) at 4,200m. This climb was hard, though much harder for the porters. The view from the top of Dead Woman's pass is fantastic and tends to be a popular spot to take a rest. Also as we started today's hike, we began walking on the original Inca Trail which is made of full stone to last and it is virtually maintenance free due to the path's sturdy construction and drainage channels. Though be warned, when going up and down the trail is all steps so hiking polls would have been a good idea, I'd wished I had hired some from Cusco. After lunch we began the second climb up to the ruins of Runkuracay. These small circular ruins occupy a commanding position overlooking the Pacamayo valley below. A further climb brought us to the top of the second pass: Abra de Runkuracay (4,000m). After descending we arrived at our 2nd camp site.
Day 3 was only 8 km since we'd covered so much ground on the previous day. On this day, not only were we able to sleep in, we also had more time to enjoy some of the most spectacular scenery of the hike which is seen from this section of the trail. It had been raining that night and we woke to find the rain had now stopped and had been falling as snow on the surrounding mountains making the views even more amazing. We began by climbing the 3rd pass crossing high stone embankments and passing through two original Incan tunnels. This day's hike also took us through the ruins of Sayacmarca, an old Incan town which was also spectacular with so many terraced fields. From this point we descended through the magnificent cloudforest full of orchids, hanging mosses, tree ferns and flowers to our final campsite.
Day 4 (6km): The last morning is like a race along the trail from the hostel to Machu Picchu which took only about 2 hours. We woke at 4.30am so we could leave camp at 5.30am to get to Machu Picchu at sunrise. The sky starts getting light by 6am and the first rays of the sun reach Machu Picchu at about 7am. The trail contours the mountainside and drops into cloudforest before coming to an almost vertical flight of 50 steps leading up to the final pass at Intipunku (The Sun Gate). It's kind of like a race up to the Sun Gate, and then people seem to relax after that and take the last part a bit slower. As we continued around the corner we reached the spot where you can get that perfect postcard picture of Machu Pichu. Being the wet season it was a bit iffy as to whether we were going to see much at all. So far the morning's walk had been shrouded in mist, then, as if on cue the mist cleared and the whole of Machu Picchu was spread out before us. We then continued to the luggage check in point to drop off our bags and Aldo took us for our tour around this stunning archaeological site. Following our guided tour the others in the group climbed Mt Winapichu. I was so exhausted that decided to spend the time exploring the rest of the site and had a bit of a rest on the grassy slopes of Macha Pichu's terraces. We later met for our final meal together in Aguas Calientes town before returning to Cusco by train and bus. The train line follows the river all the way back to Ollaytantambo and it's quite scenic, it is also the only way to get to Machu Pichu as there is no road. From Ollaytantambo you are better off to travel back to Cusco by bus or share a taxi as it is much quicker as the train line is very slow and winding.
The following day I travelled back to Lima by plane then off to Santiago de Chile on a late evening flight. More thumbnails ...
Where I stayed:
Campsites along the Inca Trail
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