Cusco and the Inca Trail

Trip Start Oct 17, 2006
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13
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Trip End Mar 04, 2007


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Sunday, December 3, 2006

We headed into the Andes so had some nice views as we drove to Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire.  We didn´t do much pre-Inca Trail except go out (Cusco is Peru's party capital!) and have a wander around.  We had a trip to the Sacred Valley and saw a couple of different Inca ruins.  Saqsayhuaman (pronounced sexy woman) is just above Cusco and had some massive stones on the bottom level, incredible to think that anyone could have moved them without modern machinery.  From there we had great views over the city. We also went to Pisac which had lots of agricultural terraces (a method the Incas developed to create micro climates to be able to grow different types of crops successfully) and a lovely market.  Finally we went to Ollantaytambo which had impressive ruins complete with a temple and there was an Incan face complete with cholla (flappy hat) in the rock face.

The next day we began the Inca Trail from km 82.  It was a gentle start as the path was mostly flat with only a few ups and downs  (known as Peruvian flats).  The scenery was really beautiful for the whole trail with snow capped moutnains and lush green valleys.  The second day was quite tough as it involved climbing up 1000m to Dead Woman´s Pass.  The last section was the toughest as from the seocnd rest stop I could see where I had to get to and it looked very far away and high up.  The reward for getting to the top was a stunning view and a 1 hour trek down to camp!  The third day was the longest and was fairly misty so I couldn´t fully apprecaite the cloud forest we were walking through.  We did stop at a couple of ruins, including Winay Wyna which mostly consisted of terraces and was above the final campsite.  We also got our first glimpse of Machu Picchu Mountain. 

On the final day we got up very early and climbed up to the sun gate (including up some killer steps named the 'oh my god' steps!) where we had an amazing view of Machu Picchu itself as there were  no clouds or mist (a relatively rare occurance).  We took the classic photos and then had a tour around the ruins.  We saw a few different temples as well as the living quarters, all of which were incredibly well preserved.  A few of us decided to climb up Wayna Picchu, the moutain behind Machu Picchu, as clearly we hadn't had enough of climbing!!!  The views from the top were well worth the effort though and we could see Machu Picchu in the shape of a condor as well as the surrounding countryside.  It was truly beautiful.  We got the train back to Cusco which took ages and then went out for a celebratory drink or two.  About 8 of us completed the 24 hour challenge (staying up 24 hours from getting up to go to Machu Picchu) set by our tour leader.

Back in Cusco I went to the Inca Museum which had some intersting artefacts, particularly pottery and ceremonial items.  I also went to a popular art museum which had some interesting pieces, including one made out of bread!  Mostly I just walked about as there were lots of pretty buildings, especially churches, and I also relaxed to recover from the Inca Trail!
 . 01 Me at a high pass (4910m) on the way to Cusco
01 Me at a high pass (4910m) on the way to Cusco

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02 Huge stones at Saqsayhuaman (sexy woman) 02 Huge stones at Saqsayhuaman (sexy woman) 03 View of Cusco from Saqsayhuaman 03 View of Cusco from Saqsayhuaman 04 Alpaca with dreads (ok so it's a long haired 1) 04 Alpaca with dreads (ok so it's a long haired 1) 05 Llama 05 Llama
06 View of the Sacred Valley 06 View of the Sacred Valley 07 Terraces at Pisac ruins 07 Terraces at Pisac ruins 08 Tombs cut into the hillside at Pisac 08 Tombs cut into the hillside at Pisac 09 Traditional house in Ollantaytambo 09 Traditional house in Ollantaytambo
10 Can you see the face in the rock? 10 Can you see the face in the rock? 11 Ollantaytambo ruins 11 Ollantaytambo ruins 12 Slightly disturbing wall hanging in our bedroom 12 Slightly disturbing wall hanging in our bedroom 13 About to set off on the Inca Trail 13 About to set off on the Inca Trail
14 Pretty tree 14 Pretty tree 15 Beautiful scenery on day one of the Inca Trail 15 Beautiful scenery on day one of the Inca Trail 16 Me looking cool above some Inca ruins(!) 16 Me looking cool above some Inca ruins(!) 17 Us with the porters 17 Us with the porters
18 Inca bridge 18 Inca bridge 19 Seting off on the first uphill section of day 2 19 Seting off on the first uphill section of day 2 20 View down the valley 20 View down the valley 21 Never ending climb to Dead Woman's Pass (4200m) 21 Never ending climb to Dead Woman's Pass (4200m)
22 Hooray! I made it to the top of DW Pass! 22 Hooray! I made it to the top of DW Pass! 23 Waterfalls on the way down from DW Pass 23 Waterfalls on the way down from DW Pass 24 View from day 2 campsite 24 View from day 2 campsite 25 View of day 2 campsite & Dead Woman's Pass 25 View of day 2 campsite & Dead Woman's Pass
26 Braving the rain on day 3 at some more ruins 26 Braving the rain on day 3 at some more ruins 27 Lake we walked past 27 Lake we walked past 28 Puyapatamarka ruins 28 Puyapatamarka ruins 29 Hollow rock in the chapel 29 Hollow rock in the chapel
30 Pretty plants in the cloud forrest 30 Pretty plants in the cloud forrest 31 View of cloud forest 31 View of cloud forest 32 First glimpse of Machu Picchu Mountain 32 First glimpse of Machu Picchu Mountain 33 Me & Roni aka 'Team Absolutely Average' 33 Me & Roni aka 'Team Absolutely Average'
34 View down a valley 34 View down a valley 35 Building at Winay Wyna 35 Building at Winay Wyna 36 Serving the porters tea (or hot milk!) 36 Serving the porters tea (or hot milk!) 37 Winay Wyna ruins 37 Winay Wyna ruins
38 View on the way to the sun gate 38 View on the way to the sun gate 39 Machu Picchu from the sun gate - no clouds!! 39 Machu Picchu from the sun gate - no clouds!! 40 I made it to the sun gate!! With Raoul & Alex 40 I made it to the sun gate!! With Raoul & Alex 41 Machu Picchu 41 Machu Picchu
42 Everyone at Machu Picchu 42 Everyone at Machu Picchu 43 Buildings at Machu Picchu 43 Buildings at Machu Picchu 44 Pachumama (mother earth) temple 44 Pachumama (mother earth) temple 45 Wayna Picchu and ruins 45 Wayna Picchu and ruins
46 Ina terraces at Machu Picchu 46 Ina terraces at Machu Picchu 47 Me & Ness at the top of Wayna Picchu 47 Me & Ness at the top of Wayna Picchu 48 Aerial view of Machu Picchu (condor shape) 48 Aerial view of Machu Picchu (condor shape) 49 Temple of the Condor 49 Temple of the Condor
50 Last view of Machu Picchu (honest!) 50 Last view of Machu Picchu (honest!) 51 Survivors of the 24 hour challenge 51 Survivors of the 24 hour challenge 52 Cusco Cathedral 52 Cusco Cathedral 53 Parade in Plaza des Armas 53 Parade in Plaza des Armas
54 12 sided stone! 54 12 sided stone!
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