Alison: One of the main reasons that we came to South America was to see Machu Picchu which is the ancient Inca citadel found high up in the mountains near Cusco which lay undiscovered for.....ages!

Like most people, we initially planned to hike there for 4 days on the Inca Trail which is the route the Inca's used to follow, back in the day but unfortunately when we tried to obtain permits to do the hike back in June, we discovered that all the permits for October had already gone. The permits go really quickly as there are only 400 permits issued per day and this isn't just for tourists but includes all of the tour guides, cooks, porters and anyone else required to assist with the expeditions. We were really disappointed to start with but then we looked into alternative options and found that the Inca Trail is just one way to get to Machu Picchu and there are quite a few other hikes (or bus Mike/Duffy) that you can do. In the end we agreed that as long as we got to see Machu Picchu we weren't too bothered how we got there!

One of the more strenuous alternatives is the Salkantay Trail which is considered by a lot of people to be a more hardcore route. You climb to a higher altitude than on the Inca Trail and apparently it is a much more intense. Before we set off on our travels we had intended to do this hike but after having roughed it in both Mongolia and Tibet and because we didn't really have the right gear for snow (and it was still touch and go on the old diarrhoea front!), we decided to go for the much more fun sounding Inca Jungle Trek! This was a 4 day 3 night trek which included cycling, trekking through the jungle, a Machu Picchu tour and optional zip lining and rafting.

On day 1 we were picked up from the main square and began a 3-4 hour drive to the point where we would start our 85km cycle. The distance sounded a little extreme but the best bit was that it was all down hill! We were taken up into the mountains to around 4200m and then we 'cycled' down and down and down to around 1500m. It was 3 hours of amazing scenery and flying downhill! The scary part was that there weren't many barriers and the bikes were a bit decrepit. Before we set off we were asked to check our brakes and mine snapped! I then swapped to another bike that had the nosiest brakes ever which didn't fill me with confidence but they got me safely to the bottom!

On day 2 we set off on our full day of hiking. We started in the small village that we had stayed in the night previously and it wasn't long before we had left all the houses behind and were in the wilderness. Although the area is considered to be jungle due to the climate (very hot and humid) and the vegetation, it is not classed as a true jungle as it is situated at high altitude. Unfortunately there are still lots of mossies though! The hiking section of the tour was described to us by the company we booked with as 'easy' with only 'a little bit of up'......they must have been super fit because it was not easy! The path just seemed to go up forever. We saw lots of cool things along the way though to take our mind off the climb - coca fields (yes mum these are the fields that you saw on the Discovery Channel where cocaine comes from and no I didn't talk to any drug barons!), many types of fruit growing (I had no idea that avocados grow on trees and that pineapples grow on the ground), and some unusual pets (monkeys, a weird giant rodent thing). When we finally got to the top, the views over the jungle were breathtaking but also extremely terrifying! We were stood on a small platform on the cliff edge which had a shear drop and it was enough to get our legs quivering! To get down you had to follow an old Inca path which ran around the cliff edge and I was amazed that we were allowed to walk on such a risky path. We were told by our guide that he had never lost anyone over the edge but I'm not sure I believe him! The last stop of the day was at some hot springs but before we could leap into them we had to cross a huge roaring river. The problem is that the bridge had been washed away years before by a huge flood but luckily the locals had devised an alternative......a big basket on a metal rope! We climbed into the basket and our guide gave us a big push which got us about half way but then it was time for Nigel to use his muscles and pull us the rest of the way. It was a fun way to cross the river! At last it was time for the hot springs and they were just what the doctor ordered after such a long day walking :)

On day 3 we did the zip lining. Although we have done a bit if zip lining type stuff in the past (does Go Ape count?), we had never done anything like this. The activity consisted of 4 zip lines which were varying heights and lengths. The highest was around 200m high and the longest was around 1 mile long. We weren't too worried about doing it originally but when we realised that this was a bit more extensive than Go Ape and actually required some skill, we started to get a bit more concerned! As it happens we needn't have worried.....Nigel was teachers pet on his technique and I received several compliments on my braking skills....naturals! We opted out of the rafting because the river didn't look too inviting and we didn't have any spare clothes to change in to. We later heard that there had been a couple of deaths recently whilst rafting so we were pleased we had given that one a miss. The rest of day 3 was spent hiking along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes which is the town at the base of Machu Picchu. The tracks were still in use so we had to be very careful because another tourist had died getting too close whilst trying to take a picture.....it sounds like the tour is really unsafe but there are lots of people who don't die! The whole of our group made it although there was a moment that I thought we may lose someone to the scary jungle monkey! Aguas Calientes is a really touristy place and is quite upmarket. I'm not sure why this surprised us considering how many people visit but for some reason we were expecting a pokey little town. Our hostel was fairly nice and we settled down early ready for a 4am start to hike up to Machu Picchu!

Nigel: As Alison mentioned, this place was one of the main reasons why we came to South America. Machu Picchu had been discovered by several explorers in the past but it wasn't well known until 1911 when the American explorer Hiram Bingham made it famous to the world. Bingham hadn't actually intended to find Machu Picchu but was looking for the lost city of Vilcabamba, which was meant to be the last stronghold of the Incas. Situated 2,430m above sea level on the side of the mountain, Machu Picchu was built around 1450. The city was built to hide from the Spanish who were conquering South America in the 15th century and they must have done a good job disguising it, as the Spanish never wrote about the place and it is believed that they never found it either. As mentioned above, other explorers had found it previously but they had only taken the gold which was contained within. When Bingham found it, he was shown its location by a local boy.

To get to the entrance gate, you can either go up by bus or walk up the steps. There are over 1,000 steps on a very steep hill. The reason why we had such an early start was because it takes around 1 hour to climb the stairs and the gate opens at 6pm. At that time you can also see the sunrise above the mountains (if it is not cloudy). When we started the walk, there was a group of 6 people. This soon reduced to 4 as 2 left to try and get to the top in record time. This further reduced to 3 as one of the girls was struggling, which meant it left me, Alison, and a girl from Holland. We were around half way up when Alison and I realised that we were breathing so hard it was if we were taking our last breath and we were also drenched with sweat whereas the Dutch girl was able to walk and talk and didn't have a drop of sweat on her. We asked how come she was so fit and she explained that she is a gym instructor and did spin and body pump at least 5 times a week. We had chosen one of the fittest people we have ever met to walk up a very difficult hill with us....embarrassing. Not to show our weakness, we persisted up the hill and got there just before the gates opened. We met up with the other people which were in our group and some others which had taken the lazy route by bus (Duffy & Mike!!!!) and headed to the starting point of where our 2 hour tour would take place.

When we walked through the alleyway to get to the main section, it soon opened up to the view which we had longed to see. It was amazing and worth every penny. Our guide was very good and he told us the history of the place and showed us the diferent sections. He mentioned that as Maccu Picchu has been given world heritage status, there is talk that they will close it to the public to protect the condition of the buildings and you will only be able to see it from the top of the mountain. After the tour we had the rest of the day to roam around ourselves. During our booking of the tour we paid for tickets to climb the Maccu Picchu mountain which gives you views of the citadel. You have to be at the entrance gate before 11am and if you are one minute late, that is it. So after a quick stop for food, we set off to the entrance with plenty of time to spare. That is ok if you don't walk past the entrance. In our defence, the directional signs were very poor and we ended up at the Sun gate, which is where you come from when you go on the Inca trail and the views were excellent. The trails which the Inca's built would be on the side of the mountain and they would never set foot on the ground. They can be very narrow in parts and there would be drops with no protection to the side. There was also an old Inca bridge which was closed to the public but could be seen. We also heard that when Bill Gates and his wife came here, they wanted a little privacy when walking around. So like any rich person would do, he bought all 2,500 entrance tickets (the daily allocation) so they had the whole place to themselves.

We had managed to see all of the places which we wanted to see and it was around 2pm when the heavens opened. We had planned to walk back down the mountain, but as the rain was so heavy we decided to take the bus. The queue dictated otherwise. It must have been about 100 people plus long. We waited a little while but the rain didn't appear to stop so we waterproofed up and started the decent down. By the time we got back to the hostel, we were drenched and freezing cold and as we had been trekking for 3 days prior we had no clean cloths. It was hard work but the memories of Machu Picchu made us forget this quickly.

To get back to Cusco, where we would stay one more night (and yes back in the hostel where we had so many fond diarrhoea memories), we had to take the Inca train. There are 2 companies which operator along the line. One of them is owned by Orient Express which has made the train journey much improved, however, the negative side is that it has made it to expensive for the locals to use but entrance to Machu Picchu is free for them.