On the Friday we flew to Cusco and met the remainder of our Inca trail group for another briefing session. We spent the day admiring Cusco's incredible Inca architecture and acclimitising to the high altitude (3300m). The next day we had our "practice trek" through an Inca site in the Sacred Valley, finding the altitude no problem until there was a sharp climb up steps which left most of the group exhausted! We also visited a small community where we saw women dying and weaving Alpaca and Llama wool in the traditional way that has been passed down from Incan times. Ashley bought a baby alpaca wool poncho from one of the locals. We ended the day in Ollantaytambo, a town which still consists of mainly Inca buildings and has the remains of a massive Incan terrace fort.

On the Sunday we ate a big breakfast at our hotel before driving to Km82, the starting point for The Inca Trail. The first day was the easiest day with just 10km to be covered and only minimal altitude gain. At our lunch stop we were pleasantly surprised by the organisation of our tour company when we saw our table layed out for us with a table cloth, non plastic cutlery and even napkin holders - a bit unnecessary for camping! We reached our camp at about 4 o'clock where we were sprung another surprise of afternoon tea, crackers and popcorn. We then spent the evening captivated by the incrediblly clear view of stars, only managing to identify Orion between the 15 of us! The evening was also spent introducing ourselves to our guides and porters (who RAN the trail with 30kg bags to ensure our camp was set up in time and we were fed upon arrival) and vice versa, one of them a 60 year old! After dinner the whole group went straight to bed at about 7pm.

The second day (12km) is the hardest day of the trail as it is the highest. We walked mostly uphill or up steps and after lunch finally made it to the highest pass on the trail, Dead Womans Pass, at 4200km. We made it to the top and just as we had got our breath back the clouds cleared giving us great veiws down the valleys. After lots of pictures we had a downhill walk to the second campsite. It was another early night through tiredness and the fact there was nothing to do in the dark at 3600m in the Andes!

The third day we woke up tired and achey and began the longest day of trekking (16km) starting with a steep flight of steps - fun. At breakfast our guide Roger had warned us that today we would encounter a flight of steps dubbed the "Gringo killer steps" so after each flight the group thought they were over only to be told that they were still to come. It turned out that the killers were a downhill set ('set' not being the correct word as the number was in the thousands) of steps to the final campsite, which we had been looking forward to as we had been told there were hot showers and a bar! After a couple of much needed beers we gave a speech to the porters thanking them for all of their help and buying each of them a beer.

The final day we woke up at 4am only to wait around for our guides Roger and Silver, who were both hungover after 1 too many piscos - never get your guides drunk on the Inca Trail! We then began the short walk to Machu Picchu, arriving at the Sun Gate after an hour or so. As the clouds started to clear we caught our first glimpse of Machu Picchu which literally took our breath away - the view was incredible. Walking from the sun gate down to Machu Picchu the clouds continued to clear giving us even better veiws. Once in the city itself we were given a fascinating tour of the site explaining the position and design of the key buildings and the site itself before being left to wander around and admire the scenery. Ashley and the vast majority of the group decided she'd had enough walking and went to Aguas Calientes where she had half a pizza and bathed in the hot spings while Tim and two others decided to climb Huayna Picchu, the mountain sitting directly behind Machu Picchu.

The climb up Huayna Picchu was by far the hardest of the whole trail, having to navigate the most outrageously steep incline (600m in 45 minutes) over some of the worst 'steps' I have ever witnessed and climb through a cave at the top of the mountain. The views were well worth it though, looking down on Machu Picchu and the surrounding area from high above. The path/steps back down were so steep it was scary, made worse by someone at the summit telling us to be careful as people have died on the journey down! As well as Huayna Picchu we walked down into the jungle to see the Temple of the Moon, a building carved into the mountain that looked straight out of Lord of the Rings.

After their walk Tim joined Ashley and the group at Aguas Calientes before getting the train back to Cusco for a much needed sleep in a proper bed.