The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu: 5-12 August 2011

We flew from Buenos Aires into a grey, overcast and quite bleak Lima where we would meet part of our tour group for the Inca Trail. Our hotel was in the Miraflores suburb, some way out from the centre and, still feeling the effects of jet lag, we didn't head into the middle of the city. We did look around our neighbourhood though, from the park where artists were selling their paintings and people were dancing in a small amphitheatre, past the casinos and bars on the main road, down to the waterfront and the Pacific Ocean. Although there are pockets of colonial architecture in the city, it is quite dreary looking on the whole and the coast line is disappointing too, a bare dirt front and no beaches to speak of.

We were in Lima for one full day, before catching another flight (as part of our tour package) to Cusco (known to the Inca's as the navel of the world). In stark contrast to Lima, Cusco was bright and sunny and very picturesque. At 3350m high, Cusco was the centre of the Inca Empire which stretched north into Ecuador, south into Chile and Argentina, west to the coast and east into the Amazon. As an important city for the Incas, the Spanish (who invaded Peru in 1535) stamped their mark here by destroying the Inca temples to replace them with their own Catholic churches on their foundations. More about Cusco later though, as we would spend another few days here upon returning from Machu Picchu.

Initially, we had an afternoon in Cusco to ourselves before meeting the rest of our tour group and our guide in our hotel that evening. There were 16 people in our group (the maximum size allowed), a lot of whom looked younger and fitter than us, so we had a few worries about the pace that might be set! Our guide, Percy, was of Quechuan descent (the direct descendants of the Incas) and would prove to be extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subject over the next few days.

We spent the evening dividing our belongings between our big rucksacks (which would stay at the hotel in Cusco) and the two bags that would be coming with us – our 'day packs' which we carried ourselves and our 'duffel bags' which would be carried by the porters and must weigh under 6kg including our rented sleeping bags and mats. Then it was an early night before our 7:30am departure the next day. After a couple of days of stops and starts it felt good to be heading out on the tour proper and we seem to have shaken of the jet-lag now as well.

The first day out of Cusco was spent in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, so called because it linked the high plateau (around present day La Paz, Bolivia), the Andes and the jungle areas. The Urubamba river flows through the valley providing the Incas with a means of trade and communication between the different areas and fertile farmland along the river. As such an important valley for the Incas, it is lined with the ruins of various settlements, including Machu Picchu at the far end.

Still adjusting to the altitude, we had a relatively easy first day. Our first stop was the Ccaccaccollo community which is supported by GAP (our tour company), where we were given a demonstration in weaving and dyeing Alpaca wool (using natural plants and cochineal) and the opportunity to purchase some handicrafts. From there we drove to our first Inca ruins at Pisac, a citadel that once stood on one of the mountains overlooking the river. Perched on top of rows upon rows of terraces, the group of ruins provided amazing views across the valley – a great taste of what we had to come.

Back in the bus, we stopped for lunch (where Alpaca was on the menu), before arriving at our final destination of the day, the small and picturesque town of Ollantaytambo, home to a ruined Incan fortress that stood guard over the meeting point of the valleys below it. The fortress was again perched on top of a series of steep terraces (which would become a theme), used primarily by the Incas to stabilise the mountain and guard against landslides caused by the heavy rains in the wet season, but which also had a secondary farming purpose. Again the views along the valley and over the town which retains so much of it's old character were staggering. It was here that we got our first up close view of the famous Inca stonework – massive blocks cut so precisely that they rest together perfectly without the need for mortar. We had a few hours to ourselves that afternoon to walk around the town before dinner and an early night ahead of another early start and our first day on the trail.

We were on the road again by 7:30am, heading to the starting point of the Inca Trail (82km along the train track from Cusco), about an hour drive from Ollantaytambo. It was at the start point that we first met the porters that would be carrying all of our equipment up the trail and essentially looking after us for the next 3 nights in the mountains. Everything that goes on to the trail, must be carried out of the other end, including all camping equipment, gas bottles and food. For our group of 16 and 2 guides, there were 19 porters and 2 cooks, most of whom were in their 50s and all of whom would start the trek with 25kg packs compared to our small rucksacks. They sped ahead of us in their sandals and flip flops – it's quite shameful really!

The first day was the most gentle of the three full days on the trail. Despite having driven out of Cusco into the Andes, the trail actually starts at a lower elevation, so we were all feeling a little less breathless and it was a good way to ease into the trek. We were also enjoying the effects of chewing coca leaves and drinking coca tea which helps prevent altitude sickness – a common delicacy in Peru!

Initially we continued following the Urubamba River, before veering off and up into a side canyon, above the impressive ruins of Llactapata. The Inca Trail we were following is not the most direct route to Machu Picchu, but was a ceremonial or spiritual route that would take us up over the mountains before coming down again to Machu Picchu itself. The trail has been cleared and is 90% as it was in the Incan times, the remaining 10% being repairs that have been made due to landslides etc. When the city at Machu Picchu was 'rediscovered' by the American explorer Hiram Bingham exactly 100 years ago, he followed the Urubamba along the riverside trail. It was quite odd to know that there was a shorter, easier path to our ultimate destination as we set off on the steep ascent into the hills. As Percy pointed out though (on several occasions), the destination is nothing without the journey you go through to get there.

We reached our first campsite at around 2pm; the porters had already arrived and set up our tents, the kitchen tent and the communal dining tent complete with tables and plastic stools. They laid out water and soap for us to wash our hands and promptly served up the first of what would be some extremely good meals cooked by a couple of guys in a tent.

After a brief siesta, we were roused for what was obviously a ritual football match – the guests against the porters. The village we were camping at was home to a small dusty pitch set in a natural bowl and we took to the field for a 7-a-side game. Having not played footy at 3,000m before and having climbed a mountain to get there, I found it quite a breathless experience! We lost the first game 2-1. The villagers had been watching and played their own short game afterwards, showing rather more skill and energy than we had been able to muster, before we lost a second game 1-0 to the porters, costing us 2 soles each (about 50p). Covered in dust and out of breath, we returned to the campsite to wash up before dinner was served and Percy reflected on what we had seen and learnt that day before talking us through the 2nd day of the trek.

The following morning we were woken in the morning by Edith (our 2nd guide) and one of the porters bringing us more hot coca tea – happy days! Breakfast was served in the dining tent and we were then formally introduced to each of the porters, Percy doing the translating. They all hail from nearby settlements and most of them are farmers earning some additional money before the wet season comes and they can plant their crops. It was a short but fascinating insight into their lives.

After a relatively easy first day, we were into the trek proper now, with a steep ascent up large rock steps towards and over the Dead Woman's Pass at a height of 4,215m, the highest point on the trek. This was the steepest and most difficult part of the trek and gave us all a great sense of achievement upon reaching the top. We felt particularly proud of ourselves to reach the pass 4th and 5th in our group of 16 – not bad for a couple of oldies!! There were also a few euphoric moments while we waited for the rest of the group to reach the top before we posed for group photos looking back down the valley. The views were spectacular.

The descent down the other side was equally as steep, the large steps jarring the knees and it was with a measure of relief that we arrived at the campsite where the porters were ready with another late lunch.

No football that afternoon fortunately, so we lounged around until dinner time, slowly adding more layers as the temperature dropped. At 3,600m, this was our highest campsite and we were expecting the cold. Fortunately the sleeping bags provided were very good and we actually had a decent nights sleep.

We were roused before sun rise with more coca tea and were out on the trail before the sun peaked over the jagged peaks above us. Although the previous day had been the hardest, this last full day would be the longest, with two more passes to climb, broken up by views of glacier and snow-capped mountains and by yet more impressive Inca ruins clinging to the contours of the mountains and seeming to grow out of the hills themselves. As we were out for so long, our amazing porters prepared a light snack for us on the trail before running ahead again to set up camp and prepare a late lunch.

From the final pass, we had a tantalising view of the back of Machu Picchu mountain, although not of the city itself which was round the other side. Machu Picchu (meaning old mountain) is one of the smaller peaks and looks inconspicuous, surrounded and protected by it's towering neighbours. It was great to have our destination in sight though as we set off on our last punishing descent. It was with tired legs that we arrived at our last camp, Winaywayna, to a round of applause from the porters. Winaywayna is the site of another set of Incan ruins and one of the most dramatic – a steep set of terraces above and below a small ruined town, all of which comes into sight at once as you round a corner about 5mins walk out of the campsite; a definite wow moment and a more than worthy warm up ahead of Machu Picchu the following morning.

We had our last dinner in the camp, the chefs managing to somehow prepare a massive and very delicious cake. Sue had the special honour of cutting the cake as it was her second time on the trail which was a nice moment. We hit the hay early, having prepared as much of our stuff for the morning as possible.

We had been promised a 3:30am wake up call, but most of us were up at 3am having heard the porters up and bustling around. Percy had sold us on the benefits of being up early and the first in the queue at the checkpoint heading out of the campsite and onto the last 6km of trail to Machu Picchu. We were indeed first in the queue, arriving at the checkpoint at 4am, despite the fact that it doesn't open until 5:30am. We settled in to wait, wrapped up in our hats and gloves in the pitch dark, everyone else from the campsite gradually queueing up behind us. Eventually at 5:30am, the gates were opened and the race to the Sun Gate was underway – a three-way race against the sunrise, the other groups behind us and the groups of day-trippers arriving by train and bus who would be entering Machu Picchu from the other side all vying for the best spot to see sunrise (and take photos).

We made it Intipunku (the Sun Gate), the pass above Machu Picchu, in what felt like record time and had our first glimpse of the city below us in the early morning light. It was a great sense of achievement and there were a few high-fives and backslaps amongst us. It was still the best part of an hour descent to the city itself and we arrived at the picture-postcard spot just as the sun cleared the peaks and started to illuminate the ruined town below us. Sadly, it seemed like hundreds of other people had already arrived on the buses coming up the mountain and everyone wanted to be in the same spot to get that iconic snapshot of Machu Picchu with the Huayna Picchu (young mountain) backdrop. After being virtually on our own for large chunks of the previous 3 days, it was suddenly a bit of a shock to be surrounded by people again, all of whom were much cleaner and had rather more energy than we did!

After sunrise, we regrouped outside of Machu Picchu (where we had to go to 'check out' of the Inca trail), before re-entering the complex. Percy gave us a guided tour of the city and the crowds of people dispersed themselves more evenly, so it was all a bit more relaxed following that initial shock. We were able to absorb ourselves in what Percy was saying, in our surroundings and in the extraordinary views across the mountains.

Machu Picchu was built in the last hundred years before the Spanish arrived, during the period which is widely agreed to be the golden period of the Incas, the empire having been united by the visionary king Pachacuteq and all important Inca temples, cities and roads were either built or rebuilt during this time. Machu Picchu was a sacred city, only for the elite, although the majority of the residents were of course servants and other tradespeople necessary to maintain the city. During the Spanish colonisation, the city was deserted by the Incas, who regrouped in settlements deeper in the Andes. Although the city remained known to the local people, it became overgrown and was never discovered by the Spanish and so, upon 'rediscovery' in 1911, it was relatively intact apart from the passage of time (and the evidence of tomb raiders). Virtually all of the artefacts and gold/silver idols were transported to the states though and are currently residing at Yale University, which sponsored Hiram Bingham's expedition. Small numbers are starting to be returned to Peru, but the upshot is that Machu Picchu is in a similar visual state to the other Inca ruins in the area, albeit far larger in scale.

We had a couple of hours to ourselves to wander around, take pictures and drink in the views, before we agreed that it was high time for a drink of another kind. We caught the bus down the winding mountain road to the modern spa town of Aguas Calientas, to the restaurant where Percy and Edith were waiting for us and ordered a pizza and a few glasses of wine/beer, while the rest of our group arrived and compared stories and pictures.

From Aguas Calientas it was a four hour train and bus ride back to Cusco, where we arrived after dark feeling tired and dirty. Although there had been a willingness for all of us to go out for dinner, nobody was really capable, so after a welcome hot shower, we tumbled into bed and slept like logs until morning.

It was a real pleasure to see one of the modern wonders of the world and a great experience having walked for three days to get there.

Hope you are all well,
Dan & Sue.