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Published: December 6th 2007November 13th 2007
Check out the pictures - a picture does after all speak a thousand words. The Inca Trail is 49 KM of steep up and down trekking taking 4 days to reach Machu Picchu - the Inca's "Lost City". We got up very early (5am) and went to bed shockingly early (9pm), filling the hours inbetween with walking, drinking coca tea and taking photos.
For those looking do this too I can gladdly recomend SAS. Excellent guids, plenty plenty food and decent equipment..... What more do you want.
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Cuzco
at 3200m above sea-level we needed 2 days to aclimatize before starting the trek. Breathlessness? I woke up every night hyperventilating!
Cuzco in evening
The beautiful Spanish Square in the centre of town is surrounded by surrprisingly good resaurants.
Our group at the beginning
Encouraged by unseasonable good weather, we set of enthusiastically. Lokk how clean we all are.
Lara loves a rickety bridge.
Leaving the village of Chilca we crossed the Rio Urubamba and began to climb
Llactapata
The first Inca sight you cannot see until you are litterally ontop of it.
Mt Veronica (5750m)
It did not feel like long before we werelooking at snow-capped peaks poking above the clowds.
Camp day 1 (3100m)
Check out my pack in the foreground. only 12 kg but after 6 hours of it I was the first to seek a porter to carry it for the next two days - the best $50 I've ever spent.
Day 2
We've been walking for 2 hours and it's only 8am. It is hot and sunny and the mosquitos are hungry.
Still climbing
After climbing through lush rain forest, we emerged about the treeline
Warmiwanusca (4200m)
We after a very steep 3km we reached the highest point on the whole trail - "Dead Woman's Pass". We are litterally in the clouds
View from Paqaymayu
The pass followed by a knee destroying descent to Paqaymayu and the campsite for the second night. It was bloody chilly and we had to suck down alot of coca tea to fight off the headaches.
Early day 3
Another climb and we were looking back across the Inka ruin, Runkurakay, to the campsite and Dead Woman's Pass above.
Porters
Taking a breather at 4000m. These dudes are machines, carrying over 25kg each in sacks and running over passes that had us losers panting. They are rumoured to have 3 lungs.
Inka tunnel
The trail took us through cloud forest and through tunnels carved in the rock.
View from Phuyupatamarka
Litterally "city in the clouds", occationally the clouds clear and we could see across the mountains.
Back down again
The train dives back through the forest, down hundreds of steps to the 3rd camp.
Day 4 - Machu Picchu
After a 4am start and a 2 hour trek we got our first veiw of the lost city poking above the cloud from the sun gate.
Closer
As we made our final triumphant decent towards our prize it looked increasingly like a model, impossibly pertched in this stunning location.
Not early enough
Clouds rolled in and out adding that element of mystery to our views. We beat the hords of day trippers who arrived with the first train abut we still were not the first there!
Huayna Picchu
The steep mountain the towers above the ruins takes another hour to climb and there are more ruins up there. We were not in the mood to tackle that trail.
Non-human residents
Llamas seem to chack out views along side the tourists.
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