Camino Inca!

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Ok, this is the big one - when I first started planning my travels back in the start of 2008 (seem like such a long time ago) doing the Inca Trail was one of the first things on my list.

I booked my tour, which started 01/03/2009, through SAS Travel, one of the best known. It's not cheap, $420 with a student ID, but is about the going price for a large travel agency (Olivier got it for $280 though). Various people, most of them young and fit, who I met and have done the trek before have told me to hire a porter, so I reluctantly did so for an extra $50 but this is something I'd do differently if I had the chance. I'd say that it's perfectly possible to carry your own pack for the 4 days, and indeed about half of our tour did that without much problem. Also, don't believe it when people scare you about how hard it is, the trek is certainly challenging but it is accessible, just make sure you acclimatise to the altitude first, that's the killer.

Overall, the 4 day trek was a brilliant experience and the service provided by SAS was excellent.

Here's a summary of the 4 days.

Day 1

Our tour group met just before 6am to head off to km82, the start of the Inca Trail. We had already met at a briefing the evening before and knew that there would be 16 of us, 2 guides and 22 porters (one of the largest groups going on the trail). We were a mixture of nationalities, British, Irish, German, Turkish, Australians, Japanese; we in our mid twenties to early thirties and have all traveled a lot, which might explain why we were to get on so well over the next few days.

After a two hour bus journey, and a quick breakfast stop in the middle (where I also acquired a walking stick on the advice of our guide), we arrived at the start of the trail. Of course, we took the obligatory group photo with the sign. The weather was not great (it is the rainy season) and the light drizzle continued until lunch. The scenery was green with the surrounding high mountains obscured by low clouds (I say low, but we were at around 2500 meters above sea level). The walk was fairly easy, the trail was in fairly good condition (as it was throughout the the 4 days); it was a fairly easy introduction to the Inca Trail.

The sun broke out in time for lunch. It was then that we realised that we weren't on an ordinary camping tour, we'd be camping in luxury! First, we each got a pot of warm water to wash our hands, then we were given tea and biscuits, in our lunch tent! Then there was the two course lunch, in excessive portions - fresh meat and vegetables. And I thought I'd just get a pack lunch!

The afternoon walk was a bit harder, mostly uphill. Apparently most our tour groups camped near where we had lunch and do this section the next day, but doing it on the first day was a good move in hindsight, because the next day would turn out to be a killer!

Day 2

Got woken up early by a combination of the freezing cold and a need for the toilet - I think a less talked about side-effect of altitude is the increased need to empty the bladder! When I returned back to the tent the porters had started to wake everyone up, with a pan of hot water and a cup of hot coca tea! I told you, this was camping luxury style!

During breakfast we found out one of the girls was going to turn back due to altitude. It's strange how it affects people because although everyone eventually acclimatises, they do it at different speeds and fitness seem to be irrelevant. Alex, who I meet at my hostel in Cusco, is a martial arts expert (and cage fighter!), who is in pretty top shape but really struggled with altitude after flying in from sea-level; Richard, my tent-mate, flew in from sea level two days before the start of our trek, got drunk the night before and had about 4 hours sleep, seem to be coping quite well with his 15kg pack on his back! As for me, I have been at altitude for quite a well now, so I've already suffered through my little problems.

Today was the toughest day by far. We started up hill towards Dead Woman's Pass, the highest point of the trek at over 4198 meters above sea level. The cool cloudy weather was quite comfortable to walk at first, but it quickly started to rain and I got hot and sweaty in my waterproof kit. The climb was hard because of the gradient, but also the altitude, which meant that I ran out of breathe quicker. After a brief rest half-way, I managed to get to the top first (after around 2 hours 30 minutes), but the others weren't too far behind. I felt a bit guilty having hired a porter, and I felt that I had missed out on the physical challenge, and the satisfaction, of carrying my own stuff.

After photos at the top of Dead Woman's Pass, the trail went down-hill, steeply, which was very difficult in its own way. This is where I was really glad that I got my walking stick. It was about another two hours before I made it the lunch tent, where I waited with Richard for the rest to arrive. I was glad to arrive early as the rain started soon after. Thank goodness for the lunch tent, and it's seemingly limitless supply of chocolate biscuits and hot tea!

The walk after lunch started in heavy rain, and uphill again. But as we reached the summit, the rain stopped and the clouds suddenly cleared. The scenery over the surround valleys, as we started downhill towards our camp site, was stunning! We stopped by a ruin, where Virgilio (our guide) gave us a quick tour, but I think most of us were still busy taking in the scenery. Definite the highlight of our trek so far.

Day 3

Woke up early again because of the cold, even though I put slept in extra clothes, and I needed the toilet again (damn you altitude!).

After a fairly late breakfast Virgilio organised us and the porters around a circle where everyone gave a quick introduction of themselves (I just about managed everything in Spanish). It was a nice moment to get to know the porters, who had worked so hard to make our life as easy as possible. We got to know the chef, the chief porter and the one who carried the eggs! The youngest was 19 and the oldest 40, they carry up 30kg in their packs and at least about a third of them had carried a tourist off the trail before. Virgilio, by the way, worked as a porter when he was young to get himself through guide school.

The weather was crap again, not much rain, but the visibility was terrible, so not much to look at. The good news though is that we didn't have too far to walk. Some steep downhills (thank you walking stick!) but we got to our camp site for lunch after 4 hours. Our last camp site was massive and because everyone stayed there it was busy. We ate lunch in a concrete building, with glass windows, and it even had a bar. It was culture shock for us, like coming back to civilisation! I much preferred the peace and quiet of the last two days but at least I was able to finally get a shower and feel clean again!

After our afternoon tea, Virgilio led us to Wiñay Wayna. Because most people walked less on the first day and had a longer walk on this day, not many had the energy to go to Wiñay Wayna. That's all good for us because the lack of people, along with the evening twilight, created a calm and tranquil atmosphere when we wondered around the ruin. And the ruin was amazing! I (and many others) literally said "Wow" when we saw it for the first time, we just weren't expecting it to be that good. It was by far the best Inca ruin I'd seen - in terms of size and how well it was preserved, it wasn't just a pile of rocks like most of the ruins I'd seen so far, the the walls of the buildings were still standing. Apparently it's often referred to as mini-Macchu Picchu. A second highlight.

The people on the tour had been great fun to hang around with, and we ended the day with a post dinner game of uno.

Day 4

This was the big day, we were going to Macchu Picchu! For once the alarm clock woke me, at 4am for breakfast. We then queued up for trail to the Macchu Picchu to open at 5:30 am. This hold up meant that most of the tickets for climbing Huayna Picchu (the mountain behind to Macchu Picchu), limited to 400 a day, were mostly gone by the time the first trekker from the Inca Trail got to Macchu Picchu. Our guide told us that Huayna Picchu would not be worth the rush, given that we had already hiked over some amazing scenery, so we all took the walk pretty easy, taking in the scenery. Quite a few people ran past us on the trail, hoping to make it in time and Olivier was one of the successful ones, I think he got ticket 367 or something like that, so about 40 people made it. In hindsight I think I would have liked to have made a run for it, especially as I was in pretty good shape after 3 days hiking (I had a personal porter remember), but who knows if it would have been worth it.

There was a sense of anticipation, which built up the further we walked; when we finally went through the sun gate I was looking at the wrong way initially, but when I regained my bearings, it was another "Wow" moment. Even though it was still quite far away, I (and probably everyone) was able to appreciate the size and the beauty of the place. We were very lucky with the weather, a little cloudy but we had a clear sight of Macchu Picchu all the way. The whole complex is about the size of a small town. It has been very well reconstructed so you can see the various buildings that make up the different parts of the complex. And of course it is surrounded by stunning mountainous scenery.

Virgilio gave us a detailed tour of the Macchu Picchu, about how no one knows why it was built or why it was eventually abandoned, in fact there seem to be a lot of things people don't really know about Macchu Picchu, which I guess is partly why the place is so famous.

An alternative, and much easier, route to Macchu Picchu is by train but I'd say hiking the Inca Trail is a much richer experience. However, I do also think that that experience took something away from Macchu Picchu, especially after visiting Wiñay Wayna the night before. I dare say that, after wondering aimlessly around Macchu Picchu for a while, we got a bit bored.

We eventually regrouped in Aguas Calientes (the nearest town and a total tourist trap) for lunch. I stayed in Aguas Calientes for the night (since I opted for the 5 day option) but most people took the train in the early evening. It was sad leaving the tour, we were a fun bunch.

Day 5

Took the train to Ollantaytambo and then a taxi back to Cuzco. Seriously, it wasn't a very eventful day. The good thing about staying the extra day in Aguas Calientes was that I was in bed before the others got to Cuzco, but in my opinion paying for the extra day wasn't worth it (there wasn't a whole lot to do in Aguas Calientes), despite what some tour agencies might say.

Looking back (I'm actually writing this in Argentina), it's kind of weird to have done it now and the fact that I'm about to go home in a month has just hit me. I've still got 3 weeks in Argentina and about 4 days in Brazil before flying home, and I'm going to enjoy it but after that I think I'll be ready to go home, catch up with friends and sort out my career.

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Photos

Half way up
Another hour to the top of dead womens pass.

When the sun came out
Afternoon of day 2.

Wiñay Wayna
Mini Macchu Picchu

The end
The postcard photo