3 is the Magic Number - Inca Trekking


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November 24th 2010
Published: November 24th 2010
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Finally the day came we had been planning and looking forward to for ages, our 4 day 43 km trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. They only let 500 people a day onto the trail so we'd had to book our places months ago with United Mice, a recommended local tour company. When we went for our briefing, we found out that only the 3 of us would be doing the trek that day, which at first we were a little despondent about. Usually, the Inca Trek is done in groups of up to 16 people and we imagined it would be really fun and great to meet new like-minded people. As it was, it would be just us three plus Fredi plus our 6 porters, which would still be great but different to what we'd expected.

Day 1



Our guide Fredi picked us up at 4am and we drove to Ollantaytambo, a small town in the Sacred Valley where we forced down some breakfast, stocked up on chocolate and coca sweets and picked up our 6 porters who would carry all the food and equipment for the next 4 days. Then we drove on to the
Trail Head - KM82Trail Head - KM82Trail Head - KM82

Just the 3 of us..........
start of the trail known as KM 82. Got our permits and passports checked and stamped and had the obligatory photo taken by the KM 82 sign. Fredi gave us a motivational pep-talk (we named our little group the Tigers, raaaa!!) and we got on our way! Yay!

It was a sunny day so we soon worked up healthy glow walking alongside the Urubamba River. We stopped to admire the Inca ruins of Llactapata and the beautiful valley before the path started to climb and the walk got tough. Had a well deserved rest over lunch and were treated to an amazing spread prepared by our chef, Jose. So much yummy food prepared on such simple camping equipment! Then, undetered by the drizzle, we walked uphill all afternoon, climbing higher and higher, feeling the air get cooler and thinner. Walked through twisted forest and up Inca stone steps. It was really hard going. We reached our camp called Llulluchu Pampa at 3750m above sea level in the late afternoon and were rewarded with spectacular views over the valley we had just walk through, the snow topped mountains, grazing llamas and hummingbirds!

We were the only group using this campsite, which was actually good because our tents were the old school triangular 'Brownie camp' type and all the other groups had the modern dome tents so we'd be embarrassed if others were there. Cracked open a bottle of rum for 'happy hour' and played cards with Fredi before another amazing meal. Early to bed as we were so tired and it was very cold.

In total we walked 15 km (9 hours) and ascended 1000m to 3750m! Our hardest day without question.

Day 2



Woken up early by the porters bringing us hot cups of coca tea, nice! Load up on carbs at breakfast (bread, pancakes and porridge!) and had our daily Fredi pep-talk before starting our mornings walk up to Warmiwanusca (known as Dead Woman's pass) at 4215m. It was very hot and the air very thin so we had many rest stops to admire the amazing views and spot wild deer but made it up there in good time. Long decent down the other side to our next lunch camp. Both Holly and Jo felt the effects of altitude and weren't feeling great. Thank goodness for coca tea and modern medicine! Dee wasn't effected by the altitude or climb at all, in fact he skipped and sang pretty much the whole way. A particularly surreal moment for the girls was listening to Dee's and Fredi's rendition of 'Angels' by Robbie Williams while trekking in the Andean mountains. What a memory!

Another afternoon of uphill walking, but by now we were getting more used to steep path so it wasn't so draining. Walked past waterfalls, lakes and the round Inca ruins called Runkuracay before reaching the second pass at 3950m. Fredi performed a little ceremony for Mother Earth here, where we each made an offering of a stone (Dee also gave a coca sweet for extra good fortune!). This mountain top was covered with tiny piles of stones so it's obviously the thing to do here. The cloud was really low so we couldn't see the views unfortunately. Slowly made our way down again, through the valley and cloud forest, stopping to explore the Inca ruins at Sayacmarca and Puyupatamarca before making it to our camp called Chaquicocha just in time before it started to rain. Enjoyed our 'happy hour' in our cosy dry dining tent with hot chocolate spiked with rum and cards before yet another scrumptious 3 course dinner.

Went to bed and only slept for a few hours before we woke up and found the floor of our tents were swimming with water and our sleeping mats and bags were wet. Great! The tents not only looked crap but WERE crap too. Thank goodness we'd all purchased plastic ponchos, which we quickly spread out on the floor and stopped our stuff getting anymore wet. Then we tried to get some sleep, not easy when your feet are damp. Boo.

Second day we walked 15km (9 hours) and ascended 465m to 4215m highest point.

Day 3



After a nice cuppa coca tea we showed Fredi the state of our tents and told him how unhappy we were. On closer inspection the plastic ground sheets contained holes and there weren't enough pegs so water on the outer fly sheet ran down onto the inner tent. Doh! He was clearly embarrassed and apologised profusely. He wished we had woken him up when we discovered our wet tents, but what could he have done? Get us to pile in the porters tent? Jose made us an extra nice and warming breakfast and we told Fredi that it was the company's fault not his or the porters. After our daily Fredi pep-talk (we re-named ourselves the Turtles!, wet joke), we set off on our days trek knowing it would only be a short one. The path was all down hill stone steps and we found out afterwards this part is known as the 'Gringo Killer'. Passing through a tunnel and past pretty wild orchids we made it to our final camp at Winaywayna at 2650m.

We had time before lunch so we all quick-marched it over to the shower block and had the best hot shower ever. After lunch we took a walk to see the Inca ruins and hillside terraces of Winaywayna. Very impressive structure hidden in the valley side. Explored here for a while before it started to rain again (OH NO). This time we had made some small improvements to our tents so we were happy they would be waterproof this time. Bought a big bottle of rum and shared it with our porters after dinner to say thank you for carrying and cooking etc. We also gave each of them a tip as they really do have super human strength and work like oxs to make sure we have a good time. Nicely full and warmed with Cuba Libra cocktails, we called it a night.

Third day we walked for 7km (5 hours) and descended 990m to 2650m.

Day 4



Woke up at 3.30am to find clear skies and twinkling stars, yay! Gulped down breakfast and rushed to get in the check point queue, where we waited for it to open at 5.30am. Walked excitedly along the path, stopping only momentarily to admire the beautiful views over the Rio Urubamba valley as the sun rose. After 2 hours of solid walking we reached Intipunku or the Sun Gate and were rewarded with our first glimse of sun drenched Machu Picchu. Amazing, fabulous, breath taking and not a cloud in sight. We were so lucky with the weather.

Walked down to Machu Picchu and after many 'high fives' we found a quiet spot at the postcard view point and snapped away. We couldn't believe we were there. We were all absolutely exhausted but it was worth the effort. Fredi took us on a guided tour of the site and told us the meaning of the main areas and temples. It really is huge and not like you imagine. The Incas were really inventive with their terrace farming and clever water channels. We learnt that 3 is a very sacred number for the Incas, it's in their symbols and temples. We couldn't believe how high up on the mountain tops the site was (2400m), how anyone ever found it is a mystery. Very cool!

Then Fredi presented us with our Inca Trail permits or ''Inca Trail Diplomas'' as he called it and our fantastic 4 day adventure came to an end. After a farewell lunch with Fredi in touristy Aguas Calientes, a browse of the souvenir market and several beers to celebrate our achievement, we got the train back to Ollantaytambo and a car back to Cusco. Collapsed in bed and slept like logs. Next day we went to the United Mice office to tell them about their leaky tents and although we got an apology eventually, we were none to happy with their response. The management of this company seem very complacent to us, which is the opposite of their wonderful porters and guide who were hard working and conscientious.

In summary, the Inca Trail was one of the best things we've done on our whole trip and it made it extra special and brilliant fun to have done it with Jo. Thanks mate. We can laugh about the wet tents now and it didn't spoil our trip one bit. Will we recommend United Mice? Yes, if they got new tents!!



Additional photos below
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24th November 2010

felicitaciones mi amigos!
Hi! Great blog and amazing photos, congrats to the three of you, such a rewarding trek! Enjoy the next month of travels in S. America. Only a month til Christmas and you'll be home with family! Take care, have fun, love Chris xx
30th November 2010
Wirmiwanusca - Dead Woman's Pass (7)

Inca Trek!
That looks so amazing guys!! It's good to see the 3 of you together again, and what an experience of a lifetime to share together!!! I'm sure Jo needed some time in the wild after her stint in crowded Jersey. Looking forward to seeing where your next adventure takes you! Miss you guys and stay safe... Love always and God bless!! -Bx

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