Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail

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We had an amazing time on our 4 day trek along the Inca trail, seeing dozens of Inca ruins, amazing views, and meeting some great people.

Hiking the Inca trail is basically like going on an expedition, as government rules require you to hire a guide and porters. They cook all your meals for you and basically tuck you in at night. The best part was getting coffee delivered to the tent each morning. I´m not sure we´ll ever be able to go camping again with out a cook!

We headed off to the trail on Friday morning, following the Urubamba river before heading off into the mountains. Over the next 4 days we climbed high passes where alpaca and llamas were grazing, and descended through cloud forest where orchids grow wild and tucans hide in the jungle. A light rain followed us most of the time, but didn´t detract from an amazing experience.

On Monday, after visiting Machu Picchu, we relaxed in the hotsprings in the Aguas Calientes and spent the night. We returned the next morning to Cusco by train, taxi and collectivo (a taxi that packs in as many people as will fit and then some).

Next stop: Lake Titicaca and the floating islands of the Uros.

(Check out the photo descriptions for more details)

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Photos

Start of the Inka Trail
Day 1 After a 4 hour bus ride from Cusco we finally made it to the start of the Inca trail. We were in a group of 16 trekkers, 21 porters, and 2 guides. Quite the expedition.

Map of the Inka Trail
The trail takes four days and goes through 3 passes, one nearly 14,000 ft. There are Inca ruins, including terraces, lookouts, and forts all along the trail. The trail itself is only 27 miles, but varies in elevation from 14,000ft to about 8,000ft

Village along the Inka Trail
The first day of the hike parallels the Urubamba river where there are small communities scattered along the way. These people continue to live off the land by farming potatoes, quinoa, and maize. Their houses are usually adobe with either grass or metal roofs. The opportunistic folks sell beer and water to the gringos hiking the trail. Others try and charge you if you take their photo.

Porters
These guys are truly amazing. They would run ahead of us and setup for lunch before we arrived. Every evening, our tents would be setup and a warm drink waiting for us. Each porter carries about 50 pounds of stuff and most wear only sandals!

Typical Lunch
The food was absolutely outstanding. Every meal started with soup, followed by a main course and dessert. Our first lunch was fresh pan seared trout caught fresh that morning. Yummmy!

Burros at the first campsite
Our first campsite was in the village of Wayllabamba. There were probably only about 100 people living here 7 miles fromthe nearest road, but they of course had the requisite soccer field. We were tempted to play a game with the porters, but after watching them, we all decided it probably wasn´t the best idea. At 11,000ft, the gringos weren´t up for the challenge.

View from tent
Start of the second day was a little rainy, but the mist provided an enchanting view of the valley. Today we climbed over 3,000ft to the highest pass.

21 Porters
Our friendly porters always had a smile on their face even though they were always working hard. For some, this is the best opportunity to feed their families. Some aspire to become official guides, but this requires 5 years at a university learning everything from flora and fauna, to Inca history and of course English. A personal porter could be hired for $30, but Rebecca and I decided to tough it out and carry our own stuff.

Elevenses!
Food Food Food! I think I might have put on a few pounds after 4 days of this. Everytime we stopped to eat the porters would setup the dinning tent. Here we are enjoying Elevenses. Coca tea was served at every meal to help counter the effects of altitude. It actually works pretty well and doesn´t taste bad either.

Dead Woman Pass
We arrived at Dead Woman´s Pass at 4200 meters.

Dead Woman Pass with Washington
Washington was our guide for the four days. He was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining and kept himself and everyone eles laughing. The locals generally have two names, one in their native Quechua (Inca language) and another spanish name. In this case, our guide was apparently fond of Washington DC, hence the name.

Along the trail
Rebecca leading the charge down from the pass to our second campsite. The entire trail is paved with stones which makes for relatively quick hiking. More rain.

Start of Day 3
The 3rd day started out a bit rainy, but the views were fantastic. Over night, it snowed a bit higher up covering the pass we had come over the previous day. The trail was wet, but it didn´t really bother us too much as it was a relatively light rain and we had our stylish ponchos to protect us.

View of the pass
From the other side it apparently looks like a dead woman, hence it´s name. Glad we didn´t have to hike over it in the snow.

Porters Sandals
Throw on your sandals, strap on 50 pounds and run 3 miles at 12,000ft in the rain. When you´re done, cook a delicious meal for the gringos. How´s that sound?

Sayacmarca
One of the amazing ruins on the road to Machu Picchu. Most of the major ruins have areas for worshipping the sun and the water, where the stone work is extremely elaborate. Many of the ruins are also layed out in the shape of local animals such as the condor or even the partridge.

Machu Picchu in the clouds
After reaching the 3rd pass towards the end of the 3rd day, we started a 3000ft decent, mostly on steep stone stair cases. Our view of Machu Picchu was a bit obscured, but quite mystical. That´s Rebecca´s head and pack in the foreground.

View from the tent 3rd night
Nice view, eh? Good thing you can´t smell the view.

6 am at the Sun Gate
Awoke at 3:30am to arrive at the sun gate for sunrise. The weather didn´t quite cooperate, as it rarely does apparently. On the summer solstice, the sun rises behind the sun gate (an Inca checkpoint) and shines directly on to the temple of the sun in Machu Picchu.

RandD at Machu Picchu
We made it! And due to our guides and fast group, we were the first to arrive at Machu Picchu at 7am. The clouds continued to come and go giving us glimpses of the ruins.

Comments

[Christophe]

amazing pictures!
Everything sounds wonderful, keep on writting, I can't wait for the next entry! The pictures are amazing!