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Mission Accomplished!
Katherine, Paul & I finally reach Macchu Picchu. So, the dreaded Inca trail (or Inca trial as it is sometimes known)…
Since arriving in Cuzco, even since arriving in South America, the knowledge that we had signed up to do the Inca trail was hanging over us. All of the sights of the Sacred Valley and all of the bars and restaurants in Cuzco were enjoyed under the looming shadow of this four day hike.
The first day began with a 5:30am pick-up from our hostel, no gentle start for us! As we walked down the steep street towards the main square and our bus, the nightclub on the corner was still pumping out banging tunes - there is definitely a schizophrenic element to life in Cuzco. As we boarded our bus, we were all secretly delighted to spot four older Australian travelers in our group. Looking about retirement age, we were convinced that these older folk would at least mean we weren’t the slowest in the group.
The first stop was in the town of Ollataytambo, where our Sacred Valley trip had taken us the day before (why oh why had we not thought to spend the night here and have a lie in?)
The Start of the climb
and still smiling at this point! Here we had breakfast and bought replacement sticks (our bamboo ones that were purchased in Cuzco are banned on the Inca trail!) From here it was back on the bus for the final leg of the transfer to Km82, the start of the trail.
The four days of the hike are graded as easy, challenging, unforgettable and unique respectively. The first day is supposed to be fairly easy as it is a short day on flat-ish terrain; the second day is the hardest as it includes the infamous ascent to Dead-Woman’s pass; the third day is unforgettable as, despite being long, it includes many archeological sites; the final day is unique as it brings you to the Inca citadel of Macchu Picchu.
So, expecting a gentle stroll on day one, we were somewhat taken aback to find ourselves enduring what appeared to be a forced march at breakneck speed! The sun was baking hot and the flat terrain seemed to consist of a steep descents followed by sharp climbs - I’d have a lot more respect for these Inca fellows if they’d invented bridges! Worst of all, this high-speed charge was led by the older Australians who it
The Bottom of Dead Women´s Pass
The most strenous part of the Inca Trail. turned out were professional hikers!! (And I mean seriously, these people had real, actual medals for extreme 24 hour hiking!!)
When we arrived at our first campsite at about 3pm, we were all somewhat disheartened at the thought of what the challenging day would be like. The ‘easy’ day had left us somewhat weary and breathless (not great for asthmatics this Inca trail thing!) Still, the porters had done a great job of erecting our tents and the food served that night was really good, so our spirits were revived before bedtime.
A chorus of farmyard animals tried to keep us awake throughout the night, but a combination of ear-plugs and dog-tiredness meant that their efforts were pretty futile. When the next morning arrived (woken up with coca tea in bed, well in sleeping bags) we emerged bleary-eyed from our tents to a beautiful morning. The camp sat at an altitude of 3000m and the view back down the valley was awesome. Slightly less awesome was the view in the other direction… up the valley lay Dead-Woman’s pass, the highest point on the trail and over a kilometer higher than our camp at 4200m. This was the day
Too Easy!
Feeling smug at the top of Dead Women´s Pass. we had been dreading, the one that was most likely to reduce us to gibbering wrecks cursing our couch-potato lifestyles. And to make matters worse the Australians seemed to be looking forward to it….!
Too easy!! After all of our stress, the whole thing actually ended up being enjoyable. With no tears, no altitude sickness, no heart-attacks and no blisters we found ourselves tired but exalted at the top of the pass. The trek up there had been tough, but nothing like the pain-fest we had been imagining. The clouds that came in from the valley kept the sun off us and the temperature cool, which was a god-send, and we were in camp by 2pm, well before the afternoon rain. The guides that were with us nick-named us the speedy Gonzales group, but I think that honour should mainly go to the Australians.
Camp that night was at 3600m, and it was stunningly cold. We had come prepared with thick sleeping bags and many many layers, but the cold was still biting outside the tent. Even inside, faces and hands quickly got chilly unless buried deep in sleeping bags. Whether it was altitude, cold, or the fact
View of Macchu Picchu from the Sungate
Only another 1.5 hours of downhill hiking from here to Macchu Picchu. that we were camped on spiky gravel, no one really slept as well that night. Still we had the worst behind us and could look forward to an enjoyable stroll the next day.
Or so we thought. While we slept, someone had put a 300m vertical ascent right in front of us. Cold, full of breakfast, and mentally unprepared, this climb brought at least one of our intrepid threesome to tears (yes it was Katherine, but she did have a point!) It was a highly unpleasant start to what was an otherwise enjoyable day, and frankly none of us cared about the small pile of Inca rubble at the top! After this second pass though, the day improved massively: the sun came out, the ruins became more impressive, and the trail wound through some of the most spectacular terrain. Waterfalls fell down the mountainside, the trail ducked through Inca tunnels and hugged vertiginous walls, and best of all we got the first glimpse of our destination, the mountain above Macchu Picchu. Even the hike up to the third and final pass and the ‘gringo-killer’ descent of Inca steps were exciting and fun challenges rather than painful chores. And the
guides were so pleased that they took us on an extended detour to the terraces of Intipata.
Camping that night at 2700m at Wiñay Wayna felt positively tropical, and despite bad stomachs (undoubtedly caused by the horrific Inca trail toilets!) it was time to break out the beer. Just the one though, as we had been told that wake up the next morning would be at the ungodly hour of 4am, and that we wouldn’t even get tea. We would’ve slept well in our warm tents if it hadn’t been for the awful snoring in the tent next-door - a certain American shouldn’t have had beer for the sake of those around him!
Starting off the next day at 4am seemed ridiculous, but we all wanted to make sure we were at the Sun Gate for sunrise and then into Macchu Picchu before the arrival of the clean-smelling, unfit and generally unworthy day-trippers. So off we trotted, walking in the dark in single file. Having been warned to bring torches and spare batteries, only one person in our group found themselves with a torch that didn’t work (yes, it was Katherine - what would we do without her?).
Soon it was light enough to see and as we approached the Sun Gate (Intipunku) dawn was already breaking.
The sun rises behind you as you face Macchu Picchu (fairly obvious really!) and the first view of the citadel is stunning. Having spent so long preparing - not to mention the four days hiking - it is amazing to finally be looking down on the place. The Sun Gate was further from the ruins than we expected, so following a quick photo stop we descended the final leg of the Inca trail into Macchu Picchu itself. Obviously we were keen to see the place before the arrival of the day trippers (spit!) The tour provided by the guide covered just the high-lights, but still took well over two hours to complete. Somehow being in among the buildings, despite being very interesting, does´'t have quite the majesty of viewing the ruins from afar. It is only then that you can appreciate the amazing location of the place.
Following the tour we were free to explore on our own. Unfortunately we had finished just too late to make it up the hill on the far side of the ruins - numbers are limited and the queue gets very long. Still rather than just finding some shade and sleeping (as a fair number of hikers did) we decided to escape the hoards and go on an alternative tour of Macchu Picchu. Basically this involved following the most obscure paths we could see, climbing near vertical staircases and step-ladders, and generally being a bit silly. Still, it got us away from the droves of day-trippers and led to some great self-timed photos!
Eventually it was time to descend to the town of Aguas Calientes in the valley, in search of reasonably priced food and decent toilets. From here it was a train ride back to Ollataytambo, passing the start of our trail and closing the circuit, followed by a bus to Cuzco. Despite wanting more than anything to crawl into a soft, warm, sleeping bag-less bed, the three of us decided to go out and toast our successful hike and the end of Katherine's South American adventure. So finally, after a couple of drinks in the ever-popular Los Perros, we called it a night knowing we'd completed one of the world's most famous hikes. Tick.
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Sharon Tomasi
non-member comment
Love it!
You're a great writer - love your humourful style!