Cusco, Inka Jungle and Machu Picchu

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Having arrived in Cusco on Saturday afternoon I promptly left again on Sunday morning to embark upon a 3-day adventure which included a 5-hour downhill mountain biking trail into the jungle on the first day, a 7-hour hike through the winding valley between Santa Teresa and Aguas Calientes on Monday before the climax of the adventure on Tuesday... a full day in Machu Picchu, the ancient, mountain-top Inca city.

The mountain biking was great fun for very little effort as we plummetted almost 1000m and climbed virtually none! The scenery was incredible and changed so quickly from Alpine-like peaks to dense green jungles in the space of about 10miles. There was a perfect mix of blazing sunshine and cool mountain breeze which kept us cool until we reached the jungle!

The hike on Monday was much harder work but equally rewarding as the jungle trail lead us weaving in and out of the colossal mountains that we´d be climbing the following day. The heat was stiffling and as we walked along an old railway line to our final destination, Machu Picchu Pueblo or Aguas Calientes, I felt pretty dehydrated, weak and generally exhausted! With a 4am start the next morning it was no surprise that my group, which comprised two French guys, a Hungarian girl and a Spanish hiking champion, and I were in bed by 9pm.

We set off in darkness the next morning to climb to the world famous, royal Inca city of Mach Picchu. It was so exciting to be part of the relatively small group of eager hikers who had left first thing in the morning so as to arrive for sunrise... and it was so worth it when we got there! For the first 3 hours or so we were taken round the main areas of the site by a tour guide who totally brought the place back to life for me... To be honest I could totally see myself fitting in quite well with the whole Inca culture! After that, around 10am we climbed Huayna Picchu which stands around 300m above Machu Picchu - the views were incredible and the whole place so peaceful. After I had explored to my heart's I returned to Aguas Calientes from where I caught a train back to Cusco with the rest of the team having had a wonderful 3 day adventure.

Yesterday I decided to go on the Cusco city tour rather than the Sacred Valley tour which would've been far longer with more coach travel that I did´t really feel up for. The city tour was great though incorporating historical and art museums and a variety of Inca ruins. Before dinner I went to a traditional Peruvian music and culture show which was amusing and then met with my friends who I'd been to Machu Picchu with for pizza and live music. Having said fairwell to them all I went in search of Ian and Mel, his girlfriend, who had been travelling since he left Cajamarca at the end of July. We met and chatted for the rest of the night over one final pisco sour.

Today I begin my travels back to Scotland, first with a flight to Lima and then tomorrow I fly to Panama then New York and finally arriving in Glasgow on Saturday morning at 7am... that's the plan anyway!

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