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Published: December 24th 2009
We survived the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu was beautiful! While I wish I could say it went over like a breeze, I would be lying - the Inca Trail is a long, hard climb! Fortunately, we had really good weather despite it being the wet season as we only got rained on once for about 15 minutes on the third day. The weather did change drastically though between night and day with it falling almost to zero in the evening and getting very hot during the day. My nose and forehead are badly burned, blistered and peeling due to me not bringing my hat on the trail - big mistake!
We booked our Inca Trail/Machu Picchu trip through ´Peru Treks´ and they were fantastic! While it was very expensive (roughly $500 USD/person not including breakfast on day 1, lunch on day 4, or tips for the guides, porters and cook), we feel like we chose the right company to go through. The camping equipment was very good quality and managed to keep us dry and warm. The meals prepared by the cook and the set up of the dinner tent were beyond impressive. The porters were very fast which
The Inca Trail
Our trekking group at ¨KM 82¨.was impressive because they all carried incredibly heavy loads, many only wearing sandals on their feet; They also clapped for every hiker upon arrival into the camp and/or snack areas which was encouraging. The guides were also very friendly and knowledgeable which made the experience even more interesting as they stopped at different ruins and points of interest along the way in order to give a detailed account of the history and significance.
Day 1: Woke up at 4am and were picked up at our hostel by Peru Treks at 5:30am. Took the bus to Ollantaytambo to have breakfast then to ´KM 82¨where we went through the check point and began our hike. We arrived in camp at Wayllabamba shortly after 4pm, had dinner at 7pm and were in bed by 8:30.
Day 2: Were woken up at 5:20am, had breakfast then started hiking at 6:30. Braeden blew past the entire group in order to keep up with the porters, in turn missing the snack/meeting place half way up ´Dead Woman´s Pass´. He made it to the top of the pass by 9:30am, waited about 30 mins then decided to hide his bag, climb back down the mountain
The Inca Trail
Day 1: the Urubamba River. and meet up with the group in order to carry my backpack to the top for me. The climb was incredibly hard but the views from the top were beautiful. With Braeden´s help, I was able to climb a little faster and we were the first 2 of our group to conquer the pass. Our guides, shocked and impressed by his double climb up the most difficult part of the Inca Trail, told Braeden he´s half mountain goat. Made it to camp in Paqaymayu by 2:30pm, had dinner at 6pm and were in bed by 7:30.
Day 3: Were woken up at 5am, had breakfast then started hiking shortly after 6pm. Had a short upward climb in the AM then downhill for the rest of the day. The scenery on this day was the most beautiful and often changed from typical mountain views to areas that seemed almost like a tropical jungle. Made it to the campsite at Wiñay Wayna in the late afternoon and finally had a hot shower and cold beer from the bar. Went to check out the ruins behind our campsite, had dinner at 6pm, tipped the porters and cook and went to bed by
The Inca Trail
Porters on day 1. 8pm.
Day 4: Woken up at 4am and were hiking by shortly after 5pm. I was exhausted but we managed to make it to the top of the mountain over-looking Machu Picchu by 7:30am. Unfortunately, the ruins were completely clouded over so we sat and waited for about 30 mins before we got our first glance at the impressive ruins. Spent a few hours being guided around Machu Picchu then caught the bus to the town of Aguas Calientes. We were amused that it started pouring rain as soon as we made it into the restaurant - great timing for us! We managed to change our train ticket back to Cusco from 6pm to 1:30pm so arrived back in the city by 4pm.
The experience was really good overall and our trekking group was alright for the most part. One girl was unfortunately sick and vomited from the time we first got on the bus to Ollantaytambo and well into the third day. Many others got sick throughout the trek but we suspect it had to do with them exceeding their limits and not taking proper care of themselves. One unfortunate down-side to our group (which came with
The Inca Trail
Ruins on day 1. great embarrassment and frustration for Braeden and I) is that everyone was very cheap when it came to tipping the porters and cook. For the amount of work those men did for our group of 16, it was disgusting to see people throw well below the recommended tip into the collective pot. One man only threw in 20 soles (approx. $6.30 USD) for him and his wife and figured that would be enough to adequately tip 22 porters and 1 cook. We learned from this experience and tipped our guides and my personal porter separately from the group on the last day.
Despite the expensive cost, cool camping weather and incredibly challenging trek, I am definitely pleased that we chose to hike the Inca Trail instead of taking the train to Machu Picchu . Even though I felt like impaling myself on my walking stick from time-to-time, I can honestly say the effort was worth it!
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Aunty Leslie
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Way to go...!!!
OMG you guys. I'm soooo happy that you completed the Trail AND loved it. This has been one of my dreams and I'm entirely envious of you two and Mickey for achieving it. Now you know why we hike all summer... !!!! Am following the blog,thanks so much for taking the time to record all your adventures.Keep on keeping on but know that you are missed,thought of and talked about on a daily basis! Merry Christmas,uh, I mean, Feliz Navidat (sp?!?) Love You, Les