The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

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Saturday 10th December to Tuesday 13th December

Excited and nervous, we bumbled into the mini bus at 5am, with our hiking packs lightly loaded to act as day packs we’d be carrying, and then an equally loaded red duffel bag each which the porters would carry for us; along with all the camping and cooking gear and food. Very different to our GR11 independent hike, but due to the Inca Trail being so regulated now, you have to have a permit and guide to walk it. Doing it with a tour group, means not only do you get a guide, but you also get a chef, and 2-3 porters per tourist. This means, for our surprisingly small group of two (yep, just me & Paul), we had a guide (Ivan), a chef (William) and 5 more porters (Nicanor, Richard, Faustino, Fidel and Nicholas) with us; crazy more staff than tourists!

After a bumpy couple more hours of sleep we stopped for some breaky in Ollantaytambo, before eventually reaching the start of the Inca Trail; Piscacucho at kilometre 82. Here, we were met with another bigger tour group, with a coach for the tourists and a bigger coach for all the porters that come with them! Our guide checked, and again surprisingly found only four groups were starting the trail today meaning there would be hardly anyone around during the hiking; a complete contrast to high season where the groups are known to merge into one long line of people and the campsites are full. Feeling good (and lucky with not only being just us in our group but also the small number of people on the trail) we were soon hiking on the Inca Trail!

Hiking briefly up and then along a huge valley, following the river to an intersection of valleys surrounded by mountains, the landscape immediately impressed. We could even see snow topped mountains, which Ivan confidently informed us were higher then what we’d be going so had no real concerns around seeing snow on the trail. Then, not only nature, but history quickly highlighted itself too, with the first of many Inca sites on the trail, making us stop and stare in awe. This was brief though, as the weather also decided to make its impression, quickly turning from sun, to cloud and thunder, to rain, and thankfully sun again!; they don’t lie when they say you can have all the seasons on the trail within a couple of hours.

Passing the big group, but being passed by the amazing running porters (carrying up to 25kg each!) we made it to our first lunch stop (a locals farm and house) where we were then amazed further by the food we were given! A soup starter with garlic bread, followed by four various dishes of veggies and rice and corn and potatoes and hot drinks. With these kind of meals and the snacks they supply, putting weight on over the next 4 days is very possible despite the 45km hike! A day full of surprises, went even further, when they managed to switch on an old TV and we could watch the first half of England’s game! Back on the trail, and as if timed to perfection, we passed a check point, just as the guard had the footy on his telly to see the final sad result for England; who’d have thought, in the middle of Peru, hiking the Inca Trail, and we could still see England play!

A couple more hours hiking along winding paths up and down (thankfully not as steep and steppy as I thought!), stopping often and being told loads about the Inca sites and wildlife (so many cool birds and plants!) and we made it to our first campsite. Wow we had made day one and it wasn’t as bad as I had feared! The regulated campsites along the trail are basic, but with stunning landscapes. Levelled areas of grass all separated by walls and trees with all the porters of the various groups claiming a section and putting up the tents. No wonder their bags are so big, the stuff they are carrying is all huge proper stuff, not the small lightweight versions we are used to! A bit of down time and a bucket wash of warm water, and we soon found ourselves eating yet another delicious meal with our guide before quickly settling to sleep.

Day two of the trail had arrived, and, known to be the hardest day, I was back to being nervous. Setting off early after a full breaky, we started the four hour climb. To my relief, whilst there definitely were steep and steppy parts, it was not completely like that, and often more of a staged zigzag path where we could take our time and catch our breaths with Ivan telling us more about plants and the history of the area. We saw yesterday the pass we’d do today, called the Dead Woman’s Pass, the highest point on the trail, and slowly and surely we made it! Misty waves of cloud swept across us on and off today, but it really gave a mysterious feel to match this mystical mountain range. Steep steps down and the lush green environment definitely gave a jungle feel, with a disappearing waterfall and river and as we spotted orchards and watched loads of hummingbirds and a hawk fly about, (inbetween the rain) as we ate another gourmet lunch.

It cleared on our second peak of the day to give an incredible view of the mountains, snow capped ahead, and increasingly thick green valleys. Sweeping cloud continued as we explored a couple more Inca sites and, now feeling tired, we were happy to reach the second campsite, with another amazing view of the snow capped mountains in the distance. More amazing food (I just can’t describe how impressed we were with the food on this tour) and we soon snuggled into our thick sleeping bags once more, happy we had survived and actually really enjoyed this hardest day of the trek.

A slightly later morning for day three, being a shorter and easier day, and we eagerly hit the trail once more. After a short but hard hitting climb up, todays trail rollercoastered gently along more inca stoned path, before heading steeply down, through tall trees and hanging vines, with brightly coloured flowers popping up, birds whizzing past, Inca sites and steps to wonder over and brief viewpoints. The weather however, decided to show us what rainy season means, as it literally did not stop all day. It did vary from light to hard, and with no wind, it was oddly enjoyable. Ponchos were key here though, as even our supposedly good waterproofs couldn’t handle rain alllll day. Maybe it was the weather or our excitement or the fact we were getting back into trail walking but we arrived at campsite three early and were treated to exploring and simply sitting at an incredible Inca site by ourselves.

Our guide had suggested we could continue walking after lunch here but with the weather not improving we stayed put and enjoyed a nap while trying to dry the waterproofs off. More delicious food, interesting conversations with our guide and an attempt at thanking all the porters in Spanish (they did not really speak English and so trying to connect with them during the trip was tricky, but we did manage to learn and remember their names and the optional but basically expected tips seemed to help) finished the day nicely as we hunkered back down, knowing tomorrow was going to be an early start to the Sun Gate to see Machu Picchu!

A 3:30 wake up call for day four, and we were soon up and ready, only to walk 5mins to the checkpoint to sit and wait until 5:30 when it opens. Yes, that’s right, we thought it was silly too but apparently we wanted to be at the check point first, to be the first group through, to get to the Sun Gate first. The big green group arrived just behind us and then the two smaller groups. So we all sat there waiting in anticipation. We tried explaining we were not bothered about being the first, but, only being a group of two meant we had naturally been ahead of the herd the whole trail and so Ivan didn’t want us to get stuck behind them all today, on the apparently very narrow path. He even told us of crazy stories during peak season where some want to be the first up so bad, that they try to run and end up hurting people, with two even falling off the edge and needing rescuing! And if others who deliberately walk wide and not allow anyone ahead of them even though they are walking at a faster pace. Mental. Glad it is no where near that busy for us.

Anyway, we rolled with Ivan’s plan, and, although felt some pressure to stay ahead, did find ourselves naturally hiking along at a decent pace; although definitely slowed as usual on the incline. Yep, a narrow (but not cliff edge like we had thought) path lead us gently then steeply up, then we climbed 50 huge Inca steps and along some more to become mesmerised by the sudden view of Machu Picchu. There it was, surprisingly and thankfully as clear as any view could be (no rain today!) as we stood high on the Sun Gate. Wow. Maybe Ivan was right to push us to be ahead, because the large green group soon arrived after us, and, as expected, were very loud and hectic. We moved to a quieter corner to enjoy the view more peacefully and let it sink in that we had made it.

Feeling pumped, happy, relieved, excited, thankful and lucky, we continued the old Inca trail gently down from the sun gate and into the top of Machu Picchu; cue a photo shoot and more silently staring in awe before steadily wondering through this ancient site to the main entrance, where the bus loads of people were steadily arriving. However, no where near as many people as usual. After 4days of no signal, Ivan was able to get a proper catch up from the company and the general news, and we soon learnt protesters and strikers had become more active and had blocked the railway, the only access in and out of Aguas Calientes (the town at the bottom of Machu Picchu), and so the normal amount of people could not reach Machu Picchu, which was great for us. But it also meant we had no way of getting back as planned. It was hopeful this may be resolved by the afternoon, so we decided to ignore those problems for now and enjoyed heading back into Machu Picchu, the lower sections this time, and Ivan’s guide around it. What a magical place with still so many mysteries; the top one being there is still no evidence of any kind of Inca toilet! Hmmmm.

We slowly headed down to Aguas Calientes, comfy on a coach, and we met one of the porters with our extra bits, and enjoyed a celebratory Pisco Sour Cocktail and some lunch; all whilst waiting on further news but aware the trip back was not going to go as planned.

But hey, we’ve only gone and done it! The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu! And it was more than we could have ever hoped for.

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