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Published: January 10th 2010
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Hiking the Inka Trail
It was a long steep trek through the jungle with nothing but plants and insects, this was one of the few flat parts! Wow, what an amazing two days! Unfortunately the pictures do not do Machu Picchu justice, so you will just have to go yourselves 😊
I did a two day guided tour and the tour guide and group was great. There were only three of us, me and a Spanish couple in mid 50s. It might have been more fun to have more people and young people, but I got to practice my spanish and it wsa so nice only have 3 people. We started off with a 3 hour train ride to KM 106 on the Inca Trail. We were supposed to start at KM 104 and do a different trail, but there were mud slides, so there was a last minute change. While I always thought of the Inka trail being a certain trail, there are actually lots of "Inka Trails", i.e. the trails of the Incans. What we did was the end of one trail that led to the sun gate (or Intipunku) into Machu Picchu. Our hike was basically up a large mountain, very steep, but with spectacular views of the mountains and pretty flows. After about 2.5 hours of hiking up with my backpack for 2
Winaywayna
Inka site where there experimented with different types of corn and tried to create new types. days we arrived at a small lodge at the top for lunch.
After lunch we visited Winaywayna, an incan site where they experimented with different types of corn in the terracing. They found evidence of lots of tys of corn, and the terracing here is narrower, which is why they decided it was for experimentation and that they planted a different type of corn every 3 terraces, which represented 1meter of altitude. Up before was the religious area, the main part being the terrace of the 7 windows. Below was the living area and only 10 familes lived here (about 40 people). Something interesting I learned was not all the people in the area were Incans. They Incans were the upper classes, while the rest of the people were Quechuan. Anyway, only the Incan's lived in these sites and the Quechuans lived more in the valleys. The other great thing about all the sites was how they transported water everywhere. There were water systems that snaked through all the ritual and living area, it was fun to follow.
After Winaywayna we set off on our last hike to the Sun Gate. We walked through jungle, with nothing in
Machu Picchu
And then we entered through the Sun Gate and what a view! site but moutains, a river and a hydroelectric water system. Then, with nothing else around you reach the sun gate and spectaculal views of Machu Picchu on a nearby ridge. IT was about 4:30 so almost everyone was gone and we took pictures, then headed down to Machu Picchu to get the bus to Aguas Calientes, the town where we spent the night and then bused back to Cusco the following day.
There is another Incan site on the adjacent mounta, Waynapicchu. Only 400 people can enter there each day, so you have to get up early and stand in line at the entrance to Machu Picchu for the gates to open at 6am. The other couple wasn't up for another hike, so I was on my own. My guide, Rodney, decided the best way to ensure that I got one of the 400 tickets was to hike from Aguas Calientes to the base of Machu Picchu instead of waiting with everyone else for the buses that start running at 5:30. So, armed with Rodney's cell phone that had a light on the front, he accompanied me to the start of the trail, which ended up being a HUGE
Me and Machu Picchu
On the way down from the Sun Gate stair case. When we left the hostel at 4:45 Rodney saw the number of people waking and decided we should run to the trail head. After about 15 minutes running, we got there and he left me to hike with the other tourists. WOW, I thought I wouldn't make it. It was 40 minutes of hiking straight up and I didn't want to stop because he had me paranoid that I would not make it! Luckily I made it huffing and puffing AND got a ticket for the 10am group. I wandered around Machu Picchu for a while taking pictures and checking out the sites, then headed to the entrance at 7:30 to meet Rodney, Jose and Maria. Rodney gave us a 3 hour tour, which was very interest (some of which I have already imparted to you). As you will see, the terraced agricultural area is all around, but mainly to the left, the temple area is in the middle and up a bit, and the living area is to the right (the mountain to the right is the one I later cilmbed!). The main temple area represented the 4 elements: the temple of mother earth, the temple of
the sun (fire), the temple of wind, and the temple of water.
The tour left me at the checkpoint to enter Waynapichhu, another trek almost straight up a moutain, theis one with ropes at points and lots of rocks, which made coming back down interesting. The views at the top were spectacular, and I ended up basically rock cilmbing up to a higher point behind some other guys only to realize the path actually came out the other side from UNDER the rock! Good thing I took a climbing class at BU! After some pictures and more climbing I headed down and back to the bus to Aguas Calientes. As I was waiting for the bus it started raining and I was very happy to have made it down the mountain before that happened! Considering it is rainy season we got extremely lucky and it only rained during and after dinner the first night and during lunch the second day.
Now I am back in Cusco for my last day. I had a leisurely morning, expored the central market and got some fruit and nuts, then had lunch at one of the food stalls in the central market
On top of Waynapicchu
Wow, what a hike, but what a view! with the locals. Wow, what a plate of food I got for less than $3, the people in front of me shared one, it was massive, but I did my best 😊 There was also a little mariachu (??) band playing by the tables, which was great! Now it is raining again, so I am catching up on pictures and blog, etc. If you want lots of Machu Picchu pictures, let me know and I will send you the Picasa album, but again, they do not do it justice. It is amazing to think how they built all the terraces and buildings on the top of the mountain such that they could last 500 years. Actually, part of the wall of the main altar at the top has shifted and they believe there are actually two mountain ranges converging and that one sunk a little! Anyway, I think that is enough for now, more on Lake Titicaca and Arequipa to come!
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Keith & Sandy Adams
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Can't wait to get to Lima
Hey You, Joann sent us your blog. Wow, can't wait to get there in May. What was your temperature? Now that you've done our tour, anything you reccomend for us to do or dine somewhere. The central market sounds good. I guess its OK to eat and drink anywhere? Loved your pictures, especially the one on top of Waynapicchu. Is that the trail behind you on the left of the picture? If you get the time email back. Where are your adventures taking you now? Be Safe travel with God Sandy