Peru ~ Part 2 ‘The Inca Trail’

The Inca Trail portion of our trip started a little rough with Ben getting terrible food poisoning the night before our trip was scheduled to leave.  Luckily or unluckily for us (however you choose to look at it) our trekking company had a hard time finding porters.  We ended up spending most of our first day at the small town where the trail starts waiting for our porters from Cusco and Ben was able to recover some from the night before.  We spent most of the day watching groups start their trek while we waited and waited…..

Another positive was that we watched the locals getting their pack animals ready to move supplies up the trail.  There is no motorized access and using oxen, horses or donkeys are how provisions make it up the trail.

And we are finally ready to go!  I chose to carry my camera around my waist strap on this trip.  I can honestly say that I won’t ever bring my big DSLR on a trip like this.  I think I would rent (or purchase) one of the new mirrorless cameras such as the Nikon V1.

The first day is the easiest day of the trek.  We hiked at a break-neck pace due to our late departure.

Along the way we passed through small homesites that have beverages and snacks to purchase during the day.  It is fun to see all the animals that mill around.  Here is a little donkey that was hanging out.

Along the way there are Inca ruins that you see in the distance and pass through.

Since we started the trek so late in the day we ran into all the pack stock coming back down the trail.  The animals are not tethered together they just run free down the trail back to town with their handler following behind.  It was really neat to see what life is like for those that work on the trail vs traveling with lots of other tourists down the trail during the peak trekking hours.

As the day grew short there were some awesome views.

We didn’t move fast enough and ended up walking in the dark for 30 minutes or so before reaching camp.  The tents were set up and dinner was being prepared while we arrived.

Day 2 – This is the really hard day!  We were up at 5:30am for the big day ahead.  Today we gain a lot of elevation on our trek – from about 9,600ft to the pass at 13,776ft. We stayed in a village camp site called Hatunchaca where we stocked up on snickers bars and gatorade.  Snickers are a life saver when you start getting hungry and need a quick shot of energy – we ate a lot of them on the trail.

Here is a great display of the elevation gain of the Inca Trail.

Up, up, up the mountain we go.

As the air gets thinner you can start to feel a little lightheaded and nauseous.  We bought a bag of coca leaves to chew on & they really work!  The top is in sight!  See the people in the distance.

Along the way there are bathroom stops and ladies selling snacks and drinks.  They pack this stuff on their backs up here – no pack stock.  We stopped to stock up on more snickers and gatorade.

We made it!

Downhill is not my favorite part.  You can see way down on the bottom left is the base camp.  It was a solid 2 hours downhill and we are so grateful for hiking poles, they are a must have on this trail.

We made it to camp in one piece and very hungry.  The skies parted for us when we got there to an amazing view of the Andes.  Tonight we had a 1000 star hotel – we have never seen so many stars before!  It was an amazing view!

Day 3 – The next day we woke for an easier day (at least that is what they say).  Here is a view of the previous days downhill trek from Dead Woman’s Pass, which is in the saddle on the upper left of the picture.

Here we go again – up, up , up…

I have to say something about the porters – these are amazing people!  They carry up to 33 kilos which is about 73 pounds.  It is not uncommon to see them running either up or down the trail in sandals which don’t slip on the slick rock.  They pack propane tanks, all the camp equipment, your packs & stuff if you hire one, and everything else you need for camp.  They do this carrying all the weight on their shoulders and back, we didn’t see any of them using the waist belt on their packs.  There is a porter’s race to Machu Picchu which is about 26 miles from the trailhead and keep in mind it takes us 3-1/2 days to do it.  The fastest time completed is in 3-1/2 hours, our guide ran it once and finished in 5-1/2 hours and he said he couldn’t move for the week after the race!

Some views from the trek.

On top of one of today’s passes were little temples for coca leaf offerings to Pachamama for offerings to the mountains.  You are to leave 3 leaves to represent the three worlds – the under world, the earth and the sky.

Along the way we stopped at a couple of Inca ruins.  One stop was at a site which served as a post office.  The Incas had trail runners that would be stationed about 7k apart and could make a trip from Machu Picchu to Cusco in 5 hours.  They also had relays that went from Cusco to Lima in 21 hours.  Amazing!

As we have been traveling the flora has been changing to a highlands rainforest.

We have finally made it to the third pass and it is all downhill from here.

Now it’s time for the fun part – down, down, down we go.  Someone counted the stairs once – there are 3000 steps down to the campsite.  This is where your hiking poles become essential for your knees.  We stopped at one Inca site called Phuyupatamarka which they think served as a food storage site.

It was nice to finally see the sun after all the rain we trekked through.  Here is the view from our final campsite of the trek.  Pretty nice hu!

We really enjoyed the whole trekking experience and would highly recommend it to everyone.  The food on the trail was some of the best from our trip.

Day 4: The last morning was an early one – we had a 3:30am wake up call.  We started to the checkpoint at 4:30am and waited in line until it opened at 5:30am.  There is a mad dash to the Sun Gate to see Machu Picchu.  We had been told a lot of people break out in tears at the Sun Gate because they made it.  I thought I won’t do that, well I was wrong.  I really wanted to cry when I made it!  There is something special about getting to Machu Picchu this way.  I felt it was an initiation into the spirit of the place.  I wouldn’t want to go any other way!

View from the Sun Gate

Our trekking group photo

Machu Picchu

The Temple of the Sun.  Inside the Temple of the Sun contains two windows – one that corresponds to the first light of summer solstice and one that corresponds to the first light of winter solstice.

This is some of the Inca’s handiwork with stone.  The tighter and closer fitting the cut is, the more sacred the site or entrance is.

You will see a lot of what looks like stairs in the Inca sites.  Their beliefs included three levels – the underworld represented by the serpent , the earth represented by the puma and the above world represented by the condor.  The different levels in the rock carvings represent this.

This is the sun rock and is said to capture the sun’s energy.  If you hold your hands above the rock (and concentrate) you can feel & receive the sun’s energy.  I did it and felt an incredible amout of energy.

After our tour of the site we went down to the town of Aqua Calientes where we are staying the night.  We were both so tired we just wanted to go relax and lay in a real bed!

 

Day 5: The next day we got up bright and early again – 4:30am this time to make the first bus to Machu Picchu for the site opening at 6:00am.  I was very tired this day and decided not to hike up Wayna Picchu (the mountain behind Machu Picchu in all the pictures).  Even though it was really early this is the best time to go to Machu Picchu.

I walked back to the Inca bridge which was built up against a steep cliff.  The Incas placed a few boards that could be removed if an enemy was trying to raid the site.  It was so peaceful to walk along the trail so early in the morning.  You could really feel the magic of the place!

Here are a few of Ben’s pictures from Wayna Picchu.  It is not a trail for the faint of heart.  Ben said it was really steep and the trail was very narrow.  The reward for your effort is the Temple of the Moon, the spectacular views & the bragging rights to say you climbed it!

After our morning at Machu Picchu we went back to Agua Calienties and caught the trail back to Cusco.  The train is a fun experience.  They have a little entertainment and a fashion show.

Next stop is Iquitos and into the Amazon region.  I hope everyone is enjoying the view!