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Do the Inca trail….
4 am pick up outside our hostel so no sleep had but buzzing with excitement. We have been pushing ourselves travelling to get to this part of the adventure, the Inca trail to Machu Picchu.
We booked this tour back in January 2019 so we have been building up to this point for a long time. We choose a company called Alpaca Expeditions, not cheap (about $700 each) but they have amazing reviews and we wanted to do it properly. We booked the 4D 3N Inca Trail. There are other trails but the Inca one is really sacred and limited to only 500 people a day and 300 of those people are the porters for the other 200 “Gringos” like us.
We had our briefing the night before and met our guides and the rest of our group that we would be spending the next 4 days with. 12 people in all, mostly American bar one Phillopino and us. Our next 4 days would look like this:
An hour or so drive winding into the Sacred Valley as the sun came up the view revealed themselves. The Andes soaring around us, layers of valley upon valley going off into the distance with snow-capped mountains around. At this altitude and this time of day the air is so clear, the resolution and clarity are just breathtaking. We stop for breakfast and get to meet our gang properly for the first time over eggs, fruit and tea. Everyone is a lot more relaxed now that we’re on the move. Another bit of a drive and we are here and ready to hike:
Check in to strict but once we are in we are on the trail:
It is hot and dry and the going is good, we’re at the lowest altitude we will be at for the next few days and the valley really just begins to open up to us.
We hiked along the dusty track till lunch at about 1. It was really lovely actually getting into the valley, winding along with the river keeping us company all the way. It was pretty easy going with one or two steep climbs for the first stage. About mid-morning we came to our first Inca ruin Llactapata:
After some more hot hiking, we came to our welcome lunch stop. A lovely 2-course meal of fresh tasty food. Another few hours of hiking and Gabby and I were first into our camp for the night. When you get into camp the porters clap and welcome you in, it is really lovely. They give us hot water to have a quick wash and then is “happy hour”, we gather in the tent and have snacks, hot drinks and chat about the day till dinner is served. After dinner, we do the ritual of meeting all the porters and cooks. We all stand around in a circle and they all introduce themselves, the youngest porter is 19 and the eldest is 52. There are 18 porters, a head chef, and a commis chef and our two guides, Juan Carlos is our head guide and you can see they all look up to him and he really looks after them all and there is Max his right-hand man. We have to introduce ourselves also and then we all get to shake hands with them. A really lovely ceremony. Then to bed finally and some sleep as day two is the hardest day with 10 hours of hiking and altitudes of over 4200 meters to climb.
4 am wake up call so we can have breakfast and be on the path for 5 am as we have a long day ahead and it is mostly uphill. My body is really feeling it but I feel really good. At our first little stop before the climbing really begins JC talks to us about the “Coca”. You see all the porters with a little mound in their lower jaw, this is a wad of Coca leaf that they chew. Yes, cocaine comes from this plant but in its natural state, it is one of the most nutrient intense plants. It is packed full of carbs, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and lots of vitamins. After chewing a few leafs all altitude sickness and tiredness fell away and you can climb forever. It is a real sacred plant and is treated as such, used as offerings and in ritual. Our first break is after 3 hours of climbing and we can see our first high peak we need to pass, “Dead Woman’s Pass” at 4200 meters. The scenery is stunning and the air is so clear and fresh. I will not bore you with words, here are some images instead, ending with our spectacular camp:
The weather was moody but we were very lucky and it really was spectacular.
Dinner and bed.
Day three was a lot easier and we had a sleep in till 6 am! The day continued through the most stunning views of the valley. We also had 3 hours of the “Gringo Killer”, 3 hours of steep steps all the way down. My words do not feel adequate so here are more images:
we saw two Condors flying in tandem here:
Day 4 it was 3 am wake up call so we could be first people into the Machu Picchu park, only 3-hour trek to get to the sun gate where we were met with cloud sadly but I did get to meet Ewan Mcgregor, he is filming a new “Long way round”. Then onto Machu Picchu, the 7th wonder of the world! From the sun gate on it all changes, the day hikers start to fill the path and you get to mix with normal clean people again and it is a bit overwhelming when you actually get to Machu Picchu but I have to say, it really is worth it and it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Our amazing SUPER guide Juan Carlos
His right-hand man Max (the mountain lion)
A stunning journey that I can only tell a fragment of here. I loved it so much! One of the best things I have ever done.