Here we are, walking along the famous Inca Trail to reach the Inca city of Machu Picchu. We booked the tour through the Internet from the UK as the places are limited on the trail, 500 people per day (50/50 between porters/guides and tourists). For the high season you have to book 3-4 months in advance, for the low season you still have to book 1 month in advance. We have chosen All Trek Cusco as they were the cheapest and they also looked serious, we have paid $299 for the 4 days trek (included: guide, meals, renting of the tents, mats, entrance to the trail, entrance to Machu Picchu, train from Aguas Calientes to Cusco, porters to carry the tent, the equipment and the food) plus $12 each for renting the sleeping bags (that you have to carry with your mat) and $35 for half a porter (6kg) to share between the 2 of us.
Day 1: The beginning of our Inca adventure
We got up very early as our guide was supposed to pick us up between 6.30-7am but he turned up a bit late! We left all the stuff we did not need at our hotel and took only light backpacks with us...very light for Gosia, not that light for Laurence! We walked to another hotel to pick up two Norwegians from our group and caught a cab to the bus. We all got on a tourist bus (new, nice and clean!) where we met people from other groups and went to Ollantaytambo where we had a 30min break. Getting off the bus at Ollantaytambo we have been submerged by people trying to sell us walking sticks, rain ponchos, coca leaves, coca sweets, etc... We got back on the bus to reach "Kilometer 82" (82km from Cusco on the rail track), the departure of the Inca Trail! When we arrived it turned out to be a bit messy; many buses, tourists, guides, porters,... Our guide told us that we will have lunch and leave only at 1pm to avoid queuing at the check point. This was a good idea as in this way we had the track for ourselves. Waiting for lunch we met our group: 2 Norwegians, Vivian and Gunaar, and 3 Australians, Mark, Suzie and John. After a very nice lunch, we first went to the check point where our guide had to show our tickets and we had to show our passports. We finally started the walk by crossing a bridge above the Urubamba river that was moving a lot with the strong wind that was blowing. We walked 4 hours to reach our campground. The path followed the river Urubamba and then the river Cusichaca and we saw 3 Inca ruins on the way (Salapunku, Llaqtapta & Pulpituyuq). The guides also stopped to show us medicinal plants used by the Incas. When we arrived at Wayllabamba at 5pm, the porters had already set up the camp and we just had to sit down on our "Inca sofas" in the dinning tent to have very tasty popcorns with a nice tea! We have been very impressed by the dinner and the service, outstanding! After a long day we went to bed very early at 8.30pm.
Weather: sunny and very windy
Altitude: dep. 2750m ,arr. 3000m, max. 3000m
Distance: 12 km
Walking time: 4h
Difficulty: easy ("Inca flat"=up and downs)
Campground: Wayllabamba, very nice surroundings
Day 2: The test!
We got up at 5.30am with our porters bringing us teas to our tent. After a nice breakfast our guide Herbert introduced us to our 7 porters (22 to 40 years old) half of them being farmers and the other half students, all doing this hard job to make some extra cash. We left the camp (3000m) at 7.20am and started going up to the highest pass of the Inca Trail, 4200m. We did the "ascension" in 4h, stopping two times for 10min breaks. The first part was the easiest, as there was some flat portions, but the two other parts were tuff, the slope was constantly steep and the track was mainly made from stone stairs, which were pretty high. Then the way down to the campsite was very easy, with stairs but not that steep. In one hour we reached the camp, already all set up by our efficient porters. The rest of the day was very relaxing, spent eating and enjoying the beautiful view on the mountains!
Weather: sunny
Altitude: dep. 3000m, arr. 3600m, max. 4200m
Distance: 11km
Walking time: 5h
Difficulty: hard, 4h (breaks included!) of walking up a steep slope
Campground: Pacamayu, beautiful view
Day 3: The rain :(
We woke up discovering the mountains enveloped in mist. This gave a very special atmosphere. It became less fun when it started raining but the rain stopped by the time we left the camp at 7.15am. On the way up we saw the Inca site of Runcuracay, which probably was a relay for messengers coming from Cusco with messages for Machu Picchu. We passed a pass at 3800m where we had to put our hats and gloves as it was very cold. Then on the way down we visited an Inca site called Sayacmarca, very nice but we were not able to enjoy the view on the valley because of the mist. This place was probably a place to exchange products coming from the Amazonie, the mountains and the coast. Going down we entered the rainforest, with the mist it really was special. We stopped for lunch at 10.45am and had a 1h45 break. In the afternoon we saw two other Inca sites. Because of the mist we did not see much of the first one, Phuyupatamarca, but what we could see was very nice. After the site, the track was only made of steep stairs, some of them made in the rock. Going down we arrived bellow the mist and could finally fully enjoy the tropical landscapes and the beauty of the second site, Winaywayna, with all its impressive terraces. When we arrived at the campsite we were quite surprised as it is very different from the previous ones. There is a bar and a big room where some groups eat, no more "dinning tent" for us. You can also have a hot shower for S/5 but you have to queue! Our camp was right next to the bar and was very noisy, we could hear the loud music and people kept passing next to our tent. Dinner was very nice and we even had wine as some guys in our group bought few bottles. We gave some wine to our great porters and tips $10-15 each. Then we went to bed and tried to sleep despite all the noise!
Weather: rainy and very misty
Altitude: dep. 3600m, arr. 2650m, max. 3800m
Distance: 16 km
Walking time: 7h30
Difficulty: medium (not that hard physically but lots of stairs on the way, a bit tricky sometimes)
Campground: Winayhuayna, very noisy because of the bar
Day 4: We made it to Machu Picchu!
Today was the big day, the one we had been waiting for ages, the arrival to Machu Picchu! We got up at 4am to leave the camp at 5am. The aim was to be at the Sun Gate (=Inti Punku) for the sun rise on Machu Picchu. We arrived at the check point a few minutes after leaving the camp and had to wait for 5.30am when the check point open. We were lucky as we were at the beginning of a very long queue. We walked very fast to try to make it for the sun rise. We arrived 40min later at the Sun Gate, very sweaty....to discover Machu Picchu under the mist! Luckily 10min later the view started to get clearer and we soon discover the famous site of Machu Picchu, very impressive. We then walked another 20-25min to enter the site. We had a 2h30min tour with our guide but felt that the visit could have been longer and more detailled this site being so massive. We then walked up to the top of Wayna Picchu (only 400 people per day can go, we were the number 290 & 291 at 10h45, the quota was not reached at 1pm when we signed off...it must be a different story during the high season). It took us 45min to climb all the steep stairs! The view from the top was amazing. The way down was much easier than the way up! Afterwards we wandered a bit longer in Machu Picchu but were very tired so we caught a bus to Aguas Calientes (a very touristy town), very nice buses that depart ever 5-10min, but very expensive, $6 (it was included in our Inca Trail package)! There is no road to Aguas Calientes, the only way to travel is the train. The very expensive train ticket to Cusco, $46 (4h trip!), was also included in our Inca Trail package. This train is very slow, 30km/h, but follows the Urubamba river and you can see very nice landscapes. We jumped off the train in Ollantaytambo (1h30 from Aguas Calientes) as we wanted to visit the ruins next to the village the next day. This was an awesome but very tiring day :)
Weather: Sunny
Altitude: dep. 2650m ,arr. 2400m (Machu Picchu)
Distance: 4 km
Walking time: 1h
Difficulty: easy but hard when you go very fast to see the sun rise!
Campground: none
Impressions on the Inca Trail:
_Lots of people on the track but except at the beginning when you leave the campground you can manage to be on your own.
_Our porters were outstanding, very nice and helpful. The amount of things they can carry (officially no more than 20kg) and their speed is impressive.
_Beautiful landscapes and nice Inca sites visited on the way
_Our guide was nice and funny but his explanations in English were a bit limited and we felt we could have learnt more about the Incas.
_We have been lucky with our group, we were all the same age and went on pretty well, even if the Australians were a bit annoying sometimes.
Day 1: The beginning of our Inca adventure
We got up very early as our guide was supposed to pick us up between 6.30-7am but he turned up a bit late! We left all the stuff we did not need at our hotel and took only light backpacks with us...very light for Gosia, not that light for Laurence! We walked to another hotel to pick up two Norwegians from our group and caught a cab to the bus. We all got on a tourist bus (new, nice and clean!) where we met people from other groups and went to Ollantaytambo where we had a 30min break. Getting off the bus at Ollantaytambo we have been submerged by people trying to sell us walking sticks, rain ponchos, coca leaves, coca sweets, etc... We got back on the bus to reach "Kilometer 82" (82km from Cusco on the rail track), the departure of the Inca Trail! When we arrived it turned out to be a bit messy; many buses, tourists, guides, porters,... Our guide told us that we will have lunch and leave only at 1pm to avoid queuing at the check point. This was a good idea as in this way we had the track for ourselves. Waiting for lunch we met our group: 2 Norwegians, Vivian and Gunaar, and 3 Australians, Mark, Suzie and John. After a very nice lunch, we first went to the check point where our guide had to show our tickets and we had to show our passports. We finally started the walk by crossing a bridge above the Urubamba river that was moving a lot with the strong wind that was blowing. We walked 4 hours to reach our campground. The path followed the river Urubamba and then the river Cusichaca and we saw 3 Inca ruins on the way (Salapunku, Llaqtapta & Pulpituyuq). The guides also stopped to show us medicinal plants used by the Incas. When we arrived at Wayllabamba at 5pm, the porters had already set up the camp and we just had to sit down on our "Inca sofas" in the dinning tent to have very tasty popcorns with a nice tea! We have been very impressed by the dinner and the service, outstanding! After a long day we went to bed very early at 8.30pm.
Weather: sunny and very windy
Altitude: dep. 2750m ,arr. 3000m, max. 3000m
Distance: 12 km
Walking time: 4h
Difficulty: easy ("Inca flat"=up and downs)
Campground: Wayllabamba, very nice surroundings
Day 2: The test!
We got up at 5.30am with our porters bringing us teas to our tent. After a nice breakfast our guide Herbert introduced us to our 7 porters (22 to 40 years old) half of them being farmers and the other half students, all doing this hard job to make some extra cash. We left the camp (3000m) at 7.20am and started going up to the highest pass of the Inca Trail, 4200m. We did the "ascension" in 4h, stopping two times for 10min breaks. The first part was the easiest, as there was some flat portions, but the two other parts were tuff, the slope was constantly steep and the track was mainly made from stone stairs, which were pretty high. Then the way down to the campsite was very easy, with stairs but not that steep. In one hour we reached the camp, already all set up by our efficient porters. The rest of the day was very relaxing, spent eating and enjoying the beautiful view on the mountains!
Weather: sunny
Altitude: dep. 3000m, arr. 3600m, max. 4200m
Distance: 11km
Walking time: 5h
Difficulty: hard, 4h (breaks included!) of walking up a steep slope
Campground: Pacamayu, beautiful view
Day 3: The rain :(
We woke up discovering the mountains enveloped in mist. This gave a very special atmosphere. It became less fun when it started raining but the rain stopped by the time we left the camp at 7.15am. On the way up we saw the Inca site of Runcuracay, which probably was a relay for messengers coming from Cusco with messages for Machu Picchu. We passed a pass at 3800m where we had to put our hats and gloves as it was very cold. Then on the way down we visited an Inca site called Sayacmarca, very nice but we were not able to enjoy the view on the valley because of the mist. This place was probably a place to exchange products coming from the Amazonie, the mountains and the coast. Going down we entered the rainforest, with the mist it really was special. We stopped for lunch at 10.45am and had a 1h45 break. In the afternoon we saw two other Inca sites. Because of the mist we did not see much of the first one, Phuyupatamarca, but what we could see was very nice. After the site, the track was only made of steep stairs, some of them made in the rock. Going down we arrived bellow the mist and could finally fully enjoy the tropical landscapes and the beauty of the second site, Winaywayna, with all its impressive terraces. When we arrived at the campsite we were quite surprised as it is very different from the previous ones. There is a bar and a big room where some groups eat, no more "dinning tent" for us. You can also have a hot shower for S/5 but you have to queue! Our camp was right next to the bar and was very noisy, we could hear the loud music and people kept passing next to our tent. Dinner was very nice and we even had wine as some guys in our group bought few bottles. We gave some wine to our great porters and tips $10-15 each. Then we went to bed and tried to sleep despite all the noise!
Weather: rainy and very misty
Altitude: dep. 3600m, arr. 2650m, max. 3800m
Distance: 16 km
Walking time: 7h30
Difficulty: medium (not that hard physically but lots of stairs on the way, a bit tricky sometimes)
Campground: Winayhuayna, very noisy because of the bar
Day 4: We made it to Machu Picchu!
Today was the big day, the one we had been waiting for ages, the arrival to Machu Picchu! We got up at 4am to leave the camp at 5am. The aim was to be at the Sun Gate (=Inti Punku) for the sun rise on Machu Picchu. We arrived at the check point a few minutes after leaving the camp and had to wait for 5.30am when the check point open. We were lucky as we were at the beginning of a very long queue. We walked very fast to try to make it for the sun rise. We arrived 40min later at the Sun Gate, very sweaty....to discover Machu Picchu under the mist! Luckily 10min later the view started to get clearer and we soon discover the famous site of Machu Picchu, very impressive. We then walked another 20-25min to enter the site. We had a 2h30min tour with our guide but felt that the visit could have been longer and more detailled this site being so massive. We then walked up to the top of Wayna Picchu (only 400 people per day can go, we were the number 290 & 291 at 10h45, the quota was not reached at 1pm when we signed off...it must be a different story during the high season). It took us 45min to climb all the steep stairs! The view from the top was amazing. The way down was much easier than the way up! Afterwards we wandered a bit longer in Machu Picchu but were very tired so we caught a bus to Aguas Calientes (a very touristy town), very nice buses that depart ever 5-10min, but very expensive, $6 (it was included in our Inca Trail package)! There is no road to Aguas Calientes, the only way to travel is the train. The very expensive train ticket to Cusco, $46 (4h trip!), was also included in our Inca Trail package. This train is very slow, 30km/h, but follows the Urubamba river and you can see very nice landscapes. We jumped off the train in Ollantaytambo (1h30 from Aguas Calientes) as we wanted to visit the ruins next to the village the next day. This was an awesome but very tiring day :)
Weather: Sunny
Altitude: dep. 2650m ,arr. 2400m (Machu Picchu)
Distance: 4 km
Walking time: 1h
Difficulty: easy but hard when you go very fast to see the sun rise!
Campground: none
Impressions on the Inca Trail:
_Lots of people on the track but except at the beginning when you leave the campground you can manage to be on your own.
_Our porters were outstanding, very nice and helpful. The amount of things they can carry (officially no more than 20kg) and their speed is impressive.
_Beautiful landscapes and nice Inca sites visited on the way
_Our guide was nice and funny but his explanations in English were a bit limited and we felt we could have learnt more about the Incas.
_We have been lucky with our group, we were all the same age and went on pretty well, even if the Australians were a bit annoying sometimes.
