Inca Trail

The popular starting point for the Inca trail is Km 82, a few miles from our overnight stay of Ollayantambo.  On arrival to Km 82 we handed over our duffle bags so they could be weighed to ensure they do not exceed 6 Kgs.  After some paperwork and a cool stamp in the passport (entrance to the trail is tightly controlled and you have to reserve your places months in advance) we get our walking sticks and head off eager for the adventure ahead.

The first day is by far the easist with only 500 metres to ascend over 12 kilometers.  Half way along the trail we stopped at our first Inca site.  The site was fascinating but personally I was more struck by the magnificent scenery we were surrounded by.  A quick chat with some of our companions found I was not alone, the dramatic mountains were awe inspiring.  Little did we know that in just a few days we would see truely jaw dropping scenery.

We had our first taste of the level of hospitality provided by the chefs and porters that were travelling with us when we stopped for lunch.  We arrived at a small campsite where a tent had been set up, housing a long table, stools for 16 people, the table was already laid with table cloth, cutlery, napkins and even salt and pepper shakers!  Starter was a delicious asparagus soup, followed by trout and vegetables for main.  We had fruit juice with the meal and a hot drink to finish, apparently this helps ones digestion system, which slows down considerably at altitude.  We were all blown away by the quality of the food.

We continued our hike onto the first campsite, on arrival we found our tents already pitched in a neat line.  The porters had already laid out sleeping mats and placed our duffle bags in our tents.  Some enterprising chap appeared with some beers so I treated myself to a couple, I had been alcohol free for over a week due to the illness and medication. Shortly after we were introduced to the porters and chefs.  For our group of 16 there were 19 porters, 2 chefs and 2 guides.  Afternoon tea followed, which included freshly popped popcorn, and our guide introduced us to the card game asshole - a bit like shithead but quick and easier for a big group.  Dinner that evening was similar to lunch but we dessert too.  Everyone retired to bed early as we had an early morning start and we had been told the second day was the toughest.

The second day was much harder than the first.  We had to climb 1000 metres to an altitude of 3800m, and the first stop/meeting point was after climbing 500m.  To make things a bit tougher there was persistent precipiation, we joked that it was like British rain - not particularly heavy but a constant drizzle that manages to soak right through.  If we did the hike at a normal altitude it would not have been especially difficult, however the effect of the altitude and thinness of the air really makes the going tougher.  Even with all the aclimitisaition we had done in Arequipa, Colca Canyon, Cusco and Ollayantambo we were getting out of breath very quickly.  Once I got used to being constantly short of breath when climbing long hills it became easier, it reminded me of some of the long hill climbs I had done on my bike in the Peak District back home.

The last stage of the climb before we reached the highest point of 3820m was pretty hard for Nilgun, despite demolishing both a Tracker bar and Snickers bar there wasn't much left in the tank, a little motivation and some Gatorade (Nil would never normally touch an energy drink nor Snickers) and we made it to the top.  A short break for photos and then we set off on the descent.  Whilst coming down is less tiring I actually preferred the ascending.  My knees were giving me a fair bit of trouble and some of the Inca steps were very tall, compounding the stress on one's knees.  As we carefully made our way down the wet Inca stairs with our high tech, non-slip shoes and walking poles, the porters were literally running down, carrying 30Kgs (or more) on their backs and wearing nothing more than recycled car tyres as shoes.  The Inca stairs were made more treacherous with the rain and for large stretches the streams ran down the stairs.  One more than one occasion I slipped, with arms and poles flailing around rather comically.

We made it to the campsite by 11:40 which was good going as the guide estimated we would arrive at 14:00 (I think we could have done it quicker but Nilgun was having a good natter with one of the girls, Kit, all the way down!).  The afternoon was filled with lunch, many games of Asshole, snoozes, afternoon tea, more Asshole, dinner and then off to bed.  It was a very wet night and the bottom of my sleeping bag got very wet, somehow I managed to get a few hours of kip - Nilgun I have learnt can sleep practically anywhere in any conditions so woke up somewhat fresher than I did.

The third day of the hike was pretty special.  After another hearty breakfast, for which the chefs had served Pancakes decorated with the shapes of the Nazca lines, we set off for a short quick ascent of 400 metres.  Afterwards we had a small descent and then the rest of the day was spent hike at a relatively constant altitude.  We stopped during the morning at an amazing Inca site, so much of the site was completely intact.  Again the scenery was truly splendid.  I really enjoyed looking out over the valley watching the clouds form and quickly rise from the rainforest below.  Whereas other parts of the trail we had effectively marched head down, on the third day we were stopping every few minutes to take in the vistas and try, but fail, to capture them on camera.  The handful of backpackers along the trail were the only signs on civilisations for as far as the eye could see.  The forests below were completely untouched and the snow capped peaks were just majestic.  I thorougly enjoyed myself on this part of the Inca Trail!

We were treated to another fantastic lunch - it was self service this time so I was able to help myself to the greedy portions I'm used to!  After lunch we had a 2.5 hour walk, all downhill, to our final campsite.  On arrival I was surprised to find that the porters had noted in the morning that my sleeping bag was wet and had dried it out during the day, the service these guys provided was fantastic.  The chefs even had a surprise for us later that afternoon; earlier that day they had baked (well, steamed because they cannot carry an oven around with them) us a cake and even iced it!

On the final morning we had a 4am wake up call with a quick breakfast before setting off on the final hike to Machu Picchu. It was an easy 2 hour walk to the sun gate, where we had our first glimpse of the magnificent Machu Piccu,  Part of the reason for going so early was that we got there before the hordes of tourists arrived on the train.  Before our guide gave us an informative tour of the Inca site we took some awesome pictures from the same position as most typical postcard pictures show Machu Picchu.  After out tour we said goodbye to our guide and were left to wonder round the side freely.  We were all surprised by how big Machu Picchu was, something that pictures of the site never seem to convey.  I was amazed by the huge pieces of granite that the Inca's had cut to such precise sizes, with perfectly straight edges and smooth surfaces.  How did they produce these without the use of modern day tools?

After we had exhausted our cameras battery and memory card we took a short bus ride down to the nearest town on the river, a stopping off point for visitors to Machu Picchu.  We celebrated with a hearty meal and ice cold beers.  After lunch we took the train through the Sacred Valley back to Ollantaytambo, where we jumped on a minibus back to Cusco.  Throughout the train journey and particularly the minibus the drinks were flowing, we had just finished the Inca Trail it was Christmas Eve and we were in the mood to celebrate!