Cuzco, Peru

With the first rays of light, and unmistakable sound of rain, we happily got off the bus in Cuzco and made our way to the El Tuco, a really lovely place ran by “Coco”. After a quick nap, we went out to explore the city and meet our SAS Inca Trail hiking group at the pre-meeting. We quickly determined that Cuzco was a very pretty and interesting city, with many side-streets to adventure out from the main touristy gringo areas. Later in the evening, we got the full briefing on our 4 day Inca Trail hike from our main guide, Saul, who was really energetic and excited! We met the 9 other Americans, 4 semi-Brit’s on our trip and headed off to sleep after our $1.50 dinner.

We got picked up at our hostel the next morning before the sun was up. After going around town and getting everyone on the bus, we headed towards the Sacred Valley of the Inca’s, where kilometer 82 of the Inca Trail is located and our 4 day hike would begin. At breakfast, we learned that 3 of the 15 people in our hiking crew would have birthdays on the trail and that everyone was really excited, despite the off and on rain. Actually, about half of our group had come to celebrate someone’s 30th birthday by doing the Inca trail and all were somehow connected. The vibe was great from the start.

The Inca Trail

Day 1

After a brief pit-stop in Ollantambo, we got out of the bus and began our trek at the famous “kilometer 82”. We crossed a bridge over the “sacred” and raging Urubamaba River, which we would follow the entire Inca Trail. Then, we began our slow and steady climb. It was still really early in the day and we had quite a while until lunch, but the scenery took our minds away from our appetites as the rain cleared and we could view the steep Andes Mountains and the beautiful scenery all around us.

Saul, our guide, allowed us to take very frequent breaks and explained the flora, fauna, geography, and history of the Inca and Pre-Inca Cultures along the way. For example, our first lesson was about a beautiful white trumpet flower (a potent hallucinogenic plant) some guys he knew that made a tea from it and went crazy. For lunch, our first actual meal on the trek, we were happily surprised with the quality and variety. There were about 6 different freshly prepared dishes to choose from (at every meal!). After lunch, we passed by an overlook where we spotted some really impressive ruins along the river. We spent the rest of the day getting to know our group better and found that we were in the company of a variety of interesting people from a Walmart executive, several army contractors, a lawyer, massage therapist, to a PE Teacher. We arrived at camp, “Wayllabamba” in the late afternoon with our tent already set up for us and hot water ready to wash our faces with! This was our first “group” backpacking experience and we were amazed with the luxury of it!... Note to self…. Afternoon tea was followed by “joke” telling and a great dinner, then it was off to bed in order to rest up for day 2, which is the longest and most difficult day of the trail.

Day 2

When we woke up in the morning, we were immediately handed a cup of hot coca tea through our tent. Wow, there is nothing like getting your morning started in your sleeping bag with a hot cup of tea! At breakfast, we were informed of the route for the day, which included a 3 to 4 hour uphill section and then 2 hours of downhill on steep terrain, than another 2 hour uphill. We began the day walking through a temperate rain forest and then a cloud forest. There was a waterfall running next to the trail and everything was covered in green moss and lichens. JJ and I agreed that with all of the branches and the bromeliads everywhere you looked, we felt like we were in a Dr. Seuss book, similar to a landscape we hiked through with our friend Justin, about 5 years ago on Frasier Island off the east coast of Australia. The clouds, fog, and mist set into the valley we hiked up and out of on our way to “Dead Woman’s Pass”, the toughest climb of the Inca Trail. We could not really see the pass, but about 500 meters from the top, we heard the sound of Andean windpipes. It was awesome! Our own live soundtrack, provided (we later found out) by one of the guides on the trail. We finally reached the top of the trail and pounded back some cereal bars and chocolate bars called “Sublime” (Peruvian version of a Mr. Goodbar) and began walking down the steep stone steps. By lunch time, the rain was coming down pretty hard and we were excited for a break from the very steep steps.

Although, because of the rain, the waterfalls next to the lunch spot, Pacaymayo, were full of water and pouring down the mountain. Walking out of the lunch tent, the rain subsided and we had a full view of waterfalls surrounding us. After walking for a bit, we entered another set of really impressive ruins, that Saul believed were a watchtower overlooking the Sacred Valley. After climbing and descending more, we took some great pictures of the clouded Andes Mountains, and walked through more ruins, thought to have been a mountain market along the Inca Trail (500 years ago!) and an astrological viewpoint.

We made it to the 2nd campsite just before dark. At this point, there was no rain and we finally got to meet all 22 chuskees (porters) for our group. The entire time we were on the trail we saw mostly very tiny, but extremely strong indigenous, Quechua speaking Andean men hauling packs on their backs up the trail at a very fast pace. There are now limits on what the porters (ages 18 – around 60 years old) can carry, up to a limit of 25 kilograms (about 55 pounds). Although, they prefer the name chuskee – which is the Quechua word for Incan running warrior or messenger (I would prefer that too!). These men are vital to hiking groups doing the Inca Trail by transporting all the food, tents, chairs, etc. that the group will need for the 3-4 days on the trail. Their packs often seemed much larger than they were, yet they would keep a very fast pace and travel in groups uphill and usually run downhill! After dinner, there were some “ghost stories” told by Saul and we all fell asleep to the rain outside.

Day 3

At breakfast the next morning, we were informed that there had been a rock slide between the 3rd campsite and the sun gate (traditional entrance to Machu Picchu). Therefore, we would be actually completing the trail today and not hiking through to Machu Picchu. We were all disappointed, but understood the safety concern. After a mostly rainy morning of downhill hiking, we stopped just before a steep downhill section to enjoy a few moments of sunshine. We had passed through two original Inca Tunnels through the rock on the way, and stopped to reflect and discuss the history of the tunnels and the trail. All of the sudden, JJ and I looked up and spotted the most gorgeous (and large) Technicolor butterfly. It was the prettiest one I have ever seen and seemed almost fluorescent. We made our way to Huinay Huayna (Winawayna) where we stopped for lunch and watched the rain come pouring down. Since it was our first trip on the Inca Trail and Saul’s last for the season, he decided that at the Huinay Huayna ruins we would have a sacred ceremony to Pachamama, Mother Earth. After viewing the ruins from the rainy windows of one of the sacred temples at the Incan site, we made a giant circle with the chuskees and Saul led us through a beautiful ceremony. He played some Incan and Pre-Incan tunes on his recorder (flute like instrument) and we all made an offering of coca leaves and buried them in the ground. It was a really memorable part of the journey.

After lunch, we hiked down to the train tracks and made our along the river and past a hydro-electric dam to Aguas Calientes, the last town before Machu Picchu. The way was long and flat, but our legs were tired. We arrived at the hostel with just enough time to put on our bathing suits and run to the packed hot springs before dinner. We had a really great time with our awesome group and we were happy to relax with them in the warm, but not so hot water. After dinner, everyone headed to bed in order to get some shut-eye before the 3:30 wake up call. We needed to get to Machu Picchu early in order to get a stamp that would allow us to hike up Huayna (Wayna) Picchu, the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu that only 400 people get to hike up a day.