When we arrived in Cusco we had (thanks to Mark) the Inca trail already booked. We met with the guide the day before we left to discuss the itinerary and the necessary items to bring with us. We all rented sleeping bags and mats while Darragh, Conor and myself took it up another notch and rented hiking boots. We had to look the part on the mountan!
We were picked up at our hostel at 6am and travelled by bus to km82 (start of the Inca Trail). Everything was going to plan until we found out that there was a misunderstanding in the meeting the previous day. The guide had told us the porters (Porters carry the heavy camping equipment for the trek) can carry our backpacks once they do not exceed 20kg.....but he left out the fact that it costs extra. A few words were exchanged with the guide that can't be repeated in the blog but at the end of the day we either had to pay the porters extra or carry the bags ourselves. So we manned up and shouldered the loads ourselves. The average weight in each bag was around 17kg. I know it doesn't sound that much but when you are carrying all this extra weight at altitude for four days it makes a huge difference. We got our passports stamped and off we set on the trail.
The Incas developed the Inca trails to communicate between different towns and villages. The trail meanders through the Sacred Valley up over "Dead Woman's Pass" (4200 M) and down into a rain forest. The trail is made up of stone paths and steps. The guide told us that there was a race from Cusco to Machu Picchu held in 2004 between the Porters. The porter that won the race completed the 27 mile trail in 3 hours 37 mins!! This is really impressive but it is no surprise the way the porters can run up the hills with 20kg on their backs.
The first ruin was Llactapata "Village in the Highland". Pretty epic view from up high!
After 3 hours treking we arrived at our camp. The tents were already set up. We were very impressed with the quality of the food. One of the porters was a chief for the group. I think the crowd favourite was the trout we got for dinner on the first night! At night we slept in tents with two porters sleeping out side for safety. In the mornings we were woking up early to tea in bed which was great! The Coca tea gives you a good kick start to the day.
The first day was pretty easy compared to day two! The is the most difficult part of the trek. The guide told us that it is a steep upward climb for 5 hours until you reach "Dead Woman's Pass" and then two hours of steep downhill to the camp site. This is where we put our bodies to the test. We went for a rotation system at the front for intervals of 15mins (Something like you would see in the tour de France!) with short breaks in between. It took us 3 hours to reach the top. Lets just say there were another few words said as we came near the top of the mountain that cannot be repeated in the blog. We were pretty impressed to be at the front of the group leading the way even with our big backpacks and full of new found respect for Mark's mom Yvonne who had hiked this 3 years ago! That's a gauntlet thrown down for the rest of the parents out there. There are no ruins to be seen on the second day but it was great sense of achievement to reach "Dead Woman's Pass".
Day three it is considered the longest part of the trail but is is not as difficult a climb as the previous day. There are a number of Inca ruins to see so it breaks up the day nicely. We climbed to the second pass where we visited the Inca site called Runkuracay. After we descended to Sayaqmarca where it began to rain. We finally got to use our ponchos! However as the rain got heavier the ponchos didn't hold us to the task. We got soaked! Next up was Conchamarka and the first Inca tunnel which is about 20 meters long. Then we came to Phuyupatamarca where at this stage I gave up wearing the poncho all together. There was no point as I was already soaked to the bone.
On the fourth and final day we saw Intipunku, The Sun Gate and of course Machu Picchu, what was once considered the lost City of the Incas. The fourth day is a short day of treking. It only takes 3 hours to get to Machu Picchu. However, it was raining again for the 3 hours which made it a bit harder to stay on your feet! Eddie tried to keep up with the porters at one stage and took a bit of a slip. Luckly enough he didn't fall over the cliff ....AGAIN! When we arrived at Machu Picchu at 7am in the morning the whole place was covered in mist.
The guide gave us a two hour tour of Machu Picchu. I think the site is up there with the ruins in Cambodia but I think Angkor Wat is number one for me. We learnt loads though from our tour.
The one story I found funny was the fact they let a beer comerical be filmed up on Machu Picchu. During filming they managed to break part of the Sun dial. I don't think they were left back in!! As the day began to dry we got some better pictures before we headed back to the town Aguas Calientes. We went to the hot springs for the evening (which were well deserved after our four days of treking) and then got the train back to Cusco.
We were picked up at our hostel at 6am and travelled by bus to km82 (start of the Inca Trail). Everything was going to plan until we found out that there was a misunderstanding in the meeting the previous day. The guide had told us the porters (Porters carry the heavy camping equipment for the trek) can carry our backpacks once they do not exceed 20kg.....but he left out the fact that it costs extra. A few words were exchanged with the guide that can't be repeated in the blog but at the end of the day we either had to pay the porters extra or carry the bags ourselves. So we manned up and shouldered the loads ourselves. The average weight in each bag was around 17kg. I know it doesn't sound that much but when you are carrying all this extra weight at altitude for four days it makes a huge difference. We got our passports stamped and off we set on the trail.
The Incas developed the Inca trails to communicate between different towns and villages. The trail meanders through the Sacred Valley up over "Dead Woman's Pass" (4200 M) and down into a rain forest. The trail is made up of stone paths and steps. The guide told us that there was a race from Cusco to Machu Picchu held in 2004 between the Porters. The porter that won the race completed the 27 mile trail in 3 hours 37 mins!! This is really impressive but it is no surprise the way the porters can run up the hills with 20kg on their backs.
After 3 hours treking we arrived at our camp. The tents were already set up. We were very impressed with the quality of the food. One of the porters was a chief for the group. I think the crowd favourite was the trout we got for dinner on the first night! At night we slept in tents with two porters sleeping out side for safety. In the mornings we were woking up early to tea in bed which was great! The Coca tea gives you a good kick start to the day.
The first day was pretty easy compared to day two! The is the most difficult part of the trek. The guide told us that it is a steep upward climb for 5 hours until you reach "Dead Woman's Pass" and then two hours of steep downhill to the camp site. This is where we put our bodies to the test. We went for a rotation system at the front for intervals of 15mins (Something like you would see in the tour de France!) with short breaks in between. It took us 3 hours to reach the top. Lets just say there were another few words said as we came near the top of the mountain that cannot be repeated in the blog. We were pretty impressed to be at the front of the group leading the way even with our big backpacks and full of new found respect for Mark's mom Yvonne who had hiked this 3 years ago! That's a gauntlet thrown down for the rest of the parents out there. There are no ruins to be seen on the second day but it was great sense of achievement to reach "Dead Woman's Pass".
Day three it is considered the longest part of the trail but is is not as difficult a climb as the previous day. There are a number of Inca ruins to see so it breaks up the day nicely. We climbed to the second pass where we visited the Inca site called Runkuracay. After we descended to Sayaqmarca where it began to rain. We finally got to use our ponchos! However as the rain got heavier the ponchos didn't hold us to the task. We got soaked! Next up was Conchamarka and the first Inca tunnel which is about 20 meters long. Then we came to Phuyupatamarca where at this stage I gave up wearing the poncho all together. There was no point as I was already soaked to the bone.
On the fourth and final day we saw Intipunku, The Sun Gate and of course Machu Picchu, what was once considered the lost City of the Incas. The fourth day is a short day of treking. It only takes 3 hours to get to Machu Picchu. However, it was raining again for the 3 hours which made it a bit harder to stay on your feet! Eddie tried to keep up with the porters at one stage and took a bit of a slip. Luckly enough he didn't fall over the cliff ....AGAIN! When we arrived at Machu Picchu at 7am in the morning the whole place was covered in mist.
The guide gave us a two hour tour of Machu Picchu. I think the site is up there with the ruins in Cambodia but I think Angkor Wat is number one for me. We learnt loads though from our tour.
Forgive me for stating the obvious but the Inca's were obsessed with mountains. A lot of their sacred places including Machu Picchu were built at great altitudes and mentioned in earlier blogs they had left child sacrifices at mountain tops in times of change or strive to appease their gods. Another example that we were shown at Machu Picchu is how they mirror the shapes of surrounding mountains in miniature. Conor got a good photo of one of these below.
The one story I found funny was the fact they let a beer comerical be filmed up on Machu Picchu. During filming they managed to break part of the Sun dial. I don't think they were left back in!! As the day began to dry we got some better pictures before we headed back to the town Aguas Calientes. We went to the hot springs for the evening (which were well deserved after our four days of treking) and then got the train back to Cusco.
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