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Welcome to the second part of my Inca Trail blog. In the first instalment I talked about How we chose a trekking agency, costs, packing tips and more. In this post I will describe our experience of walking the four day trail and my last instalment will detail our climb of Huayna Picchu.. so sit back, read and enjoy!
Having just arrived in Cusco on the 2nd June from Puno, acclimatisation wasn’t a problem for us as we had travelled through Bolivia at altitudes of over 5000 meters. La Paz is the highest capital in South America! We had spent the last four days exploring Cusco and the Sacred Valley but more about that in a separate blog.
Having stocked up on snacks and packed our bags, we were ready for the Inca Trail, or should I say Vaughan was, I wasn’t. Once again I was suffering from an old friend Bronchitis, so my next few days was going to be tough as if the trek wasn’t rated tough already.
Day 1: Cusco to Wayllabamba (12km)
We were collected from our hostel at 6am on the 6th June and from the crowd on the minibus it was obvious we were last to be picked up. Our group of 15 was a good mix of ages, ranging from 19 to late 40’s and all from English speaking countries. There were four Americans, a couple from New Zealand, another Aussie couple, three young English in their 20’s who were travelling together and a couple from Scotland. Everyone seemed friendly and it wasn’t long before we struck up conversation swapping names and where we were from.
Our bus journey of a couple of hours to Ollantaytambo was scenic, although it was a route Vaughan and I were already familiar with as we had just done the Sacred Valley trip the day before. In Ollantayambo we were given an hour to have breakfast so we headed to a café Freddy our guide recommended to fill our boots with a hearty meal. It was another 15 minutes drive to the start of the trail, Kilometre 82, which was also the end of the line for the tourist train. Here we met the porters and those that hired half-porters were able to offload their stuff. We felt a pang of jealousy at this, knowing that for the next three days we would be carrying everything ourselves! Vaughan’s pack weighed 10 kilos and mine 6 kilos which isn’t too bad, I guess. We made the decision to carry our own gear to keep the costs down as we were travelling for a year and need to conserve finances. Before starting the trail, we had a group shot by the famed Inca Trail sign, it was then a short walk to the first checkpoint to check in, show our passports and get our permit checked. The porters have their own check in and they will have their load weighed to make sure they are within the 20kg regulations which was introduced in 2002 to protect porter welfare. Mark from Scotland took a while longer to get through; as only a couple of days before, he and Gillian’s overnight Cruz Del Sur bus from Arequipa to Cusco was hijacked and they took his bag which contained not only his passport but his hiking boots as well! So he hoped his new boots would not give him blisters and the checkpoints wouldn’t give him too much hassle by not having his real passport, only a photocopy. All was good and soon he crossed over the Kusichaca bridge spanning the Urubamba River to join us.
Today’s hike was 12km and Freddy assured us it wasn’t going to be too bad with gradual uphill, odd steep sections and some downhill. The trail started off with some uphill as we climbed up from the bridge. After that the path became more graduated. Our Kiwi friend Duncan though was struggling at the back, barely able to put one foot in front of the other. He was suffering from food poisoning but he pressed on though with Kiwi spirit and determination. Along the way, we passed close to a small village where little shacks had been setup for drinks and snacks so we stopped here to rest for 15 minutes or so and reconvene as we had spread out somewhat. We sick ones at the back were a little on the slow side! Continuing on, ruins of an old Inca hillfort (Huillca Raccay) came into view high above the mouth of the river. The Incas, when they conquered the area, built a fort here since the site commanded an excellent view up and down the Urubamba valley and controlled the entrance to the Cusichaca valley. We took a gentle descent down towards the river which we followed, all the time being rewarded with great views up and down the valley and of the snow-capped peak of Veronica (5860m). Across the river, we were also lucky to see the Tourist train making its way to Kilometre 82, knowing in a few days we will be on it ourselves. The path continued on up gradually though sub-tropical and Eucalyptus forest before opening up to a steep sided valley. We then took a steep ascent up onto a grassy plateau where we sat and enjoyed views over the Inca ruins of Llactapata. Freddy explained that Llactapata means ‘upper town’ in Quechua and was first discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. Hiram was also the first to discover Machu Picchu. It was primarily an agricultural station used to supply Machu Picchu with maize, the staple crop of the Incas. The settlement comprised over one hundred buildings, houses for the workers and soldiers, including five baths. The ruins are quite extensive but unfortunately there was no path to get a closer look and wander through them. While on the plateau, Freddy told us it was customary to add a stone to the ever-growing cairn at the top of Dead Woman’s Pass, I found a nice flat one and stuck it in my bag. The tradition to carry a stone from the bottom of a mountain to the top seems to be universal. As the trail banked around the ruins, it was a chance to get a closer look at them and get some good photos.
It was another 7 kilometres before we reached our first nights camp but not before a lunch stop at Tarachayoc. The lunch tent had been setup and a delicious spread was ready when we arrived. It was good to sit down, take the pack off and rest the feet and tuck into a delicious feast cooked up by our chef Christobal. Vaughan said carrying the big backpack wasn’t too bad, it’s quite comfortable and he didn’t notice it much. After lunch we continued on following the fairly flat trail through the beautiful steep sided valley and light forest. By the time we reached our destination near the small village of Wayllabamba at 3000m it was just touching on dusk so we had just enough light to explore the small ruins above the camp ground and watch the local village boys playing football. The camp ground was owned by the village and we had it to ourselves which was nice as there was only one toilet and a pretty bad one at that, I was more inclined to want to find a bush! Today’s walk had not been too hard as we had only really climbed 300 meters and we were blessed with wonderful sunny weather which we hoped would continue over the next few days. But for now we enjoyed our first night’s camp with great food and chat in the dining tent then retiring to our own tents in the hope of getting a good night’s sleep ready for tomorrow’s mighty challenge, Dead Woman’s Pass.
Day 2: Wayllabamba to Pacamayo (12km)
We woke early to a relatively cool and clear morning. We had a reasonable night’s sleep although Vaughan complained the tent was too short for him so we both ended up sleeping diagonally across the tent! There was a little bit of a commotion this morning as one of the English girls Georgia had been sick in the night and hardly slept at all, it seems she had a bad case of food poisoning and was wondering whether she would be fit to continue. I asked her if she had eaten Pizza in Cusco and she said they had the night before they started the trek. I was warned not to eat Pizza in Cusco before trekking because many trekkers end up being sick. The wooden boards they serve the pizza on are not cleaned properly and harbour bacteria so have been the cause of “Cusco Craps” for many a trekker! After much discussion with the guides and her friends Tom and Liz, she decided that she didn’t have the energy to go on, especially as today was going to be the hardest day. So she made the tough decision to head back to Ollantaytambo with the assistant female guide and they would meet us at the Sun Gate on the last day. The poor girl was very upset; I guess I would be too if it happened to me. Duncan was also asked if he wanted to continue as he still wasn’t well but he decided he would fight through it and press on. The Australian couple Brendan and Kira considered hiring a porter from the village to help relieve some extra weight they were carrying. Freddy managed to negotiate one for them and Vaughan did give it some thought but decided he would be OK as the pack and weight wasn’t giving him any issues.
We packed up our sleeping bags and roll mats and dumped our stuff on the big tarp provided and joined everyone in the dining tent for a hot cup of tea and filling breakfast of omelettes, cereals and fruit. Plenty of carbohydrates to take us up 1200 meters! Before we left, Freddy wanted to properly introduce us all to the porters, the chef and the assistant chef. Each porter shyly introduced himself, the youngest was 18 and the oldest was near 70! All the porters were sourced from the local villages around the mountains. After we had a group photo with the staff we donned our packs and set off along the trail to the second checkpoint where we got another stamp in the passport and porters’ loads were weighed a second time. The first part of the trail was a gradual climb following the left bank of the Llulluchayoc River. A little further on the smooth dirt track came to an end and made way to stone steps; the climbing had begun! The old Inca stone steps went up through pretty forest; we climbed for about an hour, mainly through woodland which opened up now and then to reward us with views of the surrounding mountains. We arrived at a more open area where there was a small camp ground and toilet. After using the facilities, we continued the climb which now progressed to becoming steeper and I was finding it hard because of my cough. I had to stop a number of times to nurse coughing fits and get my breath.
After a couple more hours of climbing, we arrived at our lunch stop, a nice flat area in the open sunshine. Locals obviously know this is a popular lunch stop so have setup snack stalls selling everything from Pringles to Gatorade. After a satisfying lunch and rest we pressed on up the steps which now became steeper and steeper, it was damned hard work and the steps were relentless. The vegetation changed as we climbed, dry forest made way to a thick mossy rain forest . Everyone had left us behind even Duncan was doing better than me. My cough and breathing together with the increasing altitude made for extremely difficult and punishing climb. I found myself stopping every 10 steps to get my breath. It was torture, I swore I would never do this again. Freddy hung back with us for a while to make sure I was OK, I told him to go ahead, we will get there when we get there. Given 500 people walk the track a day we really didn’t pass many but we did pass one couple who seemed to be doing worse than me! Eventually the forest opened out into a valley and for the first time we got a glimpse of Dead Woman’s Pass. I guess in some way it did look like a woman lying down, you could make out her face and breast. It was the breast we were heading for and I wished she wasn’t such a large size! It didn’t look far but it was the longest few kilometres of my life. What was torture was now pure hell as stopping every 10 steps was now reduced to stopping every 3. I knew if I didn’t have this damn bronchitis it would have been a totally different experience but right now I hated every minute of it.
When we finally reached the summit, I just collapsed in a heap and didn’t even have the energy to add my flat stone to the cairn pile. I felt like a dead woman collapsed on top of another dead woman! After a nice rest and stealing back some energy I joined the others for a group photo then stood and took in the splendour of the mountain scenery around me. The views up and down the valleys both sides of the summit and sheer size of the Andes was awe inspiring, the pain of the last few hours was slowly being replaced by feelings of joy and achievement. Having done the uphill slog to the highest point on the trek it was then the 700 meter downhill slog to our campsite. For many hikers downhill can be a nightmare as it takes its toll on the knees but for me it wasn’t a problem so even though I started off with Vaughan I soon left him behind with the others as they gingerly made their way down the steep steps. I spent the next couple of hours walking on my own at a very quick pace, overtaking other hikers who made way for me thinking I was a porter! My real reason for picking up speed is I needed the bathroom and trying to find a suitable toilet stop was proving to be a challenge. The track was flanked by low vegetation that gave way to cliff edge sides. I was practically running down the steps to find somewhere suitable, finally I found flat terra firma and bushes I could hide in! Now I could enjoy the rest of my journey along a paved flatter path at a much slower pace and take in the majestic scenery and silence around me. As I neared camp Pacaymayu, I was met by a porter who pointed the way to our tents as there were many camps here.
I was first to arrive and was greeted by a smiling group of clapping porters who congratulated me. I picked out a tent and just collapsed in it, thank god it was all over, now I can rest. Fifteen minutes later the others started to filter in and more clapping and congratulations could be heard. Then we all congratulated each other with the relief the hardest day was done with. The camp site setting was lovely; green mountains rose up behind us with tumbling waterfalls hugging their steep sides. The views from our tent plateau were amazing across the valley, it was beautiful to sit and watch the sunset. Tonight we were told it would be pretty cold as we were camping at 3500 meters so Freddy had some plastic drink bottles filled for us with boiling water which we could use as hot water bottles. Dinner was as scrumptious and filling as ever, plenty of soup, chicken, pasta, mixed vegetables and my favourite, avocado as well as my not so favourite quinoa. Brendan’s and Kira’s extra luggage had arrived safely at camp too. We also learnt that the couple Vaughan and I passed along the way only got into camp just after 8pm, it would have been quite dangerous negotiating the steep downhill in the dark. It had been a very hard day’s hike but the weather god had continued to smile down on us, I wouldn’t have liked to have come down those steps in the rain, it would have been treacherous. Tonight was a nice long sleep and tomorrow another day but one that was going to be hopefully a lot easier.
Day 3: Pacamayo to Wiñay Wayna (15km)
Note to self: don’t pick the tent next to the guide’s, it was like sleeping next to a chainsaw! We all gave Freddy heaps of stick that morning, he laughed and swore it wasn’t him! Today we had two passes to cross over; the first (3950 meters) was right above us and looked to be a very steep climb to reach it. The second pass (3670 meters) we would take after lunch and was going to be much easier. We were blessed with yet another sunny day. I could not believe how lucky we were with the weather as I had read so many reports of the Inca Trail having very fickle weather and you were guaranteed to get wet at some point along the trail. We packed up, had breakfast then got on our way starting slowly up the steep steps. Porters were practically running past us to get ahead, I wish I had their fitness and stamina. The steep one hour climb up endless steps to the ruins of Runkuracay was not what I really wanted first thing in the morning especially as the old legs were still getting over the day before, as were the lungs. The views over the valley and down on the camp were just mesmerising. The small circular ruins were built to provide a command post to look out over the Pacamayo valley below. Another 45 minutes of steep uphill along the Inca paved path brought us to the second pass summit. Those that had already reached the top long before us had walked over to a pinnacle to get some photos, bugger that, I thought, I’m stopping to rest.
After getting a few photos of the 360 degree views we then made a descent down the steep steps and this time I stayed close to Vaughan. The views across the mountains was totally uninterrupted, I think we had left the forested trails behind for now. This part of the trail rewarded us with the most spectacular views, I really loved it and I was enjoying this day far more than yesterday. We followed the trail for about an hour passing through carved Inca tunnels before the impressive Sayacmarca ruins came into view. The name Sayacmarca means “Inaccessible” Town which described the ruins perfectly as they were protected on all three sides by sheer cliffs. To reach the ruins we had to climb up a very steep stone staircase but at this point we could take our packs off and just take a camera and water and go and explore. They were certainly impressive and we really enjoyed climbing all over them. From the ruins we could see across the valley to another camp ground which was also our lunch stop. We had to backtrack a little to rejoin the trail where we passed Conchamarca, a small Inca dwelling situated in the shadows of Sayacmarca. The vegetation started to change from a dryer alpine vegetation to a subtropical ecosystem as we passed through cloud forest and wet mosses. We had been going lightly downhill for a while but then it was time to head back up to Chaquiqocha camp ground where we stopped for lunch.
After lunch we followed the path they call the “Ancient Royal Inca Trail” which was noticeably more paved. The trail skirted around the mountains and through very impressive Inca carved tunnels and climbing over the 3rd pass was hardly noticeable at 3670 meters. The scenery and vegetation along this stretch was some of the most impressive yet and the views from the pass over the Urubamba valley and the river well below. From here you also got excellent views of the snow-capped peak of Salkantay, (6,180 meters) another trek in itself which joins up with the Inca Trail. It definitely got much warmer and more humid as we neared Machu Picchu. Not long after the pass, the back of Machu Picchu mountain came into view as did the impressive ruins of Phuyupatamarca. As Freddy explained, the name means “Town in the Clouds” The path skirted around the mountain side to come to rest at the top of the ruins then a steep flight of steps took us down through the ruins passing six ‘Inca Baths’ probably used for the ritual worship of water. We left the site via an impressive Inca staircase then followed the trail to the far end of the ruin to descend yet more steps, very steep ones, the type that have your knees cursing you for the rest of the day.
After about an hour of walking through cloud-forest we came to Wiñay Wayna ruins and descended more steep steps past the agricultural terraces. The site also has many buildings of good quality stonework and a sequence of 10 baths, suggesting that the site was probably a religious centre associated with the worship of water. Ritual cleansing may have taken place here for pilgrims on the final leg of the trail to Machu Picchu. We stopped at the bottom terrace of the first section for a rest and take photos of the impressive valley before us as well as get a group shot. Some llamas were grazing nearby but we were warned they spit so didn’t get too close. It didn’t stop Janine trying to get a selfie with one, it was amusing to watch especially as we waited for the spit attack. We then descended down more flights of steep steps before picking up the trail through the cloud forest to reach our camp over an hour later.
This was our last camp as tomorrow we would be at Machu Picchu. I made sure that I picked the tent the furthest from Freddy’s to ensure a better night’s sleep! The bathrooms here were within a few meters of our camp and actually had a cold water shower, not that anyone was game enough, as the air temperature was pretty cold. For me, today was the best out of the three days, the scenery was magnificent as was the varying ecosystems we passed through and we got to enjoy four amazing ruins. The walking wasn’t as hard either. Our last night’s dinner was celebratory with a feast to remember and delicious cake. Over dinner we chatted about the mornings plans. Freddy wanted us packed up and leaving by 5am so we can get to the checkpoint early before everyone else. This was the end of the campground line and it was full with many groups, all will be battling early in the morning to get to the checkpoint first! (silly really) He told us if we are up near the front then when we get to the Sun Gate we will have pole position to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu. After dinner, we showed our gratitude to the porters and cooks and distributed generous tips. Tomorrow they would be leaving us then after a rest they would do it all over again. It was quite sad that it was the last night, we had made many good friends over the last three days and tomorrow we would be parting ways. Although we won’t be alone in our hike up Huayna Picchu, Tim and Diane from the States will be joining us which we are very pleased about. But for now we retired early to bed as tomorrow was our final pilgrimage to the lost city.
Day 4: Wiñay Wayna to Machu Picchu (5km)
We had an early rise of 4:30 am and was really quite excited knowing today we would reach Machu Picchu. We were given a light breakfast and extra breakfast to take with us as we were bound to get hungry later in the morning. Today’s walk was only short; we set off along the trail for only a few hundred meters before coming to a stop at the final checkpoint which opened at 5:30am. Our group was about third in line which isn’t too bad. We sat around in the cold waiting and watching the line grow behind us. Wants the checkpoint opened the line started to move and before long we were through the other side and off on a speedy hike single file towards the Sun Gate (Intipunku). The trail felt difficult for some reason and I struggled to maintain the pace, it was up and down with the odd steep section. We were warned there was a very steep staircase climb towards the end nicknamed the “trekkers pain”, just as you thought all the steep stair climbing was over you hit this last section. It actually turned out not to be too bad, just a bit of rock scrambling as the steps were nearly a 90 degree angle so both hands and feet were needed.
Finally we reached the Sun Gate just before sunrise and the queue wasn’t that bad at all, in fact I really don’t know what all the fuss was about. When sunrise eventually happened it was sorely disappointing, it was very ordinary, not quite what I expected and since reading about it, the sunrise is never spectacular, so why they feel the need to hurry you to the finish line, I will never know. What was amazing was the first glimpse of the ruins from the Sun Gate, the feeling of elation and excitement, we couldn’t wait to get down there and start exploring them. But first we had to wait for the gates to open and unfortunately when they do we will be sharing the ruins with the tour bus brigade! We did ask Freddy why those that slog it out on the Inca Trail didn’t get at least the first hour of the ruins to ourselves before opening them up to the general public. After all we had just walked 42kms and a very hard 42kms at that so we should, in theory, be rewarded with first dibs on the ruins. We also had another nice surprise, Georgia who was sick on the morning of the second day and the assistant guide were there at the gate to greet us and it was hugs all around. I could sense the disappointment in her body language that she wished that she had walked the trail with us. I really did feel sorry for her.
As it neared the time for the gates to open we started the final descent down the paved Inca path towards the entrance to the lost city. We arrived at the Watchman’s Hut, the very spot where everyone gets that perfect photo. We spent some time here taking photos of each other then finally the group photo. We then made our way down to the entrance where they had nice bathrooms, a café and overpriced food booths. It was a chance to freshen up and treat ourselves to morning tea. We had some left over breakfast but didn’t feel like eating it now we had seen all these delicious pastries. Freddy gave us some time here and we all met up just before the gates officially opened. We also had to check in the big pack as we were not allowed to take it into the ruins, Vaughan was relieved just to be rid of it for a while! . We all finally convened then headed in through the gate following Freddy to one of the terraces where we sat down and he gave us an introduction to the site. Then over the next couple of hours he guided us around the ruins giving us some great history lessons. We visited various points of interest like the Temple of the Sun and it was interesting to learn that when the sun passes through the Sun Gate it will pass through one of the two windows in the temple depending whether it’s the summer or winter solstice. The light would light up the stone in the middle of the temple. We also learnt about sacrifices. Young beautiful girls between the ages of 12 and 14, who considered it an honour to give themselves to the sun god. Unlike Mayan sacrifices, Inca sacrifices were done in private and Freddy showed us the small temple where it was done. Many bones were discovered here, mainly of young females and all had been buried in a sitting up foetal position. Most of the ruins were that of buildings that would have been houses and shops. Some building near the entrance had been restored and given thatched roofs to give you some perspective of what it must of looked like. The site was very extensive and the setting was unbelievably beautiful. I was surprised there weren’t more people but then it is still early and the first tourist train was yet to arrive. The ruins were amazing, so damn amazing I have never felt so excited to be in a place as I was right now. We couldn’t believe we finally made it to this 15th century marvel that thank god the Spanish didn’t discover. After all the years of dreaming of seeing this place, we were finally here and to top it off the weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. One thing that did worry me was the sight of Huayna Picchu looming over the ruins. The straight up pointy mountain looked like a hell of a challenge to climb especially with my bronchitis still bothering me, I suddenly wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow.
After our tour we had plenty of free time to explore, the four of us that were going up Huayna Picchu decided it was a good idea to go find the mountains start point. Over near the entrance was a small group gathered around some friendly Llamas. I decided to join in with the patting and even managed to get a good selfie with one! Having seen everything we wanted to see today we made our way to the bus stop for our trip to Aguas Calientes and the restaurant for lunch. The trip was a windy half hour ride down the mountain and normally costs $10 but it was included in the cost of our trek. At the restaurant we enjoyed one final lunch together with the entire group that were heading back to Cusco today all except ourselves, Tim and Diane. The three young English managed to change their ticket and get an earlier train so they left. It gave Vaughan, myself, Tim and Diane an idea to do the same for tomorrow so after lunch we headed to the station and told the rest of the group we would meet them back at the restaurant later to say our goodbyes before they embarked on the 6pm train. Meanwhile we went straight to the station to see if we could get an earlier departure for tomorrow. It wasn’t a problem; we managed to get the 2:55pm train for an extra $35, the train journey isn’t cheap I can tell you. We then headed to our respective accommodations to freshen up then arranged to meet later to see the others off, before having dinner. Our accommodation was next to the hot springs and was very nice, the owner was an artist and this was reflected in the beautiful decor. Our room at El Mistico Hostal was gorgeous with a balcony overlooking a river gorge, I was really looking forward to sleeping in a real bed tonight!. We enjoyed a long hot shower and rest before taking our laundry to the laundry lady up the road who said she would have it back for us later that afternoon. We then went exploring the town which was surprisingly very nice, certainly no shortage of restaurants and I liked the fact the railway line went straight through the centre of town. Our other task was to find the cultural centre and exchange our printed reservations for Huayna Picchu for the real tickets, given the town wasn’t very big we soon found it in the square. We walked along the steep street from our hostel and scouted out all the restaurants along the way and picked out a couple that would be nice to go to for dinner. We were pretty tired and we thought about checking out the hot springs but changed our minds and went for a nap instead. By the time we awoke it was just past 5:30pm and we feared we had missed seeing our friends off. We went to both the restaurant and station and as suspected we were too late they had already gone through and were on the train. It was so disappointing, as we wanted to say our last goodbyes especially to our Scottish friends Mark and Gillian and the Kiwi’s Duncan and Jeneene as we had formed good friendships with these guys over the last four days. We wondered through the market then over to Tim and Diane’s hotel to arrange a time to meet up for tonight. Tim said he had been to the hot springs but they were not that inspiring just concrete square pools so in one way I didn’t miss anything. We went back to the hotel picking up laundry on the way and rested some more before meeting Tim and Diane for dinner. We had a great night reflecting on the last few days trekking and wondering what tomorrow’s climb will bring!
So what did we think of the Inca Trail?
Well I have to say it was a much harder trek than I imagined, we underestimated it! It didn’t help that I was sick with bronchitis and had I not been then I may have found the trek easier, as only 7 months before we had trekked to 5,500 meters in the Everest region of Nepal. The difference with the Inca Trail compared to our Himalayan experiences is that the Inca Trail days are much longer, double the distance to what we are normally used to when it comes to altitude hiking.
The trek itself is amazing, we are so glad we had the chance to do it. There are plenty of treks in this world where you are rewarded with amazing scenery and changing eco-systems but none too many that include countless ancient ruins as part of the journey. The Inca Trail is truly unique and should be on every trekkers bucket list, so if you haven’t done it yet? get out there and do it you will not be disappointed!
Want to see more photos?
A full gallery of the trek can be viewed here in “Our Trip Photos”
Want to see more? Stay tuned for my next installment, where I shall tell you about our climb of Huayna Picchu and of the train journey experience back to Ollantaytambo
Have you trekked the Inca Trail? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below…
