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Day 1
We left Cusco that morning at 9.00am and headed on our way to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The Sacred Valley is an agricultural region that continues to supply the city of Cuzco with much of its produce. We visited the impressive Pisac ruins and the colourful artisan market. We also visited the local Chicheria to see how they make the local alcohol. The day trip finished in the picturesque village of Ollantaytambo, site of another large Inca ruin. Ollantaytambo was our first taste of what lies ahead on the Inca Trail. The town and fortress of Ollantaytambo overlook the beautiful Urubamba River Valley. This major ruin site is known as the best surviving example of Inca urban planning and engineering. It is known for its huge steep terraces guarding the Inca Fortress and for being one of the few places where the Spanish lost a major battle during the conquest. We spent the night in this small town before heading out for the start of the hike the next morning....oh god!!
Day 2-5
We started off early and arrived at the starting gate where we got the first of 4 stamps on our passport. The Inca Trail is a 40-km (25 mile) hike, with 3 high passes to be crossed, one of which reaches an elevation of 4200m (13776 ft). The trail was often steep, and travelled over large stone steps that are often times uneven. The trails and ruins visited are often without handrails which makes for some dodgy walking especially if its been raining...thank god for sturdy hiking boots!! Fortunately we only had little bit of rain over the few days. Our local crew of porters, cook and guide looked after us well for the duration of the hike. The Porters carry the majority of the gear for the hike, so we only carried a small daypack with water, rain gear, snacks, a camera, etc. Sometimes we didnt know how the porters do it...when we were feeling tired we could only imagine how they felt with all our gear on their backs! The porters we had with us every day were absolutely unreal. They'ld reach camp before us, set up our tents, put all our stuff in there for us and when we arrived they would have a basin of warm water and soap for each hiker to soak our feet in....heaven after 8 hours of walking!! Then they set up the kitchen tent and cook us the most wonderful food, always starting with a warm bowl of vegetable soup which was just perfect to warm us up after trekking for the day. The camps themselves were huge, some nights 500 people in one place squashed into all the tents reminded you that people were still making a living out of you doing this trek but it also kinda took away from the 'The Inca Trail' feeling and reminded you that you are only one of 1,000's of people passing throughout this trail everyday.
On the first day you pass several smaller ruin sites, the first of which is Llactapata. The second day climb was the long steep path to Warmiwañusca, or Dead Woman's Pass. At 4198 m (13769 ft) above sea level, this pass is the highest point of the trek. The trek up here was hard as there was driving rain coming down on us and it just seemed like the steps were never ending. But it was some feeling to finally get to the top...even though we couldnt see any of the supposed amazing views because of the fog! Nearly just as hard to walk down the steps on the other side as they were so wet you would be afraid of slipping or missing a step. The second pass of the hike is at 3998 m (13113 ft) . The trail goes through some beautiful cloud forest on the gentle climb to the third pass, where we walked through a causeway and a tunnel, both original Inca constructions. The highest point of the third pass is at 3700m (12136 ft). We rewarded for all this work with beautiful views of the Urubamba Valley below. After this we reached the serene ruins of Phuyupatamarca, or the 'Town above the Clouds', at about 3650 m (11972 ft) above sea level. We camped here close to Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young) ruins, a terraced hillside site, with panoramic views of the valley below and just a short hike from Machu Picchu.
On the final day of the hike we were up at 3.00am to be the first people through the last passport office. We also wanted to be the first people to leave the camp and to be able to get to the Sun Gate before the masses gathered. There is no way to describe the feeling of the first views of Machu Picchu, as the mist rises off the mountains early in the morning and the famous site appears in front of you. Machu Picchu is both the best and the least known of the Inca ruins. It is not mentioned in any of the chronicles of the Spanish conquistadors and archaeologists today can do no more than speculate on its function. The local Quechua farmers in the area knew of Machu Picchu for centuries, but it was not until an 11-year-old boy led the American historian Hiram Bingham (who was in search of Vilcabamba) to the site on July 24, 1911, that the rest of the world became aware of its existence. At that time the site was covered in thick vegetation, and Bingham and his team returned in 1912 and 1915 to clear the growth. Even just walking around Machu Picchu on your own after your guide has led you to the most famous sites is exhilarating. You cant even imagine how they built such an empire all those years ago with no proper equipment to help them carry the stone. And the structures are so solid and safe that they are safer then some buildings we have stayed in, in modern day South America! The planning and labour that must have gone into the bulding of this city must have been mammoth and its quite sad walking around the abandoned city to know that they all just had to up and leave everything they worked on for deacades. Even though we couldnt be sad for too long when Bob and Vivienne (our friends from home who came on holidays for 3 weeks to us) came back from strolling around the city and told us they had just gotten engaged...well Bob told us because Vivienne was still crying!!! An unbelievable end to an unbelievable day!!
At about midday we got the bus back to a town called Aguas Calientes where we would have lunch and get a connecting train back to Cusco that evening. It was overall an incredible few days and the sights that we saw I know we will definitely never forget or probably see anything like them ever again. It was nice to get on the train to Cusco though and look forward to a nice hot shower in a nice warm hotel room. And of course we had some champagne to celebrate the engagement! Didnt go too wild that night and the next day we said goodbye to Cusco and headed off on a night bus to Ica that would bring us to Huacachina
Inca Trail Done!!
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