The Blaus - South America and Europe

1-4 de Mayo - Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

After an exciting night spent at the porter`s village, we began our hike on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. It was a fairly challenging 4 day trek, because of the high altitude and the steep climbs through the passes, but it was a stunning journey. We walked through the granite mountains and the jungle on a 500 year old stone path past many impressive Incan ruins to an ancient city built by the Incas for nobles and priests...a magical experience. In the end, we felt that the pilgrimage to Machu Picchu and the physical location of the lost city were more remarkable than the ruins themselves, but our first look at Machu Picchu was awe-inspiring.

Tourism on the Inca Trail is regulated by the Peruvian government, so it is now impossible to hike the Inca Trail without hiring an agency that provides permission (permits), guides, porters, and a cook for you. Only 500 people per day are allowed on the trail. We got very lucky with timing, and we happened to secure permissions for the Inca Trail without making reservations ahead of time. Apparently, the months of May and June are booked solid every year. We happened to arrive in Cusco just before the start of high season. Our tour agency made the journey very comfortable. It was like no other camping we have done in the past. We were well taken care of by our cook, porters and guide...in fact we felt spoiled. We carried our own backpacks, sleeping bags, and sleeping mats, but the porters carried all of the rest of our camping equipment and food. These guys worked so hard and carried up to 20 kilograms on their backs, and they still managed to arrive first to our campsite every night to welcome us. When we arrived at our campsite at the end of each day, our tents were set up for us. Every evening at 5pm we were treated to tea and a snack. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday on the trail, we were fed homecooked meals that were just as tasty as the food we ate at restaurants in Cusco (our cook Isauro had been given the title of the best cook on the Inca Trail). Every morning at the crack of dawn (or earlier), the porters woke us with mugs of mate de coca to fight off any lingering morning sleepiness and bowls of hot water to wash our faces with.

We met Juan, Modesto, and Timoteo at the porter´s village the night before, so it was great to get to know them even more over the next few days. Modesto was an older guy, but he effortlessly kept up with the younger porters. Juan was the quiet one who wore his baseball cap low, so you could just barely see his eyes. Timoteo was younger and was always joking around and flashing his youthful smile. Our guide (Flor) spoke English, Spanish and Quechua, so she helped translate for us.

The first day of the hike was fairly easy. We were a little tired, because we didn`t get much sleep the night before...either from too much cañaso or from camping in the backyard with noisy cows, pigs, and other animals in the porter`s village. In 4 days we hiked about 45 kilometers, which isn`t very far, but the second and third days involved steep climbs over passes that were about 13,500 feet tall. The first day the trail was mostly flat and we reached our campsite early (before 4pm). Our guide pointed out varieties of plants and orchids and talked about Inca culture and history as we hiked along at a relaxed pace on a trail that followed the Urubamba river, and we stopped to look at ruins along the way. There were impressive ruins to see on the route to Machu Picchu, including agricultural terracing, storehouses and checkpoints built out of granite stone by the Incas.

At our campsite that night we were welcomed by two of the cutest local kids with the snottiest noses we have ever seen. They ran around our tent laughing, yelling and playing until long after dark. We told them that we had to zip our tent up to keep the mosquitos out so that we could finally sleep, and they turned that into a game in which they pretended to be mosquitos and tried to get into our tent. When we could no longer stay awake, they finally gave up on us and bid us goodnight by whispering "Chau Mosquitos." On the trail during the first two days we noticed that there were villages set along the river inside the National Park. The women in these villages make homebrewed chicha de jora and sell cups of this maize beer alongside the trail to the porters as they make their way to Machu Picchu. The porters race uphill with heavy loads on their backs and they only stop for chicha. Our guide called chicha de jora "Andean Gatorade."

The second day was the killer. We ascended over 1,000 meters on the trail (from 3,000 to 4,200 meters), which felt like we were climbing a never-ending stone staircase. We were nervous about altitude sickness, and our guide didn´t help matters by telling us all the horror stories of her past treks with tourists who didn´t make it all the way to Machu Picchu. On the trail that morning we saw a woman and her husband coming down on horseback, which meant that they had some issue with the altitude and had to go back to Cusco. We trudged on slowly but surely and made it over the first pass after lunch. The view of the mountains on the other side of the pass was breathtaking. It was well worth the effort. Our campsite for that night was nestled in the valley below at around 3,500 meters, so as the sun was setting, we hiked down to our final destination for that day. It was amazing to be among the giant mountains and so far away from everything. We saw two eagles soaring overhead as we walked down the stone stairway to our camp. When we arrived at our campsite, we were exhausted and our legs were like jelly from hiking up and down the pass. We watched the sunset behind the jagged, green mountains. After dinner we admired the brilliant night sky and got so cold that we had to duck into our tent for warmth. We had another full day and went to sleep very early.

On the third day, we were up early again to tackle the second pass on the trail. The third day of the hike is the longest day. The ascent was not as steep or high as the climb the previous day (this one was at 3,900 meters), and this time the view from the top of the pass was of the snow covered Salcanti Mountain. Parts of the trail on the third day were literally carved into the mountainside, so if you looked over the edge of the trail, there was nothing but a sheer cliff and a ravine below. After the pass, we descended into the yungas (jungle), where we started to see beautiful vegetation, orchids and butterflies. We went through a tunnel that the Incas built in the side of the mountain. The third day of the hike was the most spectacular of them all. The whole time we walked on the Inca Trail we were in awe at how they masterfully built the trail with stones in those remote mountains. That night we camped in a spot that was closer to civilization than we had been in days. We showered and we bought cold beers for our companions to celebrate our last night on the Inca Trail.

On the fourth day, we were awake and hiking before dawn. We were walking through the Sacred Valley as the sun came up and lit up the clouds in the sky. It was like a fireworks show that kept getting more vibrant as the minutes passed. The clouds were flourescent pink, which looked incredible against the dark purple mountains. We were off to a good start. About 2 hours later, we arrived at the Gateway of the Sun, where we got our first look at Machu Picchu from above. It was a spectacular sight as the sun rose and illuminated the city of ruins.

We spent the rest of the day scouting around Machu Picchu and learning about the different styles of stonework and the functions of each of the sections of the ruins. Machu Picchu means old mountain, is located at 2,200 meters and once was home to 1,000 people (nobles and priests). It was built in 1438 to strict standards that would withstand earthquakes (the walls were built with a slight angle towards the center of the buildings). We learned about the religious beliefs and superstitious practices of the Incas. We were very impressed with their astronomical knowledge. One of the main temples, the Temple del Sol, had 4 windows built into the stonework, and each window was positioned to let in the first light of each solstice, summer, fall, winter and spring. The architecture was perfect. They also created a sundial in stone that illuminated Puma Eyes on the day of the winter solstice (Inti Raymi). All of the symbolism in the temples was either about crops, animals, astronomy or the three worlds the Incas believed existed (the underworld, the mother earth, and the sky and stars). The history was fascinating, but quite sad. The Inca Empire was so advanced, and was 15 million people strong when the Spanish arrived, but they were totally wiped out within 30 years of Spanish rule after many failed revolutions. Luckily, when the Spanish arrived the Incas abandoned the cities in the Sacred Valley and destroyed the trails, and the Spaniards were never able to find Machu Picchu.

In the afternoon we climbed up to another temple on a steep mountain right next to Machu Picchu called Wayna Picchu. The hike was literally straight up hill, but the view from up there was amazing. When the day was over we took a bus back down the hill to Aguas Calientes (small tourist town built for Macchu Pichu tourists) and took a bath in the natural hot springs in the town. Then we boarded the 5 hour train back to Cusco, and arrived back to the hostal late in the evening. The walk on the Inca Trail was truly a memorable one, and seeing Machu Picchu at sunrise before all the tourists arrived was breathtaking. We enjoyed the hike, the nature and all the ruins, but cherished our time with the porters more than anything. We were very happy to have shared the experience with such a great group of guys.

posted by The Blaus @ 7:24 PM