I think it’s common among many travelers to have a desire to get off the beaten path, away from the crowds, to find their own secret treasures. As travelers, there can be a certain pride that we did something different than the masses. I know I have definitely felt like this.
After spending four days walking in the foot steps of the ancient Inca’s, my debate whether to visit or not visit the ‘big tourist draws’ is over. Simply put, the Inca Trail was awesome. There’s a reason thousands of people flock to the ‘wonders of the world’. The paths I walked, ruins I saw, tiny stones I touched were so extraordinary, I will join the masses to experience these discoveries any chance I get.
Ironically, I find visiting first hand some of the world’s most well known places, i.e., Machu Picchu, The Grand Canyon, viewing the Mona Lisa, to hold some of the biggest surprises. Prior to going I have certain images in my head of what these places should and will look like. When I stand in the ‘classic postcard’ viewing spot, my eyes view the easily recognized image that’s smothered on cups, place mats, t-shirts, hats and every other souvenir item one could hope to buy. Yet surrounding the mainstream image there are so many tiny flowers, side trails, rock patterns and symbolism for the traveler to find. No matter how many times I have seen the classic ‘Machu Picchu postcard photo’, there is something to be said for being there in person and listening to sounds of my own foot steps as I walked across the stone terraces.
I hope you enjoy this walk with us in a two part (maybe three part) post along this ancient Inca journey.
Before starting out on the trail, everyone did a final gear check in the parking lot.
With the roaring Urumbamba River, we all walked down to the check point to show our passports and entrance tickets before being allowed to cross the bridge to the trail.
Group photo at the start of trail.
Hand painted park sign.
During Day #1 hike, we walked through all these tiny villages living along side the trail.
They were drying some hides.
Lines of donkeys would pass us carrying goods.
Ramiro, our guide, showed us this flower which can act as a hallucinogen if prepared properly, or something to make one very sick if eaten improperly.
We rounded the corner and were surprised and thankful for our amazing lunch spot the porters set up for us.
Prior to hiking the Inca Trail, I only thought about the ruins at Machu Picchu, but Machu Picchu is really the grand finale to the trek. We hiked by countless ruins the entire Inca trail.
Day #1 was an easy day of ups and downs mostly following the river valley between giant mountains.
The big site of Llaqtapata, or The Town on the Hillside.
Villagers continue to live in the valley farming corn and potatoes while kids were playing soccer to the right.
Llamas grazed the terraces and locals had well worn paths across these ancient placed stones.
A cute puppy, both a bench warmer and greeter at one of our rest stops.
What a view to have for camp night #1!
One Day #2 before we were to climb to the highest summit, we had to go through another check point to show our papers.
The porters also have to be weighed a second time (first time was at start of trail) to ensure they are not carrying more than 20 kilos. About ten years ago the park system established a rule there needed to be one porter for each person in the group and the maximum weight would be twenty kilos.
Then the ascent began.
We all took a lot of photos on the way up, but needed those breaks to be able to breath again.
Hiking, hiking ever up.
We were so lucky to get some blue skies on this day.
The scenery was just endless mountains.
The grade of the trail was so steep. For the most part, after hiking a distance of what you see in the photo we would need to take a break to re-catch our breath. No matter how fit you are, if you are not used to hiking at high altitudes it’s going to require more energy than normal. We all went slow, took frequent breaks and drank a lot of water.
Bath room facilities at a rest point.
A line of porters taking a break.
Each porter was responsible for carrying different items used in camp such as this big gas tank.
Below the little “x” was the summit. You can see Chris’s red pack cover on the left and the distance to reach the summit was not that far, however that portion from point A to B took us about an hour and a half with all the “breath breaks” we had to take.
One thing to expect on the Inca Trail is steps. These steps are small and easy compared to most of the trail construction.
Us at the summit of Dead Woman’s Pass.
Family photo at the top.
But it was sure cold and windy at the top.
Luckily, Chris had his snazzy ‘Cusco’ hat to keep warm.
After we all had a snack and photos we started the descent, it was too cold to linger on top the mountain.
The clouds were moving in and out so fast, one second we could see mountains, the next they were behind massive forms of dense clouds.
The down hill was almost as hard as the uphill with the big steps making the hiking hard on the knees.
There was a beautiful waterfall bringing this water down the mountain, which ran through our camp and was used in our meals.
Sign leading into camp.
Despite it looking crowded in this photo, camp night #2 was pretty well managed.
Every group was assigned a camp spot by the rangers from the morning check point. Each group did their own thing on their assigned terraces which, overall, did help minimize impact quite a bit.
We finally had a chance to get a photo with all of the porters and the chef. Most of these guys had worked on the Inca Trail for about five years. The oldest was Nicolas at age 62! Also take note of our chef decked out in the full chef gear. He cooked the best food as well as carrying extra gear.
Content and happy after a big day’s hike our group said good night to our evening view to rest up for the next days hike.
***
Stay tuned for Inca Trail – Part 2 as hike down 2,500 steps leading us to Machu Picchu.
Previous Post
Next Post
FANTASTIC photos!!! Just looking at the pictures of the hills made my legs tired.
The hills were big. We were so lucky to have good weather for the views. Everyone was so pumped about that. It was such an awesome hike to do.
Great photos! What an experience… How many days and nights were you on that trail?
Our trek was 3 nights/ 4 days. We just couldn’t get over the mountains in Peru. Just endless mountains.